Luke 13:7

13:7 So ¹  he said to the worker who tended the vineyard, ‘For ²  three years ³  now, I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and each time I inspect it ⁴  I find none. Cut ⁵  it down! Why ⁶  should it continue to deplete ⁷  the soil?’

Luke 16:24

16:24 So ⁸  he called out, ⁹  ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus ¹⁰  to dip the tip of his finger ¹¹  in water and cool my tongue, because I am in anguish ¹²  in this fire.’ ¹³ 

Luke 17:6

17:6 So ¹⁴  the Lord replied, ¹⁵  “If ¹⁶  you had faith the size of ¹⁷  a mustard seed, you could say to this black mulberry ¹⁸  tree, ‘Be pulled out by the roots and planted in the sea,’ ¹⁹  and it would obey ²⁰  you.

[13:7]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Grk “Behold, for.”

[13:7]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tc ‡ Several witnesses (Ì⁷⁵ A L Θ Ψ 070 ˹³ 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 ˹ 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]  ⁶ tn Grk “Why indeed.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[13:7]  ⁷ sn Such fig trees would deplete the soil, robbing it of nutrients needed by other trees and plants.

[16:24]  ⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous actions in the narrative.

[16:24]  ⁹ tn Grk “calling out he said”; this is redundant in contemporary English style and has been simplified to “he called out.”

[16:24]  ¹⁰ sn The rich man had not helped Lazarus before, when he lay outside his gate (v. 2), but he knew him well enough to know his name. This is why the use of the name Lazarus in the parable is significant. (The rich man’s name, on the other hand, is not mentioned, because it is not significant for the point of the story.)

[16:24]  ¹¹ sn The dipping of the tip of his finger in water is evocative of thirst. The thirsty are in need of God’s presence (Ps 42:1-2; Isa 5:13). The imagery suggests the rich man is now separated from the presence of God.

[16:24]  ¹² tn Or “in terrible pain” (L&N 24.92).

[16:24]  ¹³ sn Fire in this context is OT imagery; see Isa 66:24.

[17:6]  ¹⁵ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.

[17:6]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “said.”

[17:6]  ¹⁷ tn This is a mixed condition, with ἄν (an) in the apodosis.

[17:6]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “faith as,” “faith like.”

[17:6]  ¹⁹ sn A black mulberry tree is a deciduous fruit tree that grows about 20 ft (6 m) tall and has black juicy berries. This tree has an extensive root system, so to pull it up would be a major operation.

[17:6]  ²⁰ tn The passives here (ἐκριζώθητι and φυτεύθητι, ekrizwqhti and futeuqhti) are probably a circumlocution for God performing the action (the so-called divine passive, see ExSyn 437-38). The issue is not the amount of faith (which in the example is only very tiny), but its presence, which can accomplish impossible things. To cause a tree to be uprooted and planted in the sea is impossible. The expression is a rhetorical idiom. It is like saying a camel can go through the eye of a needle (Luke 18:25).

[17:6]  ²¹ tn The verb is aorist, though it looks at a future event, another rhetorical touch to communicate certainty of the effect of faith.