Luke 4:31-33

Ministry in Capernaum

4:31 So ¹  he went down to Capernaum, ²  a town ³  in Galilee, and on the Sabbath he began to teach the people. ⁴  4:32 They ⁵  were amazed ⁶  at his teaching, because he spoke ⁷  with authority. ⁸ 

4:33 Now ⁹  in the synagogue ¹⁰  there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean ¹¹  demon, and he cried out with a loud voice,

[4:31]  ¹ 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]  ² 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]  ³ tn Or “city.”

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

[4:32]  ⁵ tn Grk “And they.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[4:32]  ⁶ sn They were amazed. The astonishment shown here is like that in Luke 2:48.

[4:32]  ⁷ tn Grk “because his word was.”

[4:32]  ⁸ sn Jesus’ teaching impressed the hearers with the directness of its claim (with authority). A study of Jewish rabbinic interpretation shows that it was typical to cite a list of authorities to make one’s point. Apparently Jesus addressed the issues in terms of his own understanding.

[4:33]  ⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a specific example of how Jesus spoke with authority (v. 32).

[4:33]  ¹⁰ sn See the note on synagogues in 4:15.

[4:33]  ¹¹ tn Grk “having an unclean, demonic spirit,” that is, an evil spirit. This is the only place Luke uses this lengthy phrase. Normally he simply says an “unclean spirit.”