Discovery BoxLuke 13:2-15
Context13:2 He 1 answered them, “Do you think these Galileans were worse sinners 2 than all the other Galileans, because they suffered these things? 13:3 No, I tell you! But unless you repent, 3 you will all perish as well! 4 13:4 Or those eighteen who were killed 5 when the tower in Siloam fell on them, 6 do you think they were worse offenders than all the others who live in Jerusalem? 7 13:5 No, I tell you! But unless you repent 8 you will all perish as well!” 9
13:6 Then 10 Jesus 11 told this parable: “A man had a fig tree 12 planted in his vineyard, and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. 13:7 So 13 he said to the worker who tended the vineyard, ‘For 14 three years 15 now, I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and each time I inspect it 16 I find none. Cut 17 it down! Why 18 should it continue to deplete 19 the soil?’ 13:8 But the worker 20 answered him, ‘Sir, leave it alone this year too, until I dig around it and put fertilizer 21 on it. 13:9 Then if 22 it bears fruit next year, 23 very well, 24 but if 25 not, you can cut it down.’”
13:10 Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues 26 on the Sabbath, 13:11 and a woman was there 27 who had been disabled by a spirit 28 for eighteen years. She 29 was bent over and could not straighten herself up completely. 30 13:12 When 31 Jesus saw her, he called her to him 32 and said, “Woman, 33 you are freed 34 from your infirmity.” 35 13:13 Then 36 he placed his hands on her, and immediately 37 she straightened up and praised God. 13:14 But the president of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the crowd, “There are six days on which work 38 should be done! 39 So come 40 and be healed on those days, and not on the Sabbath day.” 13:15 Then the Lord answered him, 41 “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from its stall, 42 and lead it to water? 43
[13:2] 1 tn Grk “And he.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
[13:2] 2 sn Jesus did not want his hearers to think that tragedy was necessarily a judgment on these people because they were worse sinners.
[13:3] 3 sn Jesus was stressing that all stand at risk of death, if they do not repent and receive life.
[13:3] 4 tn Or “you will all likewise perish,” but this could be misunderstood to mean that they would perish by the same means as the Galileans. Jesus’ point is that apart from repentance all will perish.
[13:4] 5 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] 6 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] 7 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[13:5] 8 sn Jesus’ point repeats v. 3. The circumstances make no difference. All must deal with the reality of what death means.
[13:6] 10 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
[13:6] 11 tn Grk “he”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[13:6] 12 sn The fig tree is a variation on the picture of a vine as representing the nation; see Isa 5:1-7.
[13:7] 13 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the man’s response as a result of the lack of figs in the preceding clause.
[13:7] 14 tn Grk “Behold, for.”
[13:7] 15 sn The elapsed time could be six years total since planting, since often a fig was given three years before one even started to look for fruit. The point in any case is that enough time had been given to expect fruit.
[13:7] 16 tn The phrase “each time I inspect it” is not in the Greek text but has been supplied to indicate the customary nature of the man’s search for fruit.
[13:7] 17 tc ‡ Several witnesses (Ì75 A L Θ Ψ 070 Ë13 33 579 892 al lat co) have “therefore” (οὖν, oun) here. This conjunction has the effect of strengthening the logical connection with the preceding statement but also of reducing the rhetorical power and urgency of the imperative. In light of the slightly greater internal probability of adding a conjunction to an otherwise asyndetic sentence, as well as significant external support for the omission (א B D W Ë1 Ï), the shorter reading appears to be more likely as the original wording here. NA27 puts the conjunction in brackets, indicating some doubts as to its authenticity.
[13:7] 18 tn Grk “Why indeed.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
[13:7] 19 sn Such fig trees would deplete the soil, robbing it of nutrients needed by other trees and plants.
[13:8] 20 tn Grk “he”; the referent (the worker who tended the vineyard) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[13:8] 21 tn Grk “toss manure [on it].” This is a reference to manure used as fertilizer.
[13:9] 22 tn This is a third class condition in the Greek text. The conjunction καί (kai, a component of κάν [kan]) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
[13:9] 23 tn Grk “the coming [season].”
[13:9] 24 tn The phrase “very well” is supplied in the translation to complete the elided idea, but its absence is telling.
[13:9] 25 tn This is a first class condition in the Greek text, showing which of the options is assumed.
[13:10] 26 sn See the note on synagogues in 4:15.
[13:11] 27 tn Grk “and behold, a woman.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) at the beginning of this statement has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).
[13:11] 28 tn Grk “a woman having a spirit of weakness” (or “a spirit of infirmity”).
[13:11] 29 tn Grk “years, and.” 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.
[13:11] 30 tn Or “and could not straighten herself up at all.” If εἰς τὸ παντελές (ei" to pantele") is understood to modify δυναμένη (dunamenh), the meaning is “she was not able at all to straighten herself up”; but the phrase may be taken with ἀνακύψαι (anakuyai) and understood to mean the same as the adverb παντελῶς (pantelws), with the meaning “she was not able to straighten herself up completely.” See BDAG 754 s.v. παντελής 1 for further discussion. The second option is preferred in the translation because of proximity: The phrase in question follows ἀνακύψαι in the Greek text.
[13:12] 31 tn The participle ἰδών (idwn) has been taken temporally. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
[13:12] 32 tn The verb προσεφώνησεν (prosefwnhsen) has been translated as “called (her) to (him),” with the direct object (“her”) and the indirect object (“him”) both understood.
[13:12] 33 sn Woman was a polite form of address (see BDAG 208-9 s.v. γυνή), similar to “Madam” or “Ma’am” used in English in different regions.
[13:13] 36 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
[13:13] 37 sn The healing took place immediately.
[13:14] 38 sn The irony is that Jesus’ “work” consisted of merely touching the woman. There is no sense of joy that eighteen years of suffering was reversed with his touch.
[13:14] 39 tn Grk “on which it is necessary to work.” This has been simplified in the translation.
[13:14] 40 tn The participle ἐρχόμενοι (ercomenoi) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
[13:15] 41 tn Grk “answered him and said.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been shortened to “answered him.”
[13:15] 42 tn Grk “from the manger [feeding trough],” but by metonymy of part for whole this can be rendered “stall.”
[13:15] 43 sn The charge here is hypocrisy, but it is only part one of the response. Various ancient laws detail what was allowed with cattle; see Mishnah, m. Shabbat 5; CD 11:5-6.
