Luke 5:16

5:16 Yet Jesus himself ¹  frequently withdrew ²  to the wilderness ³  and prayed.

Luke 3:2

3:2 during the high priesthood ⁴  of Annas and Caiaphas, the word ⁵  of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. ⁶ 

Luke 4:1

The Temptation of Jesus

4:1 Then ⁷  Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River ⁸  and was led by the Spirit ⁹  in ¹⁰  the wilderness, ¹¹ 

Luke 1:80

1:80 And the child kept growing ¹²  and becoming strong ¹³  in spirit, and he was in the wilderness ¹⁴  until the day he was revealed ¹⁵  to Israel.

Luke 7:24

7:24 When ¹⁶  John’s messengers had gone, Jesus ¹⁷  began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness ¹⁸  to see? A reed shaken by the wind? ¹⁹ 

Luke 3:4

3:4 As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,

“The voice ²⁰  of one shouting in the wilderness: ²¹ 

‘Prepare the way for the Lord,

make ²²  his paths straight.

Luke 4:42

4:42 The next morning ²³  Jesus ²⁴  departed and went to a deserted place. Yet ²⁵  the crowds were seeking him, and they came to him and tried to keep him from leaving them.

Luke 8:29

8:29 For Jesus ²⁶  had started commanding ²⁷  the evil ²⁸  spirit to come out of the man. (For it had seized him many times, so ²⁹  he would be bound with chains and shackles ³⁰  and kept under guard. But ³¹  he would break the restraints and be driven by the demon into deserted ³²  places.) ³³ 

Luke 15:4

15:4 “Which one ³⁴  of you, if he has a hundred ³⁵  sheep and loses one of them, would not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture ³⁶  and go look for ³⁷  the one that is lost until he finds it? ³⁸ 

Luke 9:12

9:12 Now the day began to draw to a close, ³⁹  so ⁴⁰  the twelve came and said to Jesus, ⁴¹  “Send the crowd away, so they can go into the surrounding villages and countryside and find lodging ⁴²  and food, because we are in an isolated place.” ⁴³ 

[5:16]  ¹ tn Here αὐτός (autos) has been translated reflexively.

[5:16]  ² tn Grk “was withdrawing” (ἦν ὑποχωρῶν, hn jJupocwrwn). The adverb “frequently” has been added in the translation to bring out what is most likely an iterative force to the imperfect. However, the imperfect might instead portray an ingressive idea: “he began to withdraw.” See ExSyn 542-43.

[5:16]  ³ tn Or “desert.”

[3:2]  ⁴ sn Use of the singular high priesthood to mention two figures is unusual but accurate, since Annas was the key priest from a.d. 6-15 and then his relatives were chosen for many of the next several years. After two brief tenures by others, his son-in-law Caiaphas came to power and stayed there until a.d. 36.

[3:2]  ⁵ tn The term translated “word” here is not λόγος (logos) but ῥῆμα (rJhma), and thus could refer to the call of the Lord to John to begin ministry.

[3:2]  ⁶ tn Or “desert.”

[4:1]  ⁷ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate continuity with the previous topic.

[4:1]  ⁸ tn “River” is not in the Greek text but is supplied for clarity.

[4:1]  ⁹ sn The double mention of the Spirit in this verse makes it clear that the temptation was neither the fault of Jesus nor an accident.

[4:1]  ¹⁰ tc Most mss (A Θ Ξ Ψ 0102 Ë^1,13 33 Ï lat) read εἰς τὴν ἔρημον (ei" thn erhmon, “into the wilderness”), apparently motivated by the parallel in Matt 4:1. However, the reading behind the translation (ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ, en th ejrhmw) is found in overall better witnesses (Ì^4vid,7,75vid א B D L W 579 892 1241 pc it).

[4:1]  ¹¹ tn Or “desert.”

[1:80]  ¹⁰ tn This verb is imperfect.

[1:80]  ¹¹ tn This verb is also imperfect.

[1:80]  ¹² tn Or “desert.”

[1:80]  ¹³ tn Grk “until the day of his revealing.”

[7:24]  ¹³ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[7:24]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:24]  ¹⁵ tn Or “desert.”

[7:24]  ¹⁶ tn There is a debate as to whether one should read this figuratively (“to see someone who is easily blown over?”) or literally (Grk “to see the wilderness vegetation?…No, to see a prophet”). Either view makes good sense, but the following examples suggest the question should be read literally and understood to point to the fact that a prophet drew them to the desert.

[3:4]  ¹⁶ tn Or “A voice.”

[3:4]  ¹⁷ tn Or “desert.” The syntactic position of the phrase “in the wilderness” is unclear in both Luke and the LXX. The MT favors taking it with “Prepare a way,” while the LXX takes it with “a voice shouting.” If the former, the meaning would be that such preparation should be done “in the wilderness.” If the latter, the meaning would be that the place from where John’s ministry went forth was “in the wilderness.” There are Jewish materials that support both renderings: 1QS 8:14 and 9.19-20 support the MT while certain rabbinic texts favor the LXX (see D. L. Bock, Luke [BECNT], 1:290-91). While it is not absolutely necessary that a call in the wilderness led to a response in the wilderness, it is not unlikely that such would be the case. Thus, in the final analysis, the net effect between the two choices may be minimal. In any case, a majority of commentators and translations take “in the wilderness” with “The voice of one shouting” (D. L. Bock; R. H. Stein, Luke [NAC], 129; I. H. Marshall, Luke [NIGTC], 136; NIV, NRSV, NKJV, NLT, NASB, REB).

[3:4]  ¹⁸ tn This call to “make paths straight” in this context is probably an allusion to preparation through repentance as the verb ποιέω (poiew) reappears in vv. 8, 10, 11, 12, 14.

[4:42]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “When it became day.”

[4:42]  ²⁰ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:42]  ²¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “yet” to indicate that the crowds still sought Jesus in spite of his withdrawal.

[8:29]  ²² tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:29]  ²³ tc ‡ Although the external evidence favors the aorist παρήγγειλεν (parhngeilen, “he commanded”; Ì⁷⁵ B Θ Ξ Ψ Ë¹³ 579 700 1241 1424 2542 pm), the internal evidence favors the imperfect παρήγγελλεν (parhngellen, here translated “he had started commanding”; א A C K L W Γ Δ 1 33 565 892 pm). The aorist is suspect because it can more easily be taken as a single command, and thus an immediate exorcism. The imperfect would most likely be ingressive (BDF §§328; 329; 331), suggesting that Jesus started to command the evil spirit to depart, and continued the command.

[8:29]  ²⁴ tn Grk “unclean.”

[8:29]  ²⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so,” introducing a clause that gives the result of the man being seized by the demon.

[8:29]  ²⁶ tn Or “fetters”; these were chains for the feet.

[8:29]  ²⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[8:29]  ²⁸ tn Grk “into the deserts.” The plural use here has been translated as “deserted places,” that is, uninhabited areas.

[8:29]  ²⁹ sn This is a parenthetical, explanatory comment by the author.

[15:4]  ²⁵ tn Grk “What man.” The Greek word ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used here in a somewhat generic sense.

[15:4]  ²⁶ sn This individual with a hundred sheep is a shepherd of modest means, as flocks often had up to two hundred head of sheep.

[15:4]  ²⁷ tn Or “desert,” but here such a translation might suggest neglect of the 99 sheep left behind.

[15:4]  ²⁸ tn Grk “go after,” but in contemporary English the idiom “to look for” is used to express this.

[15:4]  ²⁹ sn Until he finds it. The parable pictures God’s pursuit of the sinner. On the image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd, see John 10:1-18.

[9:12]  ²⁸ tn Grk “the day began to decline,” looking to the approach of sunset.

[9:12]  ²⁹ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate that the disciples’ request was related to the approach of sunset.

[9:12]  ³⁰ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:12]  ³¹ tn That is, find someone to show them hospitality. L&N 34.61 has “find lodging,” using this verse as an example.

[9:12]  ³² tn Or “in a desert” (meaning a deserted or desolate area with sparse vegetation). Here ὧδε (Jwde) has not been translated.