Luke 4:25

4:25 But in truth I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s days, ¹  when the sky ²  was shut up three and a half years, and ³  there was a great famine over all the land.

Luke 13:7

13:7 So ⁴  he said to the worker who tended the vineyard, ‘For ⁵  three years ⁶  now, I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and each time I inspect it ⁷  I find none. Cut ⁸  it down! Why ⁹  should it continue to deplete ¹⁰  the soil?’

Luke 13:16

13:16 Then ¹¹  shouldn’t ¹²  this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan ¹³  bound for eighteen long ¹⁴  years, be released from this imprisonment ¹⁵  on the Sabbath day?”

Luke 15:29

15:29 but he answered ¹⁶  his father, ‘Look! These many years I have worked like a slave ¹⁷  for you, and I never disobeyed your commands. Yet ¹⁸  you never gave me even a goat ¹⁹  so that I could celebrate with my friends!

[4:25]  ¹ sn Elijah’s days. Jesus, by discussing Elijah and Elisha, pictures one of the lowest periods in Israel’s history. These examples, along with v. 24, also show that Jesus is making prophetic claims as well as messianic ones. See 1 Kgs 17-18.

[4:25]  ² tn Or “the heaven”; the Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context. Since the context here refers to a drought (which produced the famine), “sky” is preferable.

[4:25]  ³ tn Grk “as.” The particle ὡς can also function temporally (see BDAG 1105-6 s.v. 8).

[13:7]  ⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the man’s response as a result of the lack of figs in the preceding clause.

[13:7]  ⁵ tn Grk “Behold, for.”

[13:7]  ⁶ sn The elapsed time could be six years total since planting, since often a fig was given three years before one even started to look for fruit. The point in any case is that enough time had been given to expect fruit.

[13:7]  ⁷ tn The phrase “each time I inspect it” is not in the Greek text but has been supplied to indicate the customary nature of the man’s search for fruit.

[13:7]  ⁸ tc ‡ Several witnesses (Ì⁷⁵ A L Θ Ψ 070 ˹³ 33 579 892 al lat co) have “therefore” (οὖν, oun) here. This conjunction has the effect of strengthening the logical connection with the preceding statement but also of reducing the rhetorical power and urgency of the imperative. In light of the slightly greater internal probability of adding a conjunction to an otherwise asyndetic sentence, as well as significant external support for the omission (א B D W ˹ Ï), the shorter reading appears to be more likely as the original wording here. NA²⁷ puts the conjunction in brackets, indicating some doubts as to its authenticity.

[13:7]  ⁹ tn Grk “Why indeed.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[13:7]  ¹⁰ sn Such fig trees would deplete the soil, robbing it of nutrients needed by other trees and plants.

[13:16]  ⁷ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to show the connection with Jesus’ previous statement.

[13:16]  ⁸ tn Grk “is it not necessary that.” Jesus argues that no other day is more appropriate to heal a descendant of Abraham than the Sabbath, the exact opposite view of the synagogue leader.

[13:16]  ⁹ sn Note that this is again a battle between Satan and God; see 11:18-23.

[13:16]  ¹⁰ tn The word “long” reflects the emphasis added in the Greek text by ἰδού (idou). See BDAG 468 s.v. 1.

[13:16]  ¹¹ tn Or “bondage”; Grk “bond.”

[15:29]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “but answering, he said.” This is somewhat redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified to “but he answered.”

[15:29]  ¹¹ tn Or simply, “have served,” but in the emotional context of the older son’s outburst the translation given is closer to the point.

[15:29]  ¹² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “yet” to bring out the contrast indicated by the context.

[15:29]  ¹³ sn You never gave me even a goat. The older son’s complaint was that the generous treatment of the younger son was not fair: “I can’t get even a little celebration with a basic food staple like a goat!”