Luke 9:48

9:48 and said to them, “Whoever welcomes ¹  this child ²  in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me, for the one who is least among you all is the one who is great.” ³ 

Luke 18:29

18:29 Then ⁴  Jesus ⁵  said to them, “I tell you the truth, ⁶  there is no one who has left home or wife or brothers ⁷  or parents or children for the sake of God’s kingdom

Luke 20:28

20:28 They asked him, ⁸  “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies leaving a wife but no children, that man ⁹  must marry ¹⁰  the widow and father children ¹¹  for his brother. ¹² 

[9:48]  ¹ tn This verb, δέχομαι (decomai), is a term of hospitality (L&N 34.53).

[9:48]  ² sn Children were very insignificant in ancient culture, so this child would be the perfect object lesson to counter the disciples’ selfish ambitions.

[9:48]  ³ tn Grk “among you all, this one is great.” The absence of a comparative term here makes the point that comparison should not be done.

[18:29]  ⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[18:29]  ⁵ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:29]  ⁶ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[18:29]  ⁷ tn The term “brothers” could be understood as generic here, referring to either male or female siblings. However, it is noteworthy that in the parallel passages in both Matt 19:29 and Mark 10:29, “sisters” are explicitly mentioned in the Greek text.

[20:28]  ⁷ tn Grk “asked him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[20:28]  ⁸ tn Grk “his brother”; but this would be redundant in English with the same phrase “his brother” at the end of the verse, so most modern translations render this phrase “the man” (so NIV, NRSV).

[20:28]  ⁹ tn The use of ἵνα (Jina) with imperatival force is unusual (BDF §470.1).

[20:28]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “and raise up seed,” an idiom for procreating children (L&N 23.59).

[20:28]  ¹¹ sn A quotation from Deut 25:5. Because the OT quotation does not include “a wife” as the object of the verb, it has been left as normal type. This practice is called levirate marriage (see also Ruth 4:1-12; Mishnah, m. Yevamot; Josephus, Ant. 4.8.23 [4.254-256]). The levirate law is described in Deut 25:5-10. The brother of a man who died without a son had an obligation to marry his brother’s widow. This served several purposes: It provided for the widow in a society where a widow with no children to care for her would be reduced to begging, and it preserved the name of the deceased, who would be regarded as the legal father of the first son produced from that marriage.