Luke 12:1

Fear God, Not People

12:1 Meanwhile, ¹  when many thousands of the crowd had gathered so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus ²  began to speak first to his disciples, “Be on your guard against ³  the yeast of the Pharisees, ⁴  which is hypocrisy. ⁵ 

Luke 13:34

13:34 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, ⁶  you who kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! ⁷  How often I have longed ⁸  to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but ⁹  you would have none of it! ¹⁰ 

[12:1]  ¹ tn The phrase ἐν οἷς (en Jois) can be translated “meanwhile.”

[12:1]  ² tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:1]  ³ tn According to L&N 27.59, “to pay attention to, to keep on the lookout for, to be alert for, to be on your guard against.” This is another Lukan present imperative calling for constant vigilance.

[12:1]  ⁴ sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.

[12:1]  ⁵ sn The pursuit of popularity can lead to hypocrisy, if one is not careful.

[13:34]  ⁶ sn The double use of the city’s name betrays intense emotion.

[13:34]  ⁷ tn Although the opening address (“Jerusalem, Jerusalem”) is direct (second person), the remainder of this sentence in the Greek text is third person (“who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her”). The following sentences then revert to second person (“your… you”), so to keep all this consistent in English, the third person pronouns in the present verse were translated as second person (“you who kill… sent to you”).

[13:34]  ⁸ sn How often I have longed to gather your children. Jesus, like a lamenting prophet, speaks for God here, who longed to care tenderly for Israel and protect her.

[13:34]  ⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[13:34]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “you were not willing.”