Luke 2:4

2:4 So ¹  Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth ²  in Galilee to Judea, to the city ³  of David called Bethlehem, ⁴  because he was of the house ⁵  and family line ⁶  of David.

Luke 7:39

7:39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, ⁷  he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, ⁸  he would know who and what kind of woman ⁹  this is who is touching him, that she is a sinner.”

Luke 12:1

Fear God, Not People

12:1 Meanwhile, ¹⁰  when many thousands of the crowd had gathered so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus ¹¹  began to speak first to his disciples, “Be on your guard against ¹²  the yeast of the Pharisees, ¹³  which is hypocrisy. ¹⁴ 

[2:4]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the consequential nature of the action.

[2:4]  ² sn On Nazareth see Luke 1:26.

[2:4]  ³ tn Or “town.” The translation “city” is used here because of its collocation with “of David,” suggesting its importance, though not its size.

[2:4]  ⁴ sn The journey from Nazareth to the city of David called Bethlehem was a journey of about 90 mi (150 km). Bethlehem was a small village located about 7 miles south-southwest of Jerusalem.

[2:4]  ⁵ sn Luke’s use of the term “house” probably alludes to the original promise made to David outlined in the Nathan oracle of 2 Sam 7:12-16, especially in light of earlier connections between Jesus and David made in Luke 1:32. Further, the mention of Bethlehem reminds one of the promise of Mic 5:2, namely, that a great king would emerge from Bethlehem to rule over God’s people.

[2:4]  ⁶ tn Or “family,” “lineage.”

[7:39]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ sn The Pharisees believed in a form of separationism that would have prevented them from any kind of association with such a sinful woman.

[12:1]  ¹³ tn The phrase ἐν οἷς (en Jois) can be translated “meanwhile.”

[12:1]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:1]  ¹⁵ tn According to L&N 27.59, “to pay attention to, to keep on the lookout for, to be alert for, to be on your guard against.” This is another Lukan present imperative calling for constant vigilance.

[12:1]  ¹⁶ sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.

[12:1]  ¹⁷ sn The pursuit of popularity can lead to hypocrisy, if one is not careful.