Luke 12:56-59

12:56 You hypocrites! ¹  You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky, but how can you not know how ²  to interpret the present time?

Clear the Debts

12:57 “And ³  why don’t you judge for yourselves what is right? 12:58 As you are going with your accuser before the magistrate, ⁴  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, ⁵  and the officer throw you into prison. 12:59 I tell you, you will never get out of there until you have paid the very last cent!” ⁶ 

[12:56]  ¹ sn In Luke, the term hypocrites occurs here, in 6:42, and in 13:15.

[12:56]  ² 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]  ³ 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.

[12:58]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ 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).

[12:59]  ⁷ tn Here the English word “cent” is used as opposed to the parallel in Matt 5:26 where “penny” appears, since the Greek word there is different and refers to a different but similar coin.