Luke 12:49

Not Peace, but Division

12:49 “I have come ¹  to bring ²  fire on the earth – and how I wish it were already kindled!

Luke 16:20

16:20 But at his gate lay ³  a poor man named Lazarus ⁴  whose body was covered with sores, ⁵ 

Luke 21:1-2

The Widow’s Offering

21:1 Jesus ⁶  looked up ⁷  and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box. ⁸  21:2 He also saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. ⁹ 

Luke 21:4

21:4 For they all offered their gifts out of their wealth. ¹⁰  But she, out of her poverty, put in everything she had to live on.” ¹¹ 

Luke 14:35

14:35 It is of no value ¹²  for the soil or for the manure pile; it is to be thrown out. ¹³  The one who has ears to hear had better listen!” ¹⁴ 

Luke 21:3

21:3 He ¹⁵  said, “I tell you the truth, ¹⁶  this poor widow has put in more than all of them. ¹⁷ 

Luke 23:19

23:19 (This ¹⁸  was a man who had been thrown into prison for an insurrection ¹⁹  started in the city, and for murder.) ²⁰ 

Luke 3:9

3:9 Even now the ax is laid at the root of the trees, ²¹  and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be ²²  cut down and thrown into the fire.”

Luke 12:28

12:28 And if ²³  this is how God clothes the wild grass, ²⁴  which is here ²⁵  today and tomorrow is tossed into the fire to heat the oven, ²⁶  how much more ²⁷  will he clothe you, you people of little faith!

Luke 13:8

13:8 But the worker ²⁸  answered him, ‘Sir, leave it alone this year too, until I dig around it and put fertilizer ²⁹  on it.

Luke 23:25

23:25 He released the man they asked for, who had been thrown in prison for insurrection and murder. But he handed Jesus over ³⁰  to their will. ³¹ 

Luke 23:34

23:34 [But Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.”] ³²  Then ³³  they threw dice ³⁴  to divide his clothes. ³⁵ 

Luke 4:9

4:9 Then ³⁶  the devil ³⁷  brought him to Jerusalem, ³⁸  had him stand ³⁹  on the highest point of the temple, ⁴⁰  and said to him, “If ⁴¹  you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here,

Luke 5:37

5:37 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. ⁴²  If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed.

Luke 13:19

13:19 It is like a mustard seed ⁴³  that a man took and sowed ⁴⁴  in his garden. It ⁴⁵  grew and became a tree, ⁴⁶  and the wild birds ⁴⁷  nested in its branches.” ⁴⁸ 

Luke 12:58

12:58 As you are going with your accuser before the magistrate, ⁴⁹  make an effort to settle with him on the way, so that he will not drag you before the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, ⁵⁰  and the officer throw you into prison.

[12:49]  ¹ sn This mission statement, “I have come to bring fire on the earth,” looks to the purging and division Jesus causes: See Luke 3:9, 17; 9:54; 17:29 for fire, 5:32; 7:34; 9:58; 12:51 for the topic of mission.

[12:49]  ² tn Grk “cast.” For βάλλω (ballw) in the sense of causing a state or condition, see L&N 13.14.

[16:20]  ³ tn The passive verb ἐβέβλητο (ebeblhto) does not indicate how Lazarus got there. Cf. BDAG 163 s.v. βάλλω 1.b, “he lay before the door”; Josephus, Ant. 9.10.2 (9.209).

[16:20]  ⁴ sn This is the one time in all the gospels that a figure in a parable is mentioned by name. It will become important later in the account.

[16:20]  ⁵ tn Or “was covered with ulcers.” The words “whose body” are implied in the context (L&N 23.180).

[21:1]  ⁵ tn Grk “He”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[21:1]  ⁶ tn Grk “looking up, he saw.” The participle ἀναβλέψας (anableya") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[21:1]  ⁷ tn On the term γαζοφυλάκιον (gazofulakion), often translated “treasury,” see BDAG 186 s.v., which states, “For Mk 12:41, 43; Lk 21:1 the mng. contribution box or receptacle is attractive. Acc. to Mishnah, Shekalim 6, 5 there were in the temple 13 such receptacles in the form of trumpets. But even in these passages the general sense of ‘treasury’ is prob., for the contributions would go [into] the treasury via the receptacles.” Based upon the extra-biblical evidence (see sn following), however, the translation opts to refer to the actual receptacles and not the treasury itself.

[21:2]  ⁷ sn These two small copper coins were lepta (sing. “lepton”), the smallest and least valuable coins in circulation in Palestine, worth one-half of a quadrans or 1/128 of a denarius, or about six minutes of an average daily wage. This was next to nothing in value.

[21:4]  ⁹ tn Grk “out of what abounded to them.”

[21:4]  ¹⁰ tn Or “put in her entire livelihood.”

[14:35]  ¹¹ tn Or “It is not useful” (L&N 65.32).

[14:35]  ¹² tn Grk “they throw it out.” The third person plural with unspecified subject is a circumlocution for the passive here.

[14:35]  ¹³ tn The translation “had better listen!” captures the force of the third person imperative more effectively than the traditional “let him hear,” which sounds more like a permissive than an imperative to the modern English reader. This was Jesus’ common expression to listen and heed carefully (cf. Matt 11:15; 13:9, 43; Mark 4:9, 23; Luke 8:8).

[21:3]  ¹³ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[21:3]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “Truly, I say to you.”

[21:3]  ¹⁵ sn Has put in more than all of them. With God, giving is weighed evaluatively, not counted. The widow was praised because she gave sincerely and at some considerable cost to herself.

[23:19]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “who” (a continuation of the previous sentence).

[23:19]  ¹⁶ sn Ironically, what Jesus was alleged to have done, started an insurrection, this man really did.

[23:19]  ¹⁷ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[3:9]  ¹⁷ sn Even now the ax is laid at the root of the trees. The imagery of an “ax already laid at the root of the trees” is vivid, connoting sudden and catastrophic judgment for the unrepentant and unfruitful. The image of “fire” serves to further heighten the intensity of the judgment referred to. It is John’s way of summoning all people to return to God with all their heart and avoid his unquenchable wrath soon to be poured out. John’s language and imagery is probably ultimately drawn from the OT where Israel is referred to as a fruitless vine (Hos 10:1-2; Jer 2:21-22) and the image of an “ax” is used to indicate God’s judgment (Ps 74:5-6; Jer 46:22).

[3:9]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “is”; the present tense (ἐκκόπτεται, ekkoptetai) has futuristic force here.

[12:28]  ¹⁹ tn This is a first class condition in the Greek text.

[12:28]  ²⁰ tn Grk “grass in the field.”

[12:28]  ²¹ tn Grk “which is in the field today.”

[12:28]  ²² tn Grk “into the oven.” The expanded translation “into the fire to heat the oven” has been used to avoid misunderstanding; most items put into modern ovens are put there to be baked, not burned.

[12:28]  ²³ sn The phrase how much more is a typical form of rabbinic argumentation, from the lesser to the greater. If God cares for the little things, surely he will care for the more important things.

[13:8]  ²¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the worker who tended the vineyard) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:8]  ²² tn Grk “toss manure [on it].” This is a reference to manure used as fertilizer.

[23:25]  ²³ tn Or “delivered up.”

[23:25]  ²⁴ sn He handed Jesus over to their will. Here is where Luke places the major blame for Jesus’ death. It lies with the Jewish nation, especially the leadership, though in Acts 4:24-27 he will bring in the opposition of Herod, Pilate, and all people.

[23:34]  ²⁵ tc Many important mss (Ì⁷⁵ א¹ B D* W Θ 070 579 1241 pc sy^s sa) lack v. 34a. It is included in א*^,2 (A) C D² L Ψ 0250 Ë^1,(13) 33 Ï lat sy^c,p,h. It also fits a major Lukan theme of forgiving the enemies (6:27-36), and it has a parallel in Stephen’s response in Acts 7:60. The lack of parallels in the other Gospels argues also for inclusion here. On the other hand, the fact of the parallel in Acts 7:60 may well have prompted early scribes to insert the saying in Luke’s Gospel alone. Further, there is the great difficulty of explaining why early and diverse witnesses lack the saying. A decision is difficult, but even those who regard the verse as inauthentic literarily often consider it to be authentic historically. For this reason it has been placed in single brackets in the translation.

[23:34]  ²⁶ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[23:34]  ²⁷ tn Grk “cast lots” (probably by using marked pebbles or broken pieces of pottery). A modern equivalent “threw dice” was chosen here because of its association with gambling.

[23:34]  ²⁸ sn An allusion to Ps 22:18, which identifies Jesus as the suffering innocent one.

[4:9]  ²⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[4:9]  ²⁸ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the devil) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:9]  ²⁹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[4:9]  ³⁰ tn Grk “and stood him.”

[4:9]  ³¹ sn The reference to the highest point of the temple probably refers to the one point on the temple’s southeast corner where the site looms directly over a cliff some 450 feet (135 m) high. However, some have suggested the reference could be to the temple’s high gate.

[4:9]  ³² tn This is another first class condition, as in v. 3.

[5:37]  ²⁹ sn Wineskins were bags made of skin or leather, used for storing wine in NT times. As the new wine fermented and expanded, it would stretch the new wineskins. Putting new (unfermented) wine in old wineskins, which had already been stretched, would result in the bursting of the wineskins.

[13:19]  ³¹ sn The mustard seed was noted for its tiny size.

[13:19]  ³² tn Grk “threw.”

[13:19]  ³³ tn Grk “garden, and it.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[13:19]  ³⁴ sn Calling the mustard plant a tree is rhetorical hyperbole, since technically it is not one. This plant could be one of two types of mustard popular in Palestine and would be either 10 or 25 ft (3 or 7.5 m) tall.

[13:19]  ³⁵ tn Grk “the birds of the sky” or “the birds of the heaven”; the Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated either “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context. The idiomatic expression “birds of the sky” refers to wild birds as opposed to domesticated fowl (cf. BDAG 809 s.v. πετεινόν).

[13:19]  ³⁶ sn The point of the parable seems to be that while the kingdom of God may appear to have insignificant and unnoticeable beginnings (i.e., in the ministry of Jesus), it will someday (i.e., at the second advent) be great and quite expansive. The kingdom, however, is not to be equated with the church, but rather the church is an expression of the kingdom. Also, there is important OT background in the image of the mustard seed that grew and became a tree: Ezek 17:22-24 pictures the reemergence of the Davidic house where people can find calm and shelter. Like the mustard seed, it would start out small but grow to significant size.

[12:58]  ³³ sn The term magistrate (ἄρχων, arcwn) refers to an official who, under the authority of the government, serves as judge in legal cases (see L&N 56.29).

[12:58]  ³⁴ sn The officer (πράκτωρ, praktwr) was a civil official who functioned like a bailiff and was in charge of debtor’s prison. The use of the term, however, does not automatically demand a Hellenistic setting (BDAG 859 s.v.; K. H. Rengstorf, TDNT 8:539; C. Maurer, TDNT 6:642).