Luke 5:8

5:8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, ¹  for I am a sinful man!” ² 

Luke 7:37

7:37 Then ³  when a woman of that town, who was a sinner, learned that Jesus ⁴  was dining ⁵  at the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar ⁶  of perfumed oil. ⁷ 

Luke 7:39

7:39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, ⁸  he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, ⁹  he would know who and what kind of woman ¹⁰  this is who is touching him, that she is a sinner.”

[5:8]  ¹ sn Lord is a term of high respect in this context. God’s presence in the work of Jesus makes Peter recognize his authority. This vocative is common in Luke (20 times), but does not yet have its full confessional force.

[5:8]  ² sn Peter was intimidated that someone who was obviously working with divine backing was in his presence (“Go away from me”). He feared his sinfulness might lead to judgment, but Jesus would show him otherwise.

[7:37]  ³ tn Grk “And behold.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative. The Greek word ἰδού (idou) at the beginning of this statement has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[7:37]  ⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:37]  ⁵ tn Grk “was reclining at table.”

[7:37]  ⁶ sn A jar made of alabaster stone was normally used for very precious substances like perfumes. It normally had a long neck which was sealed and had to be broken off so the contents could be used.

[7:37]  ⁷ tn Μύρον (muron) was usually made of myrrh (from which the English word is derived) but here it is used in the sense of ointment or perfumed oil (L&N 6.205). The same phrase occurs at the end of v. 38 and in v. 46.

[7:39]  ⁵ tn The word “this” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[7:39]  ⁶ tn This is a good example of a second class (contrary to fact) Greek conditional sentence. The Pharisee said, in effect, “If this man were a prophet (but he is not)…”

[7:39]  ⁷ sn The Pharisees believed in a form of separationism that would have prevented them from any kind of association with such a sinful woman.