Luke 11:31-32

11:31 The queen of the South ¹  will rise up at the judgment ²  with the people ³  of this generation and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon – and now, ⁴  something greater ⁵  than Solomon is here! 11:32 The people ⁶  of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented when Jonah preached to them ⁷  – and now, ⁸  something greater than Jonah is here!

[11:31]  ¹ sn On the queen of the South see 1 Kgs 10:1-3 and 2 Chr 9:1-12, as well as Josephus, Ant. 8.6.5-6 (8.165-175). The South most likely refers to modern southwest Arabia, possibly the eastern part of modern Yemen, although there is an ancient tradition reflected in Josephus which identifies this geo-political entity as Ethiopia.

[11:31]  ² sn For the imagery of judgment, see Luke 10:13-15 and 11:19. The warnings are coming consistently now.

[11:31]  ³ tn Grk “men”; the word here (ἀνήρ, anhr) usually indicates males or husbands, but occasionally is used in a generic sense of people in general, as is the case here (cf. BDAG 79 s.v. 1, 2). The same term, translated the same way, occurs in v. 32.

[11:31]  ⁴ tn Grk “behold.”

[11:31]  ⁵ sn The message of Jesus was something greater than what Solomon offered. On Jesus and wisdom, see Luke 7:35; 10:21-22; 1 Cor 1:24, 30.

[11:32]  ⁶ tn See the note on the word “people” in v. 31.

[11:32]  ⁷ tn Grk “at the preaching of Jonah.”

[11:32]  ⁸ tn Grk “behold.”