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 3:9

3:9 Even now the ax is laid at the root of the trees, ⁵  and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be ⁶  cut down and thrown into the fire.”

Luke 14:33

14:33 In the same way therefore not one of you can be my disciple if he does not renounce all his own possessions. ⁷ 

Luke 21:7

21:7 So ⁸  they asked him, ⁹  “Teacher, when will these things ¹⁰  happen? And what will be the sign that ¹¹  these things are about to take place?”

Luke 22:70

22:70 So ¹²  they all said, “Are you the Son of God, ¹³  then?” He answered ¹⁴  them, “You say ¹⁵  that I am.”

Luke 23:22

23:22 A third time he said to them, “Why? What wrong has he done? I have found him guilty ¹⁶  of no crime deserving death. ¹⁷  I will therefore flog ¹⁸  him and release him.”

[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.

[3:9]  ⁵ sn Even now the ax is laid at the root of the trees. The imagery of an “ax already laid at the root of the trees” is vivid, connoting sudden and catastrophic judgment for the unrepentant and unfruitful. The image of “fire” serves to further heighten the intensity of the judgment referred to. It is John’s way of summoning all people to return to God with all their heart and avoid his unquenchable wrath soon to be poured out. John’s language and imagery is probably ultimately drawn from the OT where Israel is referred to as a fruitless vine (Hos 10:1-2; Jer 2:21-22) and the image of an “ax” is used to indicate God’s judgment (Ps 74:5-6; Jer 46:22).

[3:9]  ⁶ tn Grk “is”; the present tense (ἐκκόπτεται, ekkoptetai) has futuristic force here.

[14:33]  ⁹ tn Grk “Likewise therefore every one of you who does not renounce all his own possessions cannot be my disciple.” The complex double negation is potentially confusing to the modern reader and has been simplified in the translation. See L&N 57.70.

[21:7]  ¹³ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of Jesus’ comments about the temple’s future destruction.

[21:7]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “asked him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in English and has not been translated.

[21:7]  ¹⁵ sn Both references to these things are plural, so more than the temple’s destruction is in view. The question may presuppose that such a catastrophe signals the end.

[21:7]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “when.”

[22:70]  ¹⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of Jesus’ pronouncement.

[22:70]  ¹⁸ sn The members of the council understood the force of the claim and asked Jesus about another title, Son of God.

[22:70]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “He said to them.”

[22:70]  ²⁰ sn Jesus’ reply, “You say that I am,” was not a denial, but a way of giving a qualified positive response: “You have said it, but I do not quite mean what you think.”

[23:22]  ²¹ tn Grk “no cause of death I found in him.”

[23:22]  ²² sn The refrain of innocence comes once again. Pilate tried to bring some sense of justice, believing Jesus had committed no crime deserving death.

[23:22]  ²³ tn Or “scourge” (BDAG 749 s.v. παιδεύω 2.b.γ). See the note on “flogged” in v. 16.