Luke 4:23

4:23 Jesus ¹  said to them, “No doubt you will quote to me the proverb, ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ ²  and say, ‘What we have heard that you did in Capernaum, ³  do here in your hometown too.’”

Luke 4:31

Ministry in Capernaum

4:31 So ⁴  he went down to Capernaum, ⁵  a town ⁶  in Galilee, and on the Sabbath he began to teach the people. ⁷ 

[4:23]  ¹ tn Grk “And he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[4:23]  ² sn The proverb Physician, heal yourself! means that Jesus should prove his claims. It is a “Prove it to us!” mentality that Jesus says the people have.

[4:23]  ³ sn The remark “What we have heard that you did at Capernaum” makes many suspect that Luke has moved this event forward in sequence to typify what Jesus’ ministry was like, since the ministry in Capernaum follows in vv. 31-44. The location of this event in the parallel of Mark 6:1-6 also suggests this transposition.

[4:31]  ⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the continuation of the topic; in light of his rejection at Nazareth, Jesus went on to Capernaum.

[4:31]  ⁵ sn Capernaum was a town on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee, 680 ft (204 m) below sea level. It was a major trade and economic center in the North Galilean region, and it became the hub of operations for Jesus’ Galilean ministry.

[4:31]  ⁶ tn Or “city.”

[4:31]  ⁷ tn Grk “them”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.