Luke 7:24-25

7:24 When ¹  John’s messengers had gone, Jesus ²  began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness ³  to see? A reed shaken by the wind? ⁴  7:25 What ⁵  did you go out to see? A man dressed in fancy ⁶  clothes? ⁷  Look, those who wear fancy clothes and live in luxury ⁸  are in kings’ courts! ⁹ 

Luke 22:52

22:52 Then ¹⁰  Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple guard, ¹¹  and the elders who had come out to get him, “Have you come out with swords and clubs like you would against an outlaw? ¹² 

[7:24]  ¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[7:24]  ² tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:24]  ³ tn Or “desert.”

[7:24]  ⁴ 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.

[7:25]  ⁵ tn Grk “But what.” Here ἀλλά (alla, a strong contrastive in Greek) produces a somewhat awkward sense in English, and has not been translated. The same situation occurs at the beginning of v. 26.

[7:25]  ⁶ tn Or “soft”; see L&N 79.100.

[7:25]  ⁷ sn The reference to fancy clothes makes the point that John was not rich or powerful, in that he did not come from the wealthy classes.

[7:25]  ⁸ tn See L&N 88.253, “to revel, to carouse, to live a life of luxury.”

[7:25]  ⁹ tn Or “palaces.”

[22:52]  ⁹ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[22:52]  ¹⁰ tn This title, literally “official of the temple” (στρατηγὸς τοῦ ἱεροῦ, strathgo" tou Jierou), referred to the commander of the Jewish soldiers who guarded and maintained order in the Jerusalem temple. Here, since the term is plural, it has been translated “officers of the temple guard” rather than “commanders of the temple guard,” since the idea of a number of commanders might be confusing to the modern English reader.

[22:52]  ¹¹ tn Or “a revolutionary.” This term can refer to one who stirs up rebellion: BDAG 594 s.v. λῃστής 2 has “revolutionary, insurrectionist, guerrilla” citing evidence from Josephus (J. W. 2.13.2-3 [2.253-254]). However, this usage generally postdates Jesus’ time. It does refer to a figure of violence. Luke uses the same term for the highwaymen who attack the traveler in the parable of the good Samaritan (10:30).