Luke 7:16

7:16 Fear ¹  seized them all, and they began to glorify ²  God, saying, “A great prophet ³  has appeared ⁴  among us!” and “God has come to help ⁵  his people!”

Luke 16:15

16:15 But ⁶  Jesus ⁷  said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in men’s eyes, ⁸  but God knows your hearts. For what is highly prized ⁹  among men is utterly detestable ¹⁰  in God’s sight.

Luke 17:20

The Coming of the Kingdom

17:20 Now at one point ¹¹  the Pharisees ¹²  asked Jesus ¹³  when the kingdom of God ¹⁴  was coming, so he answered, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs ¹⁵  to be observed,

[7:16]  ¹ tn Or “Awe.” Grk “fear,” but the context and the following remark show that it is mixed with wonder; see L&N 53.59. This is a reaction to God’s work; see Luke 5:9.

[7:16]  ² tn This imperfect verb has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.

[7:16]  ³ sn That Jesus was a great prophet was a natural conclusion for the crowd to make, given the healing; but Jesus is more than this. See Luke 9:8, 19-20.

[7:16]  ⁴ tn Grk “arisen.”

[7:16]  ⁵ tn Grk “visited,” but this conveys a different impression to a modern reader. L&N 85.11 renders the verb, “to be present, with the implication of concern – ‘to be present to help, to be on hand to aid.’ … ‘God has come to help his people’ Lk 7:16.” The language recalls Luke 1:68, 78.

[16:15]  ⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[16:15]  ⁷ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:15]  ⁸ tn Grk “before men.” The contrast is between outward appearance (“in people’s eyes”) and inward reality (“God knows your hearts”). Here the Greek term ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used twice in a generic sense, referring to both men and women, but “men” has been retained in the text to provide a strong verbal contrast with “God” in the second half of the verse.

[16:15]  ⁹ tn Or “exalted.” This refers to the pride that often comes with money and position.

[16:15]  ¹⁰ tn Or “is an abomination,” “is abhorrent” (L&N 25.187).

[17:20]  ¹¹ tn The words “at one point” are supplied to indicate that the following incident is not necessarily in chronological sequence with the preceding event.

[17:20]  ¹² sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.

[17:20]  ¹³ tn Grk “having been asked by the Pharisees.” The passive construction has been translated as an active one in keeping with contemporary English style, and the direct object, Jesus, has been supplied from the context.

[17:20]  ¹⁴ 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.

[17:20]  ¹⁵ tn Or “is not coming in a way that it can be closely watched” (L&N 24.48). Although there are differing interpretations of what this means, it probably refers to the cosmic signs often associated with the kingdom’s coming in the Jewish view (1 En. 91, 93; 2 Bar. 53—74). See D. L. Bock, Luke (BECNT), 2:1412-14, also H. Riesenfeld, TDNT 8:150.