Luke 7:32

7:32 They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to one another, ¹ 

‘We played the flute for you, yet you did not dance; ² 

we wailed in mourning, ³  yet you did not weep.’

Luke 8:12

8:12 Those along the path are the ones who have heard; then the devil ⁴  comes and takes away the word ⁵  from their hearts, so that they may not believe ⁶  and be saved.

Luke 8:14

8:14 As for the seed that ⁷  fell among thorns, these are the ones who hear, but ⁸  as they go on their way they are choked ⁹  by the worries and riches and pleasures of life, ¹⁰  and their fruit does not mature. ¹¹ 

Luke 11:7

11:7 Then ¹²  he will reply ¹³  from inside, ‘Do not bother me. The door is already shut, and my children and I are in bed. ¹⁴  I cannot get up and give you anything.’ ¹⁵ 

Luke 16:8

16:8 The ¹⁶  master commended the dishonest ¹⁷  manager because he acted shrewdly. ¹⁸  For the people ¹⁹  of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their contemporaries ²⁰  than the people ²¹  of light.

[7:32]  ¹ tn Grk “They are like children sitting…and calling out…who say.”

[7:32]  ² sn ‘We played the flute for you, yet you did not dance…’ The children of this generation were making the complaint (see vv. 33-34) that others were not playing the game according to the way they played the music. John and Jesus did not follow “their tune.” Jesus’ complaint was that this generation wanted things their way, not God’s.

[7:32]  ³ tn The verb ἐθρηνήσαμεν (eqrhnhsamen) refers to the loud wailing and lamenting used to mourn the dead in public in 1st century Jewish culture.

[8:12]  ⁴ sn Interestingly, the synoptic parallels each use a different word for the devil here: Matt 13:19 has “the evil one,” while Mark 4:15 has “Satan.” This illustrates the fluidity of the gospel tradition in often using synonyms at the same point of the parallel tradition.

[8:12]  ⁵ sn The word of Jesus has the potential to save if it germinates in a person’s heart, something the devil is very much against.

[8:12]  ⁶ tn The participle πιστεύσαντες (pisteusante") has been translated as a finite verb here. It may be regarded as an adverbial participle of attendant circumstance. From a logical standpoint the negative must govern both the participle and the finite verb.

[8:14]  ⁷ tn Grk “What”; the referent (the seed) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:14]  ⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[8:14]  ⁹ sn That is, their concern for spiritual things is crowded out by material things.

[8:14]  ¹⁰ sn On warnings about the dangers of excessive material attachments, described here as the worries and riches and pleasures of life, see Luke 12:12-21; 16:19-31.

[8:14]  ¹¹ tn The verb τελεσφορέω (telesforew) means “to produce mature or ripe fruit” (L&N 23.203). Once again the seed does not reach its goal.

[11:7]  ¹⁰ tn Κἀκεῖνος (kakeino") has been translated “Then he.”

[11:7]  ¹¹ tn Grk “answering, he will say.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified to “he will reply.”

[11:7]  ¹² tn Grk “my children are with me in the bed.” In Jewish homes in the time of Jesus, the beds were often all together in one room; thus the householder may be speaking of individual beds (using a collective singular) rather than a common bed.

[11:7]  ¹³ tn The syntax of vv. 6-7 is complex. In the Greek text Jesus’ words in v. 6 begin as a question. Some see Jesus’ question ending at v. 6, but the reply starting in v. 8 favors extending the question through the entire illustration. The translation breaks up the long sentence at the beginning of v. 7 and translates Jesus’ words as a statement for reasons of English style.

[16:8]  ¹³ tn Grk “And the.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[16:8]  ¹⁴ sn Is the manager dishonest because of what he just did? Or is it a reference to what he had done earlier, described in v. 1? This is a difficult question, but it seems unlikely that the master, having fired the man for prior dishonesty, would now commend those same actions. It would also be unusual for Jesus to make that point of the story the example. Thus it is more likely the reference to dishonesty goes back to the earliest events, while the commendation is for the cleverness of the former manager reflected in vv. 5-7.

[16:8]  ¹⁵ sn Where this parable ends is debated: Does it conclude with v. 7, after v. 8a, after v. 8b, or after v. 9? Verse 8a looks as if it is still part of the story, with its clear reference to the manager, while 8b looks like Jesus’ application, since its remarks are more general. So it is most likely the parable stops after v. 8a.

[16:8]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “sons” (an idiom).

[16:8]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “with their own generation.”

[16:8]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “sons.” Here the phrase “sons of light” is a reference to the righteous. The point is that those of the world often think ahead about consequences better than the righteous do.