Luke 11:17

11:17 But Jesus, ¹  realizing their thoughts, said to them, ²  “Every kingdom divided against itself is destroyed, ³  and a divided household falls. ⁴ 

Luke 14:5

14:5 Then ⁵  he said to them, “Which of you, if you have a son ⁶  or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?”

Luke 16:21

16:21 who longed to eat ⁷  what fell from the rich man’s table. In addition, the dogs ⁸  came and licked ⁹  his sores.

[11:17]  ¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:17]  ² sn Jesus here demonstrated the absurdity of the thinking of those who maintained that he was in league with Satan and that he actually derived his power from the devil. He first teaches (vv. 17-20) that if he casts out demons by the ruler of the demons, then in reality Satan is fighting against himself, with the result that his kingdom has come to an end. He then teaches (v. 21-22) about defeating the strong man to prove that he does not need to align himself with the devil because he is more powerful. Jesus defeated Satan at his temptation (4:1-13) and by his exorcisms he clearly demonstrated himself to be stronger than the devil. The passage reveals the desperate condition of the religious leaders, who in their hatred for Jesus end up attributing the work of the Holy Spirit to Satan.

[11:17]  ³ tn Or “is left in ruins.”

[11:17]  ⁴ tn Grk “and house falls on house.” This phrase pictures one house collapsing on another, what is called today a “house of cards.”

[14:5]  ⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[14:5]  ⁶ tc Here “son,” found in Ì^45,75 (A) B W Ï, is the preferred reading. The other reading, “donkey” (found in א K L Ψ Ë^1,13 33 579 892 1241 2542 al lat bo), looks like an assimilation to Luke 13:15 and Deut 22:4; Isa 32:20, and was perhaps motivated by an attempt to soften the unusual collocation of “son” and “ox.” The Western ms D differs from all others and reads “sheep.”

[16:21]  ⁹ tn Grk “to eat his fill,” but this phrase has been simplified as “to eat” for stylistic reasons.

[16:21]  ¹⁰ tn The term κύνες (kunes) refers to “wild” dogs (either “street” dogs or watchdogs), not house pets (L&N 4.34).

[16:21]  ¹¹ sn When the dogs came and licked his sores it meant that he was unclean. See the negative image of Rev 22:15 that draws on this picture.