Luke 3:15

3:15 While the people were filled with anticipation ¹  and they all wondered ²  whether perhaps John ³  could be the Christ, ⁴ 

Luke 14:8

14:8 “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, ⁵  do not take ⁶  the place of honor, because a person more distinguished than you may have been invited by your host. ⁷ 

Luke 21:34

Be Ready!

21:34 “But be on your guard ⁸  so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day close down upon you suddenly like a trap. ⁹ 

[3:15]  ¹ tn Or “with expectation.” The participle προσδοκῶντος (prosdokwnto") is taken temporally.

[3:15]  ² tn Grk “pondered in their hearts.”

[3:15]  ³ tn Grk “in their hearts concerning John, (whether) perhaps he might be the Christ.” The translation simplifies the style here.

[3:15]  ⁴ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[14:8]  ⁵ tn Or “banquet.” This may not refer only to a wedding feast, because this term can have broader sense (note the usage in Esth 2:18; 9:22 LXX). However, this difference does not affect the point of the parable.

[14:8]  ⁶ tn Grk “do not recline in the place of honor.” 1st century middle eastern meals were not eaten while sitting at a table, but while reclining on one’s side on the floor with the head closest to the low table and the feet farthest away.

[14:8]  ⁷ tn Grk “by him”; the referent (the host) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:34]  ⁹ tn Grk “watch out for yourselves.”

[21:34]  ¹⁰ sn Or like a thief, see Luke 12:39-40. The metaphor of a trap is a vivid one. Most modern English translations traditionally place the words “like a trap” at the end of v. 34, completing the metaphor. In the Greek text (and in the NRSV and REB) the words “like a trap” are placed at the beginning of v. 35. This does not affect the meaning.