Luke 1:64

1:64 Immediately ¹  Zechariah’s ²  mouth was opened and his tongue ³  released, ⁴  and he spoke, blessing God.

Luke 2:8

The Shepherds’ Visit

2:8 Now ⁵  there were shepherds ⁶  nearby ⁷  living out in the field, keeping guard ⁸  over their flock at night.

Luke 3:21

The Baptism of Jesus

3:21 Now when ⁹  all the people were baptized, Jesus also was baptized. And while he was praying, ¹⁰  the heavens ¹¹  opened,

Luke 8:40

Restoration and Healing

8:40 Now when Jesus returned, ¹²  the crowd welcomed him, because they were all waiting for him.

Luke 11:10

11:10 For everyone who asks ¹³  receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door ¹⁴  will be opened.

Luke 22:55

22:55 When they had made a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat down among them.

Luke 24:31

24:31 At this point ¹⁵  their eyes were opened and they recognized ¹⁶  him. ¹⁷  Then ¹⁸  he vanished out of their sight.

[1:64]  ¹ tn Grk “And immediately.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[1:64]  ² tn Grk “his”; the referent (Zechariah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:64]  ³ sn The mention of both mouth and tongue here is a figure called zeugma and emphasizes that the end of the temporary judgment came instantly and fully upon Zechariah’s expression of faith in naming the child. He had learned to trust and obey God during his short period of silence. He had learned from his trial.

[1:64]  ⁴ tn “Released” is implied; in the Greek text both στόμα (stoma) and γλῶσσα (glwssa) are subjects of ἀνεῴχθη (anewcqh), but this would be somewhat redundant in English.

[2:8]  ⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[2:8]  ⁶ sn Some argue that shepherds were among the culturally despised, but the evidence for this view of shepherds is late, coming from 5th century Jewish materials. December 25 as the celebrated date of Jesus’ birth arose around the time of Constantine (ca. a.d. 306-337), though it is mentioned in material from Hippolytus (a.d. 165-235). Some think that the reason for celebration on this date was that it coincided with the pagan Roman festival of Saturnalia, and Christians could celebrate their own festival at this time without fear of persecution. On the basis of the statement that the shepherds were living out in the field, keeping guard over their flock at night it is often suggested that Jesus’ birth took place in early spring, since it was only at lambing time that shepherds stood guard over their flocks in the field. This is not absolutely certain, however.

[2:8]  ⁷ tn Grk “in that region.”

[2:8]  ⁸ tn Grk “living in the field (see BDAG 15 s.v. ἀγραυλέω) and guarding their flock.”

[3:21]  ⁹ tn Grk “Now it happened that when.” 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.

[3:21]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “and while Jesus was being baptized and praying.” The first of these participles has been translated as a finite verb to be more consistent with English style.

[3:21]  ¹¹ tn Or “the sky”; the Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context. In this context, although the word is singular, the English plural “heavens” connotes the Greek better than the singular “heaven” would, for the singular does not normally refer to the sky.

[8:40]  ¹³ tn This is a temporal infinitival clause in contrast to Mark’s genitive absolute (Mark 5:21).

[11:10]  ¹⁷ sn The actions of asking, seeking, and knocking are repeated here from v. 9 with the encouragement that God does respond.

[11:10]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “it”; the referent (a door) is implied by the context and has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[24:31]  ²¹ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “At this point” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative. “Then,” which is normally used to indicate this, would be redundant with the following clause.

[24:31]  ²² sn They recognized him. Other than this cryptic remark, it is not told how the two disciples were now able to recognize Jesus.

[24:31]  ²³ tn This pronoun is somewhat emphatic.

[24:31]  ²⁴ tn This translates a καί (kai, “and”) that has clear sequential force.