Luke 11:9

11:9 “So ¹  I tell you: Ask, ²  and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door ³  will be opened for you.

Luke 19:26

19:26 ‘I tell you that everyone who has will be given more, ⁴  but from the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. ⁵ 

Luke 6:38

6:38 Give, and it will be given to you: A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, ⁶  will be poured ⁷  into your lap. For the measure you use will be the measure you receive.” ⁸ 

Luke 8:18

8:18 So listen carefully, ⁹  for whoever has will be given more, but ¹⁰  whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has ¹¹  will be taken from him.”

Luke 11:29

The Sign of Jonah

11:29 As ¹²  the crowds were increasing, Jesus ¹³  began to say, “This generation is a wicked generation; it looks for a sign, ¹⁴  but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. ¹⁵ 

[11:9]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai, from καγώ [kagw]) has been translated as “so” to indicate the conclusion drawn from the preceding parable.

[11:9]  ² sn The three present imperatives in this verse (Ask…seek…knock) are probably intended to call for a repeated or continual approach before God.

[11:9]  ³ tn Grk “it”; the referent (a door) is implied by the context and has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[19:26]  ⁴ tn Grk “to everyone who has, he will be given more.”

[19:26]  ⁵ sn The one who has nothing has even what he seems to have taken away from him, ending up with no reward at all (see also Luke 8:18). The exact force of this is left ambiguous, but there is no comfort here for those who are pictured by the third slave as being totally unmoved by the master. Though not an outright enemy, there is no relationship to the master either. Three groups are represented in the parable: the faithful of various sorts (vv. 16, 18); the unfaithful who associate with Jesus but do not trust him (v. 21); and the enemies (v. 27).

[6:38]  ⁷ sn The background to the image pressed down, shaken together, running over is pouring out grain for measure in the marketplace. One often poured the grain into a container, shook it to level out the grain and then poured in some more. Those who are generous have generosity running over for them.

[6:38]  ⁸ tn Grk “they will give”; that is, “pour.” The third person plural has been replaced by the passive in the translation.

[6:38]  ⁹ tn Grk “by [the measure] with which you measure it will be measured back to you.”

[8:18]  ¹⁰ tn Or “Therefore pay close attention”; Grk “Take heed therefore how you hear.”

[8:18]  ¹¹ tn Grk “and.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[8:18]  ¹² sn The phrase what he thinks he has is important, because it is not what a person thinks he has that is important but whether he actually has something or not. Jesus describes the person who does not heed his word as having nothing. The person who has nothing loses even that which he thought was something but was not. In other words, he has absolutely nothing at all. Jesus’ teaching must be taken seriously.

[11:29]  ¹³ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[11:29]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:29]  ¹⁵ sn The mention of a sign alludes back to Luke 11:16. Given what Jesus had done, nothing would be good enough. This leads to the rebuke that follows.

[11:29]  ¹⁶ sn As the following comparisons to Solomon and Jonah show, in the present context the sign of Jonah is not an allusion to Jonah being three days in the belly of the fish, but to Jesus’ teaching about wisdom and repentance.