Luke 12:51-57

12:51 Do you think I have come to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! ¹  12:52 For from now on ²  there will be five in one household divided, three against two and two against three. 12:53 They will be divided, ³  father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

Reading the Signs

12:54 Jesus ⁴  also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, ⁵  you say at once, ‘A rainstorm ⁶  is coming,’ and it does. 12:55 And when you see the south wind ⁷  blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat,’ and there is. 12:56 You hypocrites! ⁸  You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky, but how can you not know how ⁹  to interpret the present time?

Clear the Debts

12:57 “And ¹⁰  why don’t you judge for yourselves what is right?

[12:51]  ¹ tn Or “hostility.” This term pictures dissension and hostility (BDAG 234 s.v. διαμερισμός).

[12:52]  ² sn From now on is a popular phrase in Luke: 1:48; 5:10; 22:18, 69; see Mic 7:6.

[12:53]  ³ tn There is dispute whether this phrase belongs to the end of v. 52 or begins v. 53. Given the shift of object, a connection to v. 53 is slightly preferred.

[12:54]  ⁴ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here καί (kai) has been translated as “also” and δέ (de) has not been translated.

[12:54]  ⁵ sn A cloud rising in the west refers to moisture coming from the Mediterranean Sea.

[12:54]  ⁶ tn The term ὄμβρος (ombro") refers to heavy rain, such as in a thunderstorm (L&N 14.12).

[12:55]  ⁷ sn The south wind comes from the desert, and thus brings scorching heat.

[12:56]  ⁸ sn In Luke, the term hypocrites occurs here, in 6:42, and in 13:15.

[12:56]  ⁹ tc Most mss (Ì⁴⁵ A W Ψ Ë^1,13 Ï lat) have a syntax here that reflects a slightly different rhetorical question: “but how do you not interpret the present time?” The reading behind the translation, however, has overall superior support: Ì⁷⁵ א B L Θ 33 892 1241 pc.

[12:57]  ¹⁰ tn Jesus calls for some personal reflection. However, this unit probably does connect to the previous one – thus the translation of δέ (de) here as “And” – to make a good spiritual assessment, thus calling for application to the spiritual, rather than personal, realm.