Luke 10:12-16

10:12 I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom ¹  than for that town! ² 

10:13 “Woe to you, Chorazin! ³  Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if ⁴  the miracles ⁵  done in you had been done in Tyre ⁶  and Sidon, ⁷  they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 10:14 But it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon in the judgment than for you! 10:15 And you, Capernaum, ⁸  will you be exalted to heaven? ⁹  No, you will be thrown down to Hades! ¹⁰ 

10:16 “The one who listens ¹¹  to you listens to me, ¹²  and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects ¹³  the one who sent me.” ¹⁴ 

Luke 11:24-26

Response to Jesus’ Work

11:24 “When an unclean spirit ¹⁵  goes out of a person, ¹⁶  it passes through waterless places ¹⁷  looking for rest but ¹⁸  not finding any. Then ¹⁹  it says, ‘I will return to the home I left.’ ²⁰  11:25 When it returns, ²¹  it finds the house ²²  swept clean and put in order. ²³  11:26 Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there, so ²⁴  the last state of that person ²⁵  is worse than the first.” ²⁶ 

Luke 12:47

12:47 That ²⁷  servant who knew his master’s will but did not get ready or do what his master asked ²⁸  will receive a severe beating.

Hebrews 10:26-29

10:26 For if we deliberately keep on sinning after receiving the knowledge of the truth, no further sacrifice for sins is left for us, ²⁹  10:27 but only a certain fearful expectation of judgment and a fury ³⁰  of fire that will consume God’s enemies. ³¹  10:28 Someone who rejected the law of Moses was put to death ³²  without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. ³³  10:29 How much greater punishment do you think that person deserves who has contempt for ³⁴  the Son of God, and profanes ³⁵  the blood of the covenant that made him holy, ³⁶  and insults the Spirit of grace?

Hebrews 10:2

10:2 For otherwise would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers would have been purified once for all and so have ³⁷  no further consciousness of sin?

Hebrews 2:1

Warning Against Drifting Away

2:1 Therefore we must pay closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.

[10:12]  ¹ sn The allusion to Sodom, the most wicked of OT cities from Gen 19:1-29, shows that to reject the current message is even more serious than the worst sins of the old era and will result in more severe punishment. The noun Sodom is in emphatic position in the Greek text.

[10:12]  ² tn Or “city.”

[10:13]  ³ sn Chorazin was a town of Galilee that was probably fairly small in contrast to Bethsaida and is otherwise unattested. Bethsaida was declared a polis by the tetrarch Herod Philip, sometime after a.d. 30.

[10:13]  ⁴ tn This introduces a second class (contrary to fact) condition in the Greek text.

[10:13]  ⁵ tn Or “powerful deeds.”

[10:13]  ⁶ map For location see Map1 A2; Map2 G2; Map4 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[10:13]  ⁷ sn Tyre and Sidon are two other notorious OT cities (Isa 23; Jer 25:22; 47:4). The remark is a severe rebuke, in effect: “Even the sinners of the old era would have responded to the proclamation of the kingdom, unlike you!”

[10:15]  ⁸ sn Capernaum was a town on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee, 680 ft (204 m) below sea level. It was a major trade and economic center in the North Galilean region.

[10:15]  ⁹ tn The interrogative particle introducing this question expects a negative reply.

[10:15]  ¹⁰ sn In the OT, Hades was known as Sheol. It is the place where the unrighteous will reside (Matt 11:23; Luke 16:23; Rev 20:13-14).

[10:16]  ¹¹ tn Grk “hears you”; but as the context of vv. 8-9 makes clear, it is response that is the point. In contemporary English, “listen to” is one way to express this function (L&N 31.56).

[10:16]  ¹² sn Jesus linked himself to the disciples’ message: Responding to the disciples (listens to you) counts as responding to him.

[10:16]  ¹³ tn The double mention of rejection in this clause – ἀθετῶν ἀθετεῖ (aqetwn aqetei) in the Greek text – keeps up the emphasis of the section.

[10:16]  ¹⁴ sn The one who sent me refers to God.

[11:24]  ¹⁵ sn This is a reference to an evil spirit. See Luke 4:33.

[11:24]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “man.” This is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo"), referring to both males and females.

[11:24]  ¹⁷ sn The background for the reference to waterless places is not entirely clear, though some Jewish texts suggest spirits must have a place to dwell, but not with water (Luke 8:29-31; Tob 8:3). Some suggest that the image of the desert or deserted cities as the places demons dwell is where this idea started (Isa 13:21; 34:14).

[11:24]  ¹⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[11:24]  ¹⁹ tc ‡ Most mss, including a few early and important ones (Ì⁴⁵ א* A C D W Ψ Ë^1,13 Ï lat), lack τότε (tote, “then”). Other mss, including some early and important ones (Ì⁷⁵ א² B L Θ Ξ 070 33 579 892 1241 pc co), have the adverb. Although the external evidence better supports the longer reading, the internal evidence is on the side of the shorter, for conjunctions and adverbs were frequently added by copyists to remove asyndeton and to add clarification. The shorter reading is thus preferred. The translation, however, adds “Then” because of English stylistic requirements. NA²⁷ has τότε in brackets indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

[11:24]  ²⁰ tn Grk “I will return to my house from which I came.”

[11:25]  ²¹ tn Grk “comes.”

[11:25]  ²² tn The words “the house” are not in Greek but are implied.

[11:25]  ²³ sn The image of the house swept clean and put in order refers to the life of the person from whom the demon departed. The key to the example appears to be that no one else has been invited in to dwell. If an exorcism occurs and there is no response to God, then the way is free for the demon to return. Some see the reference to exorcism as more symbolic; thus the story’s only point is about responding to Jesus. This is possible and certainly is an application of the passage.

[11:26]  ²⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the concluding point of the story.

[11:26]  ²⁵ tn Grk “man.” This is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo"), referring to both males and females.

[11:26]  ²⁶ sn The point of the story is that to fail to respond is to risk a worse fate than when one started.

[12:47]  ²⁷ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[12:47]  ²⁸ tn Grk “or do according to his will”; the referent (the master) has been specified in the translation for clarity. This example deals with the slave who knew what the command was and yet failed to complete it.

[10:26]  ²⁹ tn Grk “is left,” with “for us” implied by the first half of the verse.

[10:27]  ³⁰ tn Grk “zeal,” recalling God’s jealous protection of his holiness and honor (cf. Exod 20:5).

[10:27]  ³¹ tn Grk “the enemies.”

[10:28]  ³² tn Grk “dies.”

[10:28]  ³³ sn An allusion to Deut 17:6.

[10:29]  ³⁴ tn Grk “tramples under foot.”

[10:29]  ³⁵ tn Grk “regarded as common.”

[10:29]  ³⁶ tn Grk “by which he was made holy.”

[10:2]  ³⁷ tn Grk “the worshipers, having been purified once for all, would have.”