Luke 2:1

The Census and the Birth of Jesus

2:1 Now ¹  in those days a decree ²  went out from Caesar ³  Augustus ⁴  to register ⁵  all the empire ⁶  for taxes.

Luke 7:17

7:17 This ⁷  report ⁸  about Jesus ⁹  circulated ¹⁰  throughout ¹¹  Judea and all the surrounding country.

Luke 17:29

17:29 but on the day Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. ¹² 

Luke 4:14

The Beginning of Jesus’ Ministry in Galilee

4:14 Then ¹³  Jesus, in the power of the Spirit, ¹⁴  returned to Galilee, and news about him spread ¹⁵  throughout the surrounding countryside. ¹⁶ 

Luke 5:27

The Call of Levi; Eating with Sinners

5:27 After ¹⁷  this, Jesus ¹⁸  went out and saw a tax collector ¹⁹  named Levi ²⁰  sitting at the tax booth. ²¹  “Follow me,” ²²  he said to him.

Luke 4:35

4:35 But ²³  Jesus rebuked him: ²⁴  “Silence! Come out of him!” ²⁵  Then, after the demon threw the man ²⁶  down in their midst, he came out of him without hurting him. ²⁷ 

Luke 8:5

8:5 “A sower went out to sow ²⁸  his seed. ²⁹  And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled on, and the wild birds ³⁰  devoured it.

Luke 8:35

8:35 So ³¹  the people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus. They ³²  found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus’ feet, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid.

[2:1]  ¹ tn Grk “Now it happened that.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[2:1]  ² sn This decree was a formal decree from the Roman Senate.

[2:1]  ³ tn Or “from the emperor” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).

[2:1]  ⁴ sn Caesar Augustus refers to Octavian, who was Caesar from 27 b.c. to a.d. 14. He was known for his administrative prowess.

[2:1]  ⁵ tn Grk “that all the empire should be registered for taxes.” The passive infinitive ἀπογράφεσθαι (apografesqai) has been rendered as an active in the translation to improve the English style. The verb is regarded as a technical term for official registration in tax lists (BDAG 108 s.v. ἀπογράφω a).

[2:1]  ⁶ tn Grk “the whole (inhabited) world,” but this was a way to refer to the Roman empire (L&N 1.83).

[7:17]  ⁷ tn Grk “And this.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[7:17]  ⁸ sn See Luke 4:14 for a similar report.

[7:17]  ⁹ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:17]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “went out.”

[7:17]  ¹¹ tn Grk “through the whole of.”

[17:29]  ¹³ sn And destroyed them all. The coming of the Son of Man will be like the judgment on Sodom, one of the most immoral places of the OT (Gen 19:16-17; Deut 32:32-33; Isa 1:10).

[4:14]  ¹⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[4:14]  ²⁰ sn Once again Jesus is directed by the Spirit. Luke makes a point about Jesus’ association with the Spirit early in his ministry (3:22, 4:1 [2x]; 4:18).

[4:14]  ²¹ tn Grk “went out.”

[4:14]  ²² tn Grk “all the surrounding region.”

[5:27]  ²⁵ tn Grk “And after.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[5:27]  ²⁶ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[5:27]  ²⁷ sn See the note on tax collectors in 3:12.

[5:27]  ²⁸ sn It is possible that Levi is a second name for Matthew, because people often used alternative names in 1st century Jewish culture.

[5:27]  ²⁹ tn While “tax office” is sometimes given as a translation for τελώνιον (telwnion; so L&N 57.183), this could give the modern reader a false impression of an indoor office with all its associated furnishings.

[5:27]  ³⁰ sn Follow me. For similar calls on the part of Jesus see Luke 5:10-11; 9:23, 59; 18:22.

[4:35]  ³¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast involved in Jesus’ reply.

[4:35]  ³² tn Grk “rebuked him, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in English and has not been translated.

[4:35]  ³³ sn The command Come out of him! is an example of Jesus’ authority (see v. 32). Unlike other exorcists, Jesus did not use magical incantations nor did he invoke anyone else’s name.

[4:35]  ³⁴ tn Grk “him”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:35]  ³⁵ sn The departure of the evil spirit from the man without hurting him shows Jesus’ total deliverance and protection of this individual.

[8:5]  ³⁷ sn A sower went out to sow. The background for this well-known parable is a field through which a well-worn path runs in the Palestinian countryside. Sowing would occur in late fall or early winter (October to December) in the rainy season, looking for sprouting in April or May and a June harvest. The use of seed as a figure for God’s giving life has OT roots: Isa 55:10-11.

[8:5]  ³⁸ tn Luke’s version of the parable, like Mark’s (cf. Mark 4:1-9) uses the collective singular to refer to the seed throughout, so singular pronouns have been used consistently throughout this parable in the English translation. However, the parallel account in Matt 13:1-9 begins with plural pronouns in v. 4 but then switches to the collective singular in v. 5 ff.

[8:5]  ³⁹ tn Grk “the birds of the sky” or “the birds of the heaven”; the Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated either “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context. The idiomatic expression “birds of the sky” refers to wild birds as opposed to domesticated fowl (cf. BDAG 809 s.v. πετεινόν).

[8:35]  ⁴³ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the people’s response to the report.

[8:35]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “Jesus, and they.” 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.