Luke 19:46-48

19:46 saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house will be a house of prayer,’ ¹  but you have turned it into a den ²  of robbers!” ³ 

19:47 Jesus ⁴  was teaching daily in the temple courts. The chief priests and the experts in the law ⁵  and the prominent leaders among the people were seeking to assassinate ⁶  him, 19:48 but ⁷  they could not find a way to do it, ⁸  for all the people hung on his words. ⁹ 

[19:46]  ¹ sn A quotation from Isa 56:7.

[19:46]  ² tn Or “a hideout” (see L&N 1.57).

[19:46]  ³ sn A quotation from Jer 7:11. The meaning of Jesus’ statement about making the temple courts a den of robbers probably operates here at two levels. Not only were the religious leaders robbing the people financially, but because of this they had also robbed them spiritually by stealing from them the opportunity to come to know God genuinely. It is possible that these merchants had recently been moved to this location for convenience.

[19:47]  ⁴ tn Grk “And he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[19:47]  ⁵ tn Grk “and the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 5:21.

[19:47]  ⁶ tn Grk “to destroy.”

[19:48]  ⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[19:48]  ⁸ tn Grk “they did not find the thing that they might do.”

[19:48]  ⁹ sn All the people hung on his words is an idiom for intent, eager listening. Jesus’ popularity and support made it unwise for the leadership to seize him.