Luke 10:42

10:42 but one thing ¹  is needed. Mary has chosen the best ²  part; it will not be taken away from her.”

Luke 8:8

8:8 But ³  other seed fell on good soil and grew, ⁴  and it produced a hundred times as much grain.” ⁵  As he said this, ⁶  he called out, “The one who has ears to hear had better listen!” ⁷ 

[10:42]  ¹ 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]  ² 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”).

[8:8]  ³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in the final stage of the parable.

[8:8]  ⁴ tn Grk “when it grew, after it grew.”

[8:8]  ⁵ sn Unlike the parallel accounts in Matt 13:8 and Mark 4:8, there is no distinction in yield in this version of the parable.

[8:8]  ⁶ tn Grk “said these things.”

[8:8]  ⁷ tn The translation “had better listen!” captures the force of the third person imperative more effectively than the traditional “let him hear,” which sounds more like a permissive than an imperative to the modern English reader. This was Jesus’ common expression to listen and heed carefully (cf. Matt 11:15; 13:9, 43; Mark 4:9, 23; Luke 14:35).