Luke 3:7

3:7 So John ¹  said to the crowds ²  that came out to be baptized by him, “You offspring of vipers! ³  Who warned you to flee ⁴  from the coming wrath?

Luke 3:11

3:11 John ⁵  answered them, ⁶  “The person who has two tunics ⁷  must share with the person who has none, and the person who has food must do likewise.”

Luke 6:20

6:20 Then ⁸  he looked up ⁹  at his disciples and said:

“Blessed ¹⁰  are you who are poor, ¹¹  for the kingdom of God belongs ¹²  to you.

Luke 9:23

A Call to Discipleship

9:23 Then ¹³  he said to them all, ¹⁴  “If anyone wants to become my follower, ¹⁵  he must deny ¹⁶  himself, take up his cross daily, ¹⁷  and follow me.

Luke 12:54

Reading the Signs

12:54 Jesus ¹⁸  also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, ¹⁹  you say at once, ‘A rainstorm ²⁰  is coming,’ and it does.

Luke 16:5

16:5 So ²¹  he contacted ²²  his master’s debtors one by one. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’

Luke 23:34

23:34 [But Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.”] ²³  Then ²⁴  they threw dice ²⁵  to divide his clothes. ²⁶ 

[3:7]  ¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (John) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:7]  ² sn The crowds. It is interesting to trace references to “the crowd” in Luke. It is sometimes noted favorably, other times less so. The singular appears 25 times in Luke while the plural occurs 16 times. Matt 3:7 singles out the Sadducees and Pharisees here.

[3:7]  ³ tn Or “snakes.”

[3:7]  ⁴ sn The rebuke “Who warned you to flee…?” compares the crowd to snakes who flee their desert holes when the heat of a fire drives them out.

[3:11]  ⁵ tn Grk “he”; the referent (John) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:11]  ⁶ tn Grk “Answering, he said to them.” This construction with passive participle and finite verb is pleonastic (redundant) and has been simplified in the translation to “answered them.”

[3:11]  ⁷ tn Or “shirt” (a long garment worn under the cloak next to the skin). The name for this garment (χιτών, citwn) presents some difficulty in translation. Most modern readers would not understand what a ‘tunic’ was any more than they would be familiar with a ‘chiton.’ On the other hand, attempts to find a modern equivalent are also a problem: “Shirt” conveys the idea of a much shorter garment that covers only the upper body, and “undergarment” (given the styles of modern underwear) is more misleading still. “Tunic” was therefore employed, but with a note to explain its nature.

[6:20]  ⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[6:20]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “lifting up his eyes” (an idiom). The participle ἐπάρας (epara") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[6:20]  ¹¹ sn The term Blessed introduces the first of several beatitudes promising blessing to those whom God cares for. They serve as an invitation to come into the grace God offers.

[6:20]  ¹² sn You who are poor is a reference to the “pious poor” for whom God especially cares. See Ps 14:6; 22:24; 25:16; 34:6; 40:17; 69:29.

[6:20]  ¹³ sn The present tense (belongs) here is significant. Jesus makes the kingdom and its blessings currently available. This phrase is unlike the others in the list with the possessive pronoun being emphasized. Jesus was saying, in effect, “the kingdom belongs even now to people like you.”

[9:23]  ¹³ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[9:23]  ¹⁴ sn Here them all could be limited to the disciples, since Jesus was alone with them in v. 18. It could also be that by this time the crowd had followed and found him, and he addressed them, or this could be construed as a separate occasion from the discussion with the disciples in 9:18-22. The cost of discipleship is something Jesus was willing to tell both insiders and outsiders about. The rejection he felt would also fall on his followers.

[9:23]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “to come after me.”

[9:23]  ¹⁶ tn This translation better expresses the force of the Greek third person imperative than the traditional “let him deny,” which could be understood as merely permissive.

[9:23]  ¹⁷ sn Only Luke mentions taking up one’s cross daily. To bear the cross means to accept the rejection of the world for turning to Jesus and following him. Discipleship involves a death that is like a crucifixion; see Gal 6:14.

[12:54]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here καί (kai) has been translated as “also” and δέ (de) has not been translated.

[12:54]  ¹⁸ sn A cloud rising in the west refers to moisture coming from the Mediterranean Sea.

[12:54]  ¹⁹ tn The term ὄμβρος (ombro") refers to heavy rain, such as in a thunderstorm (L&N 14.12).

[16:5]  ²¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the result of the manager’s decision.

[16:5]  ²² tn Grk “summoning.” The participle προσκαλεσάμενος (proskalesameno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:34]  ²⁵ tc Many important mss (Ì⁷⁵ א¹ B D* W Θ 070 579 1241 pc sy^s sa) lack v. 34a. It is included in א*^,2 (A) C D² L Ψ 0250 Ë^1,(13) 33 Ï lat sy^c,p,h. It also fits a major Lukan theme of forgiving the enemies (6:27-36), and it has a parallel in Stephen’s response in Acts 7:60. The lack of parallels in the other Gospels argues also for inclusion here. On the other hand, the fact of the parallel in Acts 7:60 may well have prompted early scribes to insert the saying in Luke’s Gospel alone. Further, there is the great difficulty of explaining why early and diverse witnesses lack the saying. A decision is difficult, but even those who regard the verse as inauthentic literarily often consider it to be authentic historically. For this reason it has been placed in single brackets in the translation.

[23:34]  ²⁶ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[23:34]  ²⁷ tn Grk “cast lots” (probably by using marked pebbles or broken pieces of pottery). A modern equivalent “threw dice” was chosen here because of its association with gambling.

[23:34]  ²⁸ sn An allusion to Ps 22:18, which identifies Jesus as the suffering innocent one.