Luke 7:49

7:49 But ¹  those who were at the table ²  with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?”

Luke 17:3

17:3 Watch ³  yourselves! If ⁴  your brother ⁵  sins, rebuke him. If ⁶  he repents, forgive him.

Luke 16:9

16:9 And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by how you use worldly wealth, ⁷  so that when it runs out you will be welcomed ⁸  into the eternal homes. ⁹ 

Luke 18:9

The Parable of the Pharisee and Tax Collector

18:9 Jesus ¹⁰  also told this parable to some who were confident that they were righteous and looked down ¹¹  on everyone else.

Luke 21:34

Be Ready!

21:34 “But be on your guard ¹²  so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day close down upon you suddenly like a trap. ¹³ 

Luke 3:8

3:8 Therefore produce ¹⁴  fruit ¹⁵  that proves your repentance, and don’t begin to say ¹⁶  to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ ¹⁷  For I tell you that God can raise up children for Abraham from these stones! ¹⁸ 

Luke 12:1

Fear God, Not People

12:1 Meanwhile, ¹⁹  when many thousands of the crowd had gathered so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus ²⁰  began to speak first to his disciples, “Be on your guard against ²¹  the yeast of the Pharisees, ²²  which is hypocrisy. ²³ 

Luke 12:33

12:33 Sell your possessions ²⁴  and give to the poor. ²⁵  Provide yourselves purses that do not wear out – a treasure in heaven ²⁶  that never decreases, ²⁷  where no thief approaches and no moth ²⁸  destroys.

[7:49]  ¹ tn Grk “And”; here καί (kai) has been translated as an adversative (contrastive).

[7:49]  ² tn Grk “were reclining at table.”

[17:3]  ³ tn It is difficult to know if this looks back or forward or both. The warning suggests it looks back. For this verb, see Luke 8:18; 12:1, 15; 20:46; 21:8, 34. The present imperative reflects an ongoing spirit of watchfulness.

[17:3]  ⁴ tn Both the “if” clause in this verse and the “if” clause in v. 4 are third class conditions in Greek.

[17:3]  ⁵ tn Here the term “brother” means “fellow believer” or “fellow Christian” (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 2.a, contra BDAG 19 s.v. 2.c), but with a familial connotation. It refers equally to men, women, or children. However, because of the familial connotations, “brother” has been retained in the translation here in preference to the more generic “fellow believer” (“fellow Christian” would be anachronistic in this context).

[17:3]  ⁶ tn Grk “And if.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[16:9]  ⁵ tn Grk “unrighteous mammon.” Mammon is the Aramaic term for wealth or possessions. The point is not that money is inherently evil, but that it is often misused so that it is a means of evil; see 1 Tim 6:6-10, 17-19. The call is to be generous and kind in its use. Zacchaeus becomes the example of this in Luke’s Gospel (19:1-10).

[16:9]  ⁶ sn The passive refers to the welcome of heaven.

[16:9]  ⁷ tn Grk “eternal tents” (as dwelling places).

[18:9]  ⁷ tn Grk “He”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:9]  ⁸ tn Grk “and despised.” This is a second parable with an explanatory introduction.

[21:34]  ⁹ tn Grk “watch out for yourselves.”

[21:34]  ¹⁰ sn Or like a thief, see Luke 12:39-40. The metaphor of a trap is a vivid one. Most modern English translations traditionally place the words “like a trap” at the end of v. 34, completing the metaphor. In the Greek text (and in the NRSV and REB) the words “like a trap” are placed at the beginning of v. 35. This does not affect the meaning.

[3:8]  ¹¹ tn The verb here is ποιέω (poiew; see v. 4).

[3:8]  ¹² tn Grk “fruits.” The plural Greek term καρπούς has been translated with the collective singular “fruit” (so NIV; cf. Matt 3:8 where the singular καρπός is found). Some other translations render the plural καρπούς as “fruits” (e.g., NRSV, NASB, NAB, NKJV).

[3:8]  ¹³ tn In other words, “do not even begin to think this.”

[3:8]  ¹⁴ sn We have Abraham as our father. John’s warning to the crowds really assumes two things: (1) A number of John’s listeners apparently believed that simply by their physical descent from Abraham, they were certain heirs of the promises made to the patriarch, and (2) God would never judge his covenant people lest he inadvertently place the fulfillment of his promises in jeopardy. In light of this, John tells these people two things: (1) they need to repent and produce fruit in keeping with repentance, for only that saves from the coming wrath, and (2) God will raise up “children for Abraham from these stones” if he wants to. Their disobedience will not threaten the realization of God’s sovereign purposes.

[3:8]  ¹⁵ sn The point of the statement God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham is that ancestry or association with a tradition tied to the great founder of the Jewish nation is not an automatic source of salvation.

[12:1]  ¹³ tn The phrase ἐν οἷς (en Jois) can be translated “meanwhile.”

[12:1]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:1]  ¹⁵ tn According to L&N 27.59, “to pay attention to, to keep on the lookout for, to be alert for, to be on your guard against.” This is another Lukan present imperative calling for constant vigilance.

[12:1]  ¹⁶ sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.

[12:1]  ¹⁷ sn The pursuit of popularity can lead to hypocrisy, if one is not careful.

[12:33]  ¹⁵ sn The call to sell your possessions is a call to a lack of attachment to the earth and a generosity as a result.

[12:33]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “give alms,” but this term is not in common use today.

[12:33]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “in the heavens.”

[12:33]  ¹⁸ tn Or “an unfailing treasure in heaven,” or “an inexhaustible treasure in heaven.”

[12:33]  ¹⁹ tn The term σής (shs) refers to moths in general. It is specifically the larvae of moths that destroy clothing by eating holes in it (L&N 4.49; BDAG 922 s.v.). See Jas 5:2, which mentions “moth-eaten” clothing.