Luke 2:25

The Prophecy of Simeon

2:25 Now ¹  there was a man in Jerusalem ²  named Simeon who was righteous ³  and devout, looking for the restoration ⁴  of Israel, and the Holy Spirit ⁵  was upon him.

Luke 2:34

2:34 Then ⁶  Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, “Listen carefully: ⁷  This child ⁸  is destined to be the cause of the falling and rising ⁹  of many in Israel and to be a sign that will be rejected. ¹⁰ 

Luke 4:22

4:22 All ¹¹  were speaking well of him, and were amazed at the gracious words coming out of his mouth. They ¹²  said, “Isn’t this ¹³  Joseph’s son?”

Luke 4:36

4:36 They ¹⁴  were all amazed and began to say ¹⁵  to one another, “What’s happening here? ¹⁶  For with authority and power ¹⁷  he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!”

Luke 5:21

5:21 Then ¹⁸  the experts in the law ¹⁹  and the Pharisees began to think ²⁰  to themselves, ²¹  “Who is this man ²²  who is uttering blasphemies? ²³  Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

Luke 7:39

7:39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, ²⁴  he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, ²⁵  he would know who and what kind of woman ²⁶  this is who is touching him, that she is a sinner.”

Luke 8:25

8:25 Then ²⁷  he said to them, “Where is your faith?” ²⁸  But they were afraid and amazed, ²⁹  saying to one another, “Who then is this? He commands even the winds and the water, ³⁰  and they obey him!”

Luke 8:41

8:41 Then ³¹  a man named Jairus, who was a ruler ³²  of the synagogue, ³³  came up. Falling ³⁴  at Jesus’ feet, he pleaded ³⁵  with him to come to his house,

Luke 16:1

The Parable of the Clever Steward

16:1 Jesus ³⁶  also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who was informed of accusations ³⁷  that his manager ³⁸  was wasting ³⁹  his assets.

Luke 18:11

18:11 The Pharisee stood and prayed about himself like this: ⁴⁰  ‘God, I thank ⁴¹  you that I am not like other people: ⁴²  extortionists, ⁴³  unrighteous people, ⁴⁴  adulterers – or even like this tax collector. ⁴⁵ 

Luke 18:14

18:14 I tell you that this man went down to his home justified ⁴⁶  rather than the Pharisee. ⁴⁷  For everyone who exalts ⁴⁸  himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Luke 20:17

20:17 But Jesus ⁴⁹  looked straight at them and said, “Then what is the meaning of that which is written: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’? ⁵⁰ 

Luke 20:28

20:28 They asked him, ⁵¹  “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies leaving a wife but no children, that man ⁵²  must marry ⁵³  the widow and father children ⁵⁴  for his brother. ⁵⁵ 

Luke 23:35

23:35 The people also stood there watching, but the rulers ridiculed ⁵⁶  him, saying, “He saved others. Let him save ⁵⁷  himself if ⁵⁸  he is the Christ ⁵⁹  of God, his chosen one!”

[2:25]  ¹ tn Grk “And behold.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic. 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).

[2:25]  ² map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[2:25]  ³ tn Grk “This man was righteous.” The Greek text begins a new sentence here, but this was changed to a relative clause in the translation to avoid redundancy.

[2:25]  ⁴ tn Or “deliverance,” “consolation.”

[2:25]  ⁵ sn Once again, by mentioning the Holy Spirit, Luke stresses the prophetic enablement of a speaker. The Spirit has fallen on both men (Zechariah, 1:67) and women (Elizabeth, 1:41) in Luke 1–2 as they share the will of the Lord.

[2:34]  ⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[2:34]  ⁷ tn Grk “behold.”

[2:34]  ⁸ tn Grk “this one”; the referent (the child) is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[2:34]  ⁹ sn The phrase the falling and rising of many emphasizes that Jesus will bring division in the nation, as some will be judged (falling) and others blessed (rising) because of how they respond to him. The language is like Isa 8:14-15 and conceptually like Isa 28:13-16. Here is the first hint that Jesus’ coming will be accompanied with some difficulties.

[2:34]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “and for a sign of contradiction.”

[4:22]  ¹¹ tn Grk “And all.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[4:22]  ¹² tn Grk “And they.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[4:22]  ¹³ sn The form of the question assumes a positive reply. It really amounts to an objection, as Jesus’ response in the next verses shows. Jesus spoke smoothly and impressively. He made a wonderful declaration, but could a local carpenter’s son make such an offer? That was their real question.

[4:36]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “And they.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[4:36]  ¹⁷ tn This imperfect verb has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.

[4:36]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “What is this word?” The Greek term λόγος (logos) has a wide range of meaning. Here it seems to mean, “What is this matter?” More idiomatically it would be, “What’s going on here?!”

[4:36]  ¹⁹ sn The phrase with authority and power is in an emphatic position in the Greek text. Once again the authority of Jesus is the point, but now it is not just his teaching that is emphasized, but his ministry. Jesus combined word and deed into a powerful testimony in Capernaum.

[5:21]  ²¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[5:21]  ²² tn Or “Then the scribes.” The traditional rendering of γραμματεύς (grammateu") as “scribe” does not communicate much to the modern English reader, for whom the term might mean “professional copyist,” if it means anything at all. The people referred to here were recognized experts in the law of Moses and in traditional laws and regulations. Thus “expert in the law” comes closer to the meaning for the modern reader.

[5:21]  ²³ tn Or “to reason” (in a hostile sense). See G. Schrenk, TDNT 2:97.

[5:21]  ²⁴ tn The participle λέγοντες (legontes, “saying”) has not been translated because it is redundant in contemporary English.

[5:21]  ²⁵ tn Grk “this one” (οὗτος, Joutos).

[5:21]  ²⁶ sn Uttering blasphemies meant to say something that dishonored God. To claim divine prerogatives or claim to speak for God when one really does not would be such an act of offense. The remark raised directly the issue of the nature of Jesus’ ministry.

[7:39]  ²⁶ tn The word “this” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[7:39]  ²⁷ tn This is a good example of a second class (contrary to fact) Greek conditional sentence. The Pharisee said, in effect, “If this man were a prophet (but he is not)…”

[7:39]  ²⁸ sn The Pharisees believed in a form of separationism that would have prevented them from any kind of association with such a sinful woman.

[8:25]  ³¹ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[8:25]  ³² sn “Where is your faith?” The call is to trust God and realize that those who exercise faith can trust in his care.

[8:25]  ³³ sn The combination of fear and respect (afraid and amazed) shows that the disciples are becoming impressed with the great power at work in Jesus, a realization that fuels their question. For a similar reaction, see Luke 5:9.

[8:25]  ³⁴ sn Jesus’ authority over creation raised a question for the disciples about who he was exactly (“Who then is this?”). This verse shows that the disciples followed Jesus even though they did not know all about him yet.

[8:41]  ³⁶ tn Grk “And behold.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative. 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).

[8:41]  ³⁷ tn Jairus is described as ἄρχων τῆς συναγωγῆς (arcwn th" sunagwghs), the main elder at the synagogue who was in charge of organizing the services.

[8:41]  ³⁸ sn See the note on synagogues in 4:15.

[8:41]  ³⁹ tn Grk “and falling.” 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 in the translation at this point.

[8:41]  ⁴⁰ tn This verb is an imperfect tense, commonly used by Luke for vividness.

[16:1]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:1]  ⁴² tn These are not formal legal charges, but reports from friends, acquaintances, etc.; Grk “A certain man was rich who had a manager, and this one was reported to him as wasting his property.”

[16:1]  ⁴³ sn His manager was the steward in charge of managing the house. He could have been a slave trained for the role.

[16:1]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “squandering.” This verb is graphic; it means to scatter (L&N 57.151).

[18:11]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “stood by himself and prayed like this.” The prepositional phrase πρὸς ἑαυτόν (pros eauton, “to/about himself”) could go with either the aorist participle σταθείς (staqeis, “stood”) or with the imperfect verb προσηύχετο (proshuceto, “he prayed”). If taken with the participle, then the meaning would seem at first glance to be: “stood ‘by himself’,” or “stood ‘alone’.” Now it is true that πρός can mean “by” or “with” when used with intransitive verbs such as ἵστημι ({isthmi, “I stand”; cf. BDAG 874 s.v. πρός 2.a), but πρὸς ἑαυτόν together never means “by himself” or “alone” in biblical Greek. On the other hand, if πρὸς ἑαυτόν is taken with the verb, then two different nuances emerge, both of which highlight in different ways the principal point Jesus seems to be making about the arrogance of this religious leader: (1) “prayed to himself,” but not necessarily silently, or (2) “prayed about himself,” with the connotation that he prayed out loud, for all to hear. Since his prayer is really a review of his moral résumé, directed both at advertising his own righteousness and exposing the perversion of the tax collector, whom he actually mentions in his prayer, the latter option seems preferable. If this is the case, then the Pharisee’s mention of God is really nothing more than a formality.

[18:11]  ⁴⁷ sn The Pharisee’s prayer started out as a thanksgiving psalm to God, but the praise ended up not being about God.

[18:11]  ⁴⁸ tn Here the plural Greek term ἀνθρώπων (anqrwpwn) is used as a generic and can refer to both men and women (NASB, NRSV, “people”; NLT, “everyone else”; NAB, “the rest of humanity”).

[18:11]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “swindlers” (BDAG 134 s.v. ἅρπαξ 2); see also Isa 10:2; Josephus, J. W. 6.3.4 [6.203].

[18:11]  ⁵⁰ sn A general category for “sinners” (1 Cor 6:9; Lev 19:3).

[18:11]  ⁵¹ sn Note what the Pharisee assumes about the righteousness of this tax collector by grouping him with extortionists, unrighteous people, and adulterers.

[18:14]  ⁵¹ sn The prayer that was heard and honored was the one given with humility; in a surprising reversal it was the tax collector who went down to his home justified.

[18:14]  ⁵² tn Grk “the other”; the referent (the Pharisee, v. 10) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:14]  ⁵³ sn Everyone who exalts himself. See Luke 14:11. Jesus often called for humility and condemned those who sought honor.

[20:17]  ⁵⁶ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:17]  ⁵⁷ tn Or “capstone,” “keystone.” Although these meanings are lexically possible, the imagery in Eph 2:20-22 and 1 Cor 3:11 indicates that the term κεφαλὴ γωνίας (kefalh gwnia") refers to a cornerstone, not a capstone.

[20:28]  ⁶¹ tn Grk “asked him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[20:28]  ⁶² tn Grk “his brother”; but this would be redundant in English with the same phrase “his brother” at the end of the verse, so most modern translations render this phrase “the man” (so NIV, NRSV).

[20:28]  ⁶³ tn The use of ἵνα (Jina) with imperatival force is unusual (BDF §470.1).

[20:28]  ⁶⁴ tn Grk “and raise up seed,” an idiom for procreating children (L&N 23.59).

[20:28]  ⁶⁵ sn A quotation from Deut 25:5. Because the OT quotation does not include “a wife” as the object of the verb, it has been left as normal type. This practice is called levirate marriage (see also Ruth 4:1-12; Mishnah, m. Yevamot; Josephus, Ant. 4.8.23 [4.254-256]). The levirate law is described in Deut 25:5-10. The brother of a man who died without a son had an obligation to marry his brother’s widow. This served several purposes: It provided for the widow in a society where a widow with no children to care for her would be reduced to begging, and it preserved the name of the deceased, who would be regarded as the legal father of the first son produced from that marriage.

[23:35]  ⁶⁶ tn A figurative extension of the literal meaning “to turn one’s nose up at someone”; here “ridicule, sneer at, show contempt for” (L&N 33.409).

[23:35]  ⁶⁷ sn The irony in the statement Let him save himself is that salvation did come, but later, not while on the cross.

[23:35]  ⁶⁸ tn This is a first class condition in the Greek text.

[23:35]  ⁶⁹ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”