Luke 7:16-18

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!” 7:17 This ⁶  report ⁷  about Jesus ⁸  circulated ⁹  throughout ¹⁰  Judea and all the surrounding country.

Jesus and John the Baptist

7:18 John’s ¹¹  disciples informed him about all these things. So ¹²  John called ¹³  two of his disciples

[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.

[7:17]  ⁶ tn Grk “And this.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[7:17]  ⁷ sn See Luke 4:14 for a similar report.

[7:17]  ⁸ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:17]  ⁹ tn Grk “went out.”

[7:17]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “through the whole of.”

[7:18]  ¹¹ tn Grk “And John’s.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style. This is a reference to John the Baptist as the following context makes clear.

[7:18]  ¹² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate that John’s action was a result of the report he had heard.

[7:18]  ¹³ tn Grk “And calling two of his disciples, John sent.” The participle προσκαλεσάμενος (proskalesameno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.