Luke 17:21-23

17:21 nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is ¹  in your midst.” ² 

The Coming of the Son of Man

17:22 Then ³  he said to the disciples, “The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days ⁴  of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. 17:23 Then people ⁵  will say to you, ‘Look, there he is!’ ⁶  or ‘Look, here he is!’ Do not go out or chase after them. ⁷ 

[17:21]  ¹ tn This is a present tense in the Greek text. In contrast to waiting and looking for the kingdom, it is now available.

[17:21]  ² tn This is a far better translation than “in you.” Jesus would never tell the hostile Pharisees that the kingdom was inside them. The reference is to Jesus present in their midst. He brings the kingdom. Another possible translation would be “in your grasp.” For further discussion and options, see D. L. Bock, Luke (BECNT), 2:1414-19.

[17:22]  ³ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[17:22]  ⁴ sn This is a reference to the days of the full manifestation of Jesus’ power in a fully established kingdom. The reference to “days” instead of “day” is unusual, appearing only here and in v. 26, but it may be motivated merely by parallelism with the “days” of Noah there and the “days of Lot” in v. 28.

[17:23]  ⁵ tn Grk “And they will say.” The plural in Greek is indefinite, referring to people in general. Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[17:23]  ⁶ tn The words “he is” here and in the following clause are understood and have been supplied from the context.

[17:23]  ⁷ sn Do not go out or chase after them. There will be no need to search for the Son of Man at his coming, though many will falsely claim its arrival.