Luke 10:17-20

10:17 Then ¹  the seventy-two ²  returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons submit to ³  us in your name!” ⁴  10:18 So ⁵  he said to them, “I saw ⁶  Satan fall ⁷  like lightning ⁸  from heaven. 10:19 Look, I have given you authority to tread ⁹  on snakes and scorpions ¹⁰  and on the full force of the enemy, ¹¹  and nothing will ¹²  hurt you. 10:20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice that ¹³  the spirits submit to you, but rejoice ¹⁴  that your names stand written ¹⁵  in heaven.”

[10:17]  ¹ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[10:17]  ² tc See the tc note on the number “seventy-two” in Luke 10:1.

[10:17]  ³ tn Or “the demons obey”; see L&N 36.18.

[10:17]  ⁴ tn The prepositional phrase “in your name” indicates the sphere of authority for the messengers’ work of exorcism.

[10:18]  ⁵ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate that Jesus’ reply in vv. 18-20 follows from the positive report of the messengers in v. 17.

[10:18]  ⁶ tn This is an imperfect tense verb.

[10:18]  ⁷ tn In Greek, this is a participle and comes at the end of the verse, making it somewhat emphatic.

[10:18]  ⁸ tn This is probably best taken as allusion to Isa 14:12; the phrase in common is ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ (ek tou ouranou). These exorcisms in Jesus’ name are a picture of Satan’s greater defeat at Jesus’ hands (D. L. Bock, Luke [BECNT], 2:1006-7).

[10:19]  ⁹ tn Or perhaps, “trample on” (which emphasizes the impact of the feet on the snakes). See L&N 15.226.

[10:19]  ¹⁰ sn Snakes and scorpions are examples of the hostility in the creation that is defeated by Jesus. The use of battle imagery shows who the kingdom fights against. See Acts 28:3-6.

[10:19]  ¹¹ tn Or “I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and [authority] over the full force of the enemy.” The second prepositional phrase can be taken either as modifying the infinitive πατεῖν (patein, “to tread”) or the noun ἐξουσίαν (exousian, “power”). The former is to be preferred and has been represented in the translation.

[10:19]  ¹² tn This is an emphatic double negative in the Greek text.

[10:20]  ¹³ tn Grk “do not rejoice in this, that.” This is awkward in contemporary English and has been simplified to “do not rejoice that.”

[10:20]  ¹⁴ tn The verb here is a present imperative, so the call is to an attitude of rejoicing.

[10:20]  ¹⁵ tn The verb here, a perfect tense, stresses a present reality of that which was a completed action, that is, their names were etched in the heavenly stone, as it were.