1 Corinthians 7:33-34

7:33 But a married man is concerned about the things of the world, how to please his wife, 7:34 and he is divided. An unmarried woman ¹  or a virgin ²  is concerned about the things of the Lord, to be holy both in body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the things of the world, how to please her husband.

Luke 8:14

8:14 As for the seed that ³  fell among thorns, these are the ones who hear, but ⁴  as they go on their way they are choked ⁵  by the worries and riches and pleasures of life, ⁶  and their fruit does not mature. ⁷ 

Luke 10:40-42

10:40 But Martha was distracted ⁸  with all the preparations she had to make, ⁹  so ¹⁰  she came up to him and said, “Lord, don’t you care ¹¹  that my sister has left me to do all the work ¹²  alone? Tell ¹³  her to help me.” 10:41 But the Lord ¹⁴  answered her, ¹⁵  “Martha, Martha, ¹⁶  you are worried and troubled ¹⁷  about many things, 10:42 but one thing ¹⁸  is needed. Mary has chosen the best ¹⁹  part; it will not be taken away from her.”

Luke 21:34

Be Ready!

21:34 “But be on your guard ²⁰  so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day close down upon you suddenly like a trap. ²¹ 

[7:34]  ¹ sn In context the unmarried woman would probably refer specifically to a widow, who was no longer married, as opposed to the virgin, who had never been married.

[7:34]  ² tc There are three viable variant readings at this point in the text. (1) The reading ἡ γυνὴ ἡ ἄγαμος καὶ ἡ παρθένος (Jh gunh Jh agamo" kai Jh parqeno", “the unmarried woman and the virgin”) is represented by ancient and important mss, as well as some significant versions (̹⁵ B 104 365 1505 pc vg co). (2) The reading ἡ γυνὴ ἡ ἄγαμος καὶ ἡ παρθένος ἡ ἄγαμος (“the unmarried woman and the unmarried virgin”) is also found in ancient and important mss (Ì⁴⁶ א A 33 1739 1881 pc). (3) The reading ἡ γυνὴ καὶ ἡ παρθένος ἡ ἄγαμος (“the woman and the unmarried virgin”) is found in Western mss (D F G) and the majority of Byzantine cursives. Based upon external evidence, the first and second readings are the strongest; the readings both reach deep into the second century with strong testimony from mss of the Alexandrian texttype. Internal evidence seems equally balanced: Scribes may have wanted to add ἡ ἄγαμος to παρθένος for stylistic reasons, but they might also have wanted to remove it because it sounded redundant. Because Paul’s meaning is not quite clear, a decision on the proper textual reading is difficult. On the whole scribes tended to add to the text, not take from it. Thus the first reading should be favored as original, but this decision should be regarded as less than certain.

[8:14]  ³ tn Grk “What”; the referent (the seed) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:14]  ⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[8:14]  ⁵ sn That is, their concern for spiritual things is crowded out by material things.

[8:14]  ⁶ sn On warnings about the dangers of excessive material attachments, described here as the worries and riches and pleasures of life, see Luke 12:12-21; 16:19-31.

[8:14]  ⁷ tn The verb τελεσφορέω (telesforew) means “to produce mature or ripe fruit” (L&N 23.203). Once again the seed does not reach its goal.

[10:40]  ⁸ sn The term distracted means “to be pulled away” by something (L&N 25.238). It is a narrative comment that makes clear who is right in the account.

[10:40]  ⁹ tn Grk “with much serving.”

[10:40]  ¹⁰ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate that the following was a result of Martha’s distraction.

[10:40]  ¹¹ tn The negative οὐ (ou) used with the verb expects a positive reply. Martha expected Jesus to respond and rebuke Mary.

[10:40]  ¹² tn Grk “has left me to serve alone.”

[10:40]  ¹³ tn The conjunction οὖν (oun, “then, therefore”) has not been translated here.

[10:41]  ¹⁴ tc Most mss (A B* C D W Θ Ψ Ë^1,13 Ï it) read “Jesus” instead of “the Lord” here, but κύριος (kurios, “Lord”) has the support of some weighty papyri, uncials, and other witnesses (Ì^3,[45],75 א B² L 579 892 pc lat sa).

[10:41]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “answering, said to her.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified to “answered her.”

[10:41]  ¹⁶ sn The double vocative Martha, Martha communicates emotion.

[10:41]  ¹⁷ tn Or “upset.” Here the meanings of μεριμνάω (merimnaw) and θορυβάζομαι (qorubazomai) reinforce each other (L&N 25.234).

[10:42]  ¹⁸ tc Or, with some mss (̳ [א] B C² L 070^vid ˹ 33 [579] pc), “few things are needed – or only one” (as well as other variants). The textual problem here is a difficult one to decide. The shorter reading is normally preferred, but it is not altogether clear how the variants would arise from it. However, the reading followed in the translation has good support (with some internal variations) from a number of witnesses (Ì^45,75 A C* W Θ Ψ Ë¹³ Ï lat sa).

[10:42]  ¹⁹ tn Or “better”; Grk “good.” This is an instance of the positive adjective used in place of the superlative adjective. According to ExSyn 298, this could also be treated as a positive for comparative (“better”).

[21:34]  ²⁰ tn Grk “watch out for yourselves.”

[21:34]  ²¹ sn Or like a thief, see Luke 12:39-40. The metaphor of a trap is a vivid one. Most modern English translations traditionally place the words “like a trap” at the end of v. 34, completing the metaphor. In the Greek text (and in the NRSV and REB) the words “like a trap” are placed at the beginning of v. 35. This does not affect the meaning.