Luke 12:38

12:38 Even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night ¹  and finds them alert, ²  blessed are those slaves! ³ 

Luke 12:37

12:37 Blessed are those slaves ⁴  whom their master finds alert ⁵  when he returns! I tell you the truth, ⁶  he will dress himself to serve, ⁷  have them take their place at the table, ⁸  and will come ⁹  and wait on them! ¹⁰ 

Luke 13:4

13:4 Or those eighteen who were killed ¹¹  when the tower in Siloam fell on them, ¹²  do you think they were worse offenders than all the others who live in Jerusalem? ¹³ 

[12:38]  ¹ sn The second or third watch of the night would be between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m. on a Roman schedule and 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. on a Jewish schedule. Luke uses the four-watch schedule of the Romans in Acts 12:4, so that is more probable here. Regardless of the precise times of the watches, however, it is clear that the late-night watches when a person is least alert are in view here.

[12:38]  ² tn Grk “finds (them) thus”; but this has been clarified in the translation by referring to the status (“alert”) mentioned in v. 37.

[12:38]  ³ tn Grk “blessed are they”; the referent (the watchful slaves, v. 37) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:37]  ⁴ tn See the note on the word “slave” in 7:2.

[12:37]  ⁵ tn Or “watching”; Grk “awake,” but in context this is not just being awake but alert and looking out.

[12:37]  ⁶ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[12:37]  ⁷ tn See v. 35 (same verb).

[12:37]  ⁸ tn Grk “have them recline at table,” as 1st century middle eastern meals were not eaten while sitting at a table, but while reclining on one’s side on the floor with the head closest to the low table and the feet farthest away.

[12:37]  ⁹ tn The participle παρελθών (parelqwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[12:37]  ¹⁰ sn He…will come and wait on them is a reversal of expectation, but shows that what Jesus asks for he is willing to do as well; see John 13:5 and 15:18-27, although those instances merely foreshadow what is in view here.

[13:4]  ⁷ tn Grk “on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them.” This relative clause embedded in a prepositional phrase is complex in English and has been simplified to an adjectival and a temporal clause in the translation.

[13:4]  ⁸ sn Unlike the previous event, when the tower in Siloam fell on them, it was an accident of fate. It raised the question, however, “Was this a judgment?”

[13:4]  ⁹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.