Luke 13:16

13:16 Then ¹  shouldn’t ²  this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan ³  bound for eighteen long ⁴  years, be released from this imprisonment ⁵  on the Sabbath day?”

Joel 3:10

3:10 Beat your plowshares ⁶  into swords,

and your pruning hooks ⁷  into spears! ⁸ 

Let the weak say, ‘I too am a warrior!’ ⁹ 

[13:16]  ¹ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to show the connection with Jesus’ previous statement.

[13:16]  ² tn Grk “is it not necessary that.” Jesus argues that no other day is more appropriate to heal a descendant of Abraham than the Sabbath, the exact opposite view of the synagogue leader.

[13:16]  ³ sn Note that this is again a battle between Satan and God; see 11:18-23.

[13:16]  ⁴ tn The word “long” reflects the emphasis added in the Greek text by ἰδού (idou). See BDAG 468 s.v. 1.

[13:16]  ⁵ tn Or “bondage”; Grk “bond.”

[3:10]  ⁶ sn Instead of referring to the large plow as a whole, the plowshare is simply the metal tip which actually breaks the earth and cuts the furrow.

[3:10]  ⁷ sn This implement was used to prune the vines, i.e., to cut off extra leaves and young shoots (M. Klingbeil, NIDOTTE 1:1117-18). It was a short knife with a curved hook at the end sharpened on the inside like a sickle.

[3:10]  ⁸ sn This conversion of farming instruments to instruments of war is the reverse of Isa 2:4 (cf. Mic 4:3), where military weapons are transformed into tools for farming. Isaiah describes a time of kingdom blessing and prosperity, whereas Joel describes a time of eschatological conflict and judgment.

[3:10]  ⁹ sn The “weak” individual mentioned here is apparently the farmer who has little or no military prowess or prior fighting experience. Under ordinary circumstances such a person would be ill-prepared for assuming the role of a soldier. However, in the scene that Joel is describing here even the most unlikely candidate will become a participant to be reckoned with in this final conflict.