Luke 1:5

Birth Announcement of John the Baptist

1:5 During the reign ¹  of Herod ²  king of Judea, there lived a priest named Zechariah who belonged to ³  the priestly division of Abijah, ⁴  and he had a wife named Elizabeth, ⁵  who was a descendant of Aaron. ⁶ 

Luke 2:4

2:4 So ⁷  Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth ⁸  in Galilee to Judea, to the city ⁹  of David called Bethlehem, ¹⁰  because he was of the house ¹¹  and family line ¹²  of David.

Luke 3:22

3:22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. ¹³  And a voice came from heaven, “You are my one dear Son; ¹⁴  in you I take great delight.” ¹⁵ 

Luke 4:25

4:25 But in truth I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s days, ¹⁶  when the sky ¹⁷  was shut up three and a half years, and ¹⁸  there was a great famine over all the land.

Luke 10:7

10:7 Stay ¹⁹  in that same house, eating and drinking what they give you, ²⁰  for the worker deserves his pay. ²¹  Do not move around from house to house.

Luke 11:13

11:13 If you then, although you are ²²  evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit ²³  to those who ask him!”

Luke 23:8

23:8 When ²⁴  Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had long desired to see him, because he had heard about him and was hoping to see him perform ²⁵  some miraculous sign. ²⁶ 

Luke 24:49

24:49 And look, I am sending you ²⁷  what my Father promised. ²⁸  But stay in the city ²⁹  until you have been clothed with power ³⁰  from on high.”

[1:5]  ¹ tn Grk “It happened that in the days.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[1:5]  ² sn Herod was Herod the Great, who ruled Palestine from 37 b.c. until he died in 4 b.c. He was known for his extensive building projects (including the temple in Jerusalem) and for his cruelty.

[1:5]  ³ tn Grk “of”; but the meaning of the preposition ἐκ (ek) is more accurately expressed in contemporary English by the relative clause “who belonged to.”

[1:5]  ⁴ sn There were twenty-four divisions of priesthood and the priestly division of Abijah was eighth on the list according to 1 Chr 24:10.

[1:5]  ⁵ tn Grk “and her name was Elizabeth.”

[1:5]  ⁶ tn Grk “a wife of the daughters of Aaron.”

[2:4]  ⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the consequential nature of the action.

[2:4]  ⁸ sn On Nazareth see Luke 1:26.

[2:4]  ⁹ tn Or “town.” The translation “city” is used here because of its collocation with “of David,” suggesting its importance, though not its size.

[2:4]  ¹⁰ sn The journey from Nazareth to the city of David called Bethlehem was a journey of about 90 mi (150 km). Bethlehem was a small village located about 7 miles south-southwest of Jerusalem.

[2:4]  ¹¹ sn Luke’s use of the term “house” probably alludes to the original promise made to David outlined in the Nathan oracle of 2 Sam 7:12-16, especially in light of earlier connections between Jesus and David made in Luke 1:32. Further, the mention of Bethlehem reminds one of the promise of Mic 5:2, namely, that a great king would emerge from Bethlehem to rule over God’s people.

[2:4]  ¹² tn Or “family,” “lineage.”

[3:22]  ¹³ tn This phrase is a descriptive comparison. The Spirit is not a dove, but descends like one in some type of bodily representation.

[3:22]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “my beloved Son,” or “my Son, the beloved [one].” The force of ἀγαπητός (agaphtos) is often “pertaining to one who is the only one of his or her class, but at the same time is particularly loved and cherished” (L&N 58.53; cf. also BDAG 7 s.v. 1).

[3:22]  ¹⁵ tc Instead of “You are my one dear Son; in you I take great delight,” one Greek ms and several Latin mss and church fathers (D it Ju [Cl] Meth Hil Aug) quote Ps 2:7 outright with “You are my Son; today I have fathered you.” But the weight of the ms testimony is against this reading.

[4:25]  ¹⁹ sn Elijah’s days. Jesus, by discussing Elijah and Elisha, pictures one of the lowest periods in Israel’s history. These examples, along with v. 24, also show that Jesus is making prophetic claims as well as messianic ones. See 1 Kgs 17-18.

[4:25]  ²⁰ tn Or “the heaven”; the Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context. Since the context here refers to a drought (which produced the famine), “sky” is preferable.

[4:25]  ²¹ tn Grk “as.” The particle ὡς can also function temporally (see BDAG 1105-6 s.v. 8).

[10:7]  ²⁵ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[10:7]  ²⁶ tn Grk “eating and drinking the things from them” (an idiom for what the people in the house provide the guests).

[10:7]  ²⁷ sn On the phrase the worker deserves his pay see 1 Tim 5:18 and 1 Cor 9:14.

[11:13]  ³¹ tn The participle ὑπάρχοντες (Juparconte") has been translated as a concessive participle.

[11:13]  ³² sn The provision of the Holy Spirit is probably a reference to the wisdom and guidance supplied in response to repeated requests. Some apply it to the general provision of the Spirit, but this would seem to look only at one request in a context that speaks of repeated asking. The teaching as a whole stresses not that God gives everything his children want, but that God gives the good that they need. The parallel account in Matthew (7:11) refers to good things where Luke mentions the Holy Spirit.

[23:8]  ³⁷ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[23:8]  ³⁸ tn Grk “to see some sign performed by him.” Here the passive construction has been translated as an active one in keeping with contemporary English style.

[23:8]  ³⁹ sn Herod, hoping to see him perform some miraculous sign, seems to have treated Jesus as a curiosity (cf. 9:7-9).

[24:49]  ⁴³ tn Grk “sending on you.”

[24:49]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “the promise of my Father,” with τοῦ πατρός (tou patros) translated as a subjective genitive. This is a reference to the Holy Spirit and looks back to how one could see Messiah had come with the promise of old (Luke 3:15-18). The promise is rooted in Jer 31:31 and Ezek 36:26.

[24:49]  ⁴⁵ sn The city refers to Jerusalem.

[24:49]  ⁴⁶ sn Until you have been clothed with power refers to the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. What the Spirit supplies is enablement. See Luke 12:11-12; 21:12-15. The difference the Spirit makes can be seen in Peter (compare Luke 22:54-62 with Acts 2:14-41).