Luke 5:21

5:21 Then ¹  the experts in the law ²  and the Pharisees began to think ³  to themselves, ⁴  “Who is this man ⁵  who is uttering blasphemies? ⁶  Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

Luke 12:20

12:20 But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life ⁷  will be demanded back from ⁸  you, but who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ ⁹ 

Luke 16:16

16:16 “The law and the prophets were in force ¹⁰  until John; ¹¹  since then, ¹²  the good news of the kingdom of God ¹³  has been proclaimed, and everyone is urged to enter it. ¹⁴ 

[5:21]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[5:21]  ² tn Or “Then the scribes.” The traditional rendering of γραμματεύς (grammateu") as “scribe” does not communicate much to the modern English reader, for whom the term might mean “professional copyist,” if it means anything at all. The people referred to here were recognized experts in the law of Moses and in traditional laws and regulations. Thus “expert in the law” comes closer to the meaning for the modern reader.

[5:21]  ³ tn Or “to reason” (in a hostile sense). See G. Schrenk, TDNT 2:97.

[5:21]  ⁴ tn The participle λέγοντες (legontes, “saying”) has not been translated because it is redundant in contemporary English.

[5:21]  ⁵ tn Grk “this one” (οὗτος, Joutos).

[5:21]  ⁶ sn Uttering blasphemies meant to say something that dishonored God. To claim divine prerogatives or claim to speak for God when one really does not would be such an act of offense. The remark raised directly the issue of the nature of Jesus’ ministry.

[12:20]  ⁷ tn Grk “your soul,” but ψυχή (yuch) is frequently used of one’s physical life. It clearly has that meaning in this context.

[12:20]  ⁸ tn Or “required back.” This term, ἀπαιτέω (apaitew), has an economic feel to it and is often used of a debt being called in for repayment (BDAG 96 s.v. 1).

[12:20]  ⁹ tn Grk “the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” The words “for yourself” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[16:16]  ¹³ tn There is no verb in the Greek text; one must be supplied. Some translations (NASB, NIV) supply “proclaimed” based on the parallelism with the proclamation of the kingdom. The transitional nature of this verse, however, seems to call for something more like “in effect” (NRSV) or, as used here, “in force.” Further, Greek generally can omit one of two kinds of verbs – either the equative verb or one that is already mentioned in the preceding context (ExSyn 39).

[16:16]  ¹⁴ sn John refers to John the Baptist.

[16:16]  ¹⁵ sn Until John; since then. This verse indicates a shift in era, from law to kingdom.

[16:16]  ¹⁶ sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21.

[16:16]  ¹⁷ tn Many translations have “entereth violently into it” (ASV) or “is forcing his way into it” (NASB, NIV). This is not true of everyone. It is better to read the verb here as passive rather than middle, and in a softened sense of “be urged.” See Gen 33:11; Judg 13:15-16; 19:7; 2 Sam 3:25, 27 in the LXX. This fits the context well because it agrees with Jesus’ attempt to persuade his opponents to respond morally. For further discussion and details, see D. L. Bock, Luke (BECNT), 2:1352-53.