Luke 8:5

8:5 “A sower went out to sow ¹  his seed. ²  And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled on, and the wild birds ³  devoured it.

Luke 9:22

9:22 saying, “The Son of Man must suffer ⁴  many things and be rejected by the elders, ⁵  chief priests, and experts in the law, ⁶  and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” ⁷ 

[8:5]  ¹ sn A sower went out to sow. The background for this well-known parable is a field through which a well-worn path runs in the Palestinian countryside. Sowing would occur in late fall or early winter (October to December) in the rainy season, looking for sprouting in April or May and a June harvest. The use of seed as a figure for God’s giving life has OT roots: Isa 55:10-11.

[8:5]  ² tn Luke’s version of the parable, like Mark’s (cf. Mark 4:1-9) uses the collective singular to refer to the seed throughout, so singular pronouns have been used consistently throughout this parable in the English translation. However, the parallel account in Matt 13:1-9 begins with plural pronouns in v. 4 but then switches to the collective singular in v. 5 ff.

[8:5]  ³ tn Grk “the birds of the sky” or “the birds of the heaven”; the Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated either “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context. The idiomatic expression “birds of the sky” refers to wild birds as opposed to domesticated fowl (cf. BDAG 809 s.v. πετεινόν).

[9:22]  ⁴ sn The necessity that the Son of Man suffer is the particular point that needed emphasis, since for many 1st century Jews the Messiah was a glorious and powerful figure, not a suffering one.

[9:22]  ⁵ sn Rejection in Luke is especially by the Jewish leadership (here elders, chief priests, and experts in the law), though in Luke 23 almost all will join in.

[9:22]  ⁶ tn Or “and scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 5:21.

[9:22]  ⁷ sn The description of the Son of Man being rejected…killed, and…raised is the first of six passion summaries in Luke: 9:44; 17:25; 18:31-33; 24:7; 24:46-47.