Luke 4:26-31

4:26 Yet ¹  Elijah was sent to none of them, but only to a woman who was a widow at Zarephath in Sidon. ²  4:27 And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, ³  yet ⁴  none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.” ⁵  4:28 When they heard this, all the people ⁶  in the synagogue were filled with rage. 4:29 They got up, forced ⁷  him out of the town, ⁸  and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that ⁹  they could throw him down the cliff. ¹⁰  4:30 But he passed through the crowd ¹¹  and went on his way. ¹² 

Ministry in Capernaum

4:31 So ¹³  he went down to Capernaum, ¹⁴  a town ¹⁵  in Galilee, and on the Sabbath he began to teach the people. ¹⁶ 

[4:26]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “yet” to indicate the contrast.

[4:26]  ² sn Zarephath in Sidon was Gentile territory (see 1 Kgs 17:9-24). Jesus’ point was that he would be forced to minister elsewhere, and the implication is that this ministry would ultimately extend (through the work of his followers) to those outside the nation.

[4:27]  ³ sn On Elisha see 2 Kgs 5:1-14.

[4:27]  ⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “yet” to indicate the contrast.

[4:27]  ⁵ sn The reference to Naaman the Syrian (see 2 Kgs 5:1-24) is another example where an outsider and Gentile was blessed. The stress in the example is the missed opportunity of the people to experience God’s work, but it will still go on without them.

[4:28]  ⁵ tn The words “the people” are not in the Greek text but have been supplied.

[4:29]  ⁷ tn Grk “cast.”

[4:29]  ⁸ tn Or “city.”

[4:29]  ⁹ tn The Greek conjunction ὥστε (Jwste) here indicates their purpose.

[4:29]  ¹⁰ sn The attempt to throw him down the cliff looks like “lynch law,” but it may really be an indication that Jesus was regarded as a false prophet who was worthy of death (Deut 13:5). Such a sentence meant being thrown into a pit and then stoned.

[4:30]  ⁹ tn Grk “their midst.”

[4:30]  ¹⁰ tn The verb πορεύομαι (poreuomai) in Luke often suggests divine direction, “to go in a led direction” (4:42; 7:6, 11; 9:51, 52, 56, 57; 13:33; 17:11; 22:22, 29; 24:28). It could suggest that Jesus is on a journey, a theme that definitely is present later in Luke 9-19.

[4:31]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ tn Or “city.”

[4:31]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “them”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.