Mark 4:18-19

4:18 Others are the ones sown among thorns: They are those who hear the word, 4:19 but ¹  worldly cares, the seductiveness of wealth, ²  and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, ³  and it produces nothing.

Genesis 3:17-18

3:17 But to Adam ⁴  he said,

“Because you obeyed ⁵  your wife

and ate from the tree about which I commanded you,

‘You must not eat from it,’

cursed is the ground ⁶  thanks to you; ⁷ 

in painful toil you will eat ⁸  of it all the days of your life.

3:18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you,

but you will eat the grain ⁹  of the field.

Jeremiah 4:3

4:3 Yes, ¹⁰  the Lord has this to say

to the people of Judah and Jerusalem:

“Like a farmer breaking up hard unplowed ground,

you must break your rebellious will and make a new beginning;

just as a farmer must clear away thorns lest the seed is wasted,

you must get rid of the sin that is ruining your lives. ¹¹ 

Matthew 13:7

13:7 Other seeds fell among the thorns, ¹²  and they grew up and choked them. ¹³ 

Matthew 13:22

13:22 The ¹⁴  seed sown among thorns is the person who hears the word, but worldly cares and the seductiveness of wealth ¹⁵  choke the word, ¹⁶  so it produces nothing.

Luke 8:7

8:7 Other seed fell among the thorns, ¹⁷  and they grew up with it and choked ¹⁸  it.

Luke 8:14

8:14 As for the seed that ¹⁹  fell among thorns, these are the ones who hear, but ²⁰  as they go on their way they are choked ²¹  by the worries and riches and pleasures of life, ²²  and their fruit does not mature. ²³ 

Luke 12:15

12:15 Then ²⁴  he said to them, “Watch out and guard yourself from ²⁵  all types of greed, ²⁶  because one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

Luke 21:34

Be Ready!

21:34 “But be on your guard ²⁷  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. ²⁸ 

Luke 21:1

The Widow’s Offering

21:1 Jesus ²⁹  looked up ³⁰  and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box. ³¹ 

Luke 6:9-10

6:9 Then ³²  Jesus said to them, “I ask you, ³³  is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath or to do evil, to save a life or to destroy it?” 6:10 After ³⁴  looking around ³⁵  at them all, he said to the man, ³⁶  “Stretch out your hand.” The man ³⁷  did so, and his hand was restored. ³⁸ 

Luke 6:1

Lord of the Sabbath

6:1 Jesus ³⁹  was going through the grain fields on ⁴⁰  a Sabbath, ⁴¹  and his disciples picked some heads of wheat, ⁴²  rubbed them in their hands, and ate them. ⁴³ 

Luke 2:15-16

2:15 When ⁴⁴  the angels left them and went back to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem ⁴⁵  and see this thing that has taken place, that the Lord ⁴⁶  has made known to us.” 2:16 So they hurried off and located Mary and Joseph, and found the baby lying in a manger. ⁴⁷ 

[4:19]  ¹ tn Grk “and.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[4:19]  ² tn Grk “the deceitfulness of riches.” Cf. BDAG 99 s.v. ἀπάτη 1, “the seduction which comes from wealth.”

[4:19]  ³ sn That is, their concern for spiritual things is crowded out by material things.

[3:17]  ⁴ tn Since there is no article on the word, the personal name is used, rather than the generic “the man” (cf. NRSV).

[3:17]  ⁵ tn The idiom “listen to the voice of” often means “obey.” The man “obeyed” his wife and in the process disobeyed God.

[3:17]  ⁶ sn For the ground to be cursed means that it will no longer yield its bounty as the blessing from God had promised. The whole creation, Paul writes in Rom 8:22, is still groaning under this curse, waiting for the day of redemption.

[3:17]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew phrase בַּעֲבוּרֶךָ (ba’avurekha) is more literally translated “on your account” or “because of you.” The idiomatic “thanks to you” in the translation tries to capture the point of this expression.

[3:17]  ⁸ sn In painful toil you will eat. The theme of eating is prominent throughout Gen 3. The prohibition was against eating from the tree of knowledge. The sin was in eating. The interrogation concerned the eating from the tree of knowledge. The serpent is condemned to eat the dust of the ground. The curse focuses on eating in a “measure for measure” justice. Because the man and the woman sinned by eating the forbidden fruit, God will forbid the ground to cooperate, and so it will be through painful toil that they will eat.

[3:18]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew term עֵשֶׂב (’esev), when referring to human food, excludes grass (eaten by cattle) and woody plants like vines.

[4:3]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew particle is obviously asseverative here since a causal connection appears to make little sense.

[4:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Plow up your unplowed ground and do not sow among the thorns.” The translation is an attempt to bring out the force of a metaphor. The idea seems to be that they are to plow over the thorns and make the ground ready for the seeds which will produce a new crop where none had been produced before.

[13:7]  ¹² sn Palestinian weeds like these thorns could grow up to six feet in height and have a major root system.

[13:7]  ¹³ sn That is, crowded out the good plants.

[13:22]  ¹⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[13:22]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “the deceitfulness of riches.” Cf. BDAG 99 s.v. ἀπάτη 1, “the seduction which comes from wealth.”

[13:22]  ¹⁶ sn That is, their concern for spiritual things is crowded out by material things.

[8:7]  ¹⁷ sn Palestinian weeds like these thorns could grow up to six feet in height and have a major root system.

[8:7]  ¹⁸ sn That is, crowded out the good plants.

[8:14]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “What”; the referent (the seed) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:14]  ²⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[8:14]  ²¹ sn That is, their concern for spiritual things is crowded out by material things.

[8:14]  ²² 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]  ²³ 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.

[12:15]  ²⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[12:15]  ²⁵ tn See L&N 13.154 for this use of the middle voice of φυλάσσω (fulassw) in this verse.

[12:15]  ²⁶ tn Or “avarice,” “covetousness.” Note the warning covers more than money and gets at the root attitude – the strong desire to acquire more and more possessions and experiences.

[21:34]  ²⁷ tn Grk “watch out for yourselves.”

[21:34]  ²⁸ 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.

[21:1]  ²⁹ tn Grk “He”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[21:1]  ³⁰ tn Grk “looking up, he saw.” The participle ἀναβλέψας (anableya") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[21:1]  ³¹ tn On the term γαζοφυλάκιον (gazofulakion), often translated “treasury,” see BDAG 186 s.v., which states, “For Mk 12:41, 43; Lk 21:1 the mng. contribution box or receptacle is attractive. Acc. to Mishnah, Shekalim 6, 5 there were in the temple 13 such receptacles in the form of trumpets. But even in these passages the general sense of ‘treasury’ is prob., for the contributions would go [into] the treasury via the receptacles.” Based upon the extra-biblical evidence (see sn following), however, the translation opts to refer to the actual receptacles and not the treasury itself.

[6:9]  ³² tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[6:9]  ³³ sn With the use of the plural pronoun (“you”), Jesus addressed not just the leaders but the crowd with his question to challenge what the leadership was doing. There is irony as well. As Jesus sought to restore on the Sabbath (but improperly according to the leaders’ complaints) the leaders were seeking to destroy, which surely is wrong. The implied critique recalls the OT: Isa 1:1-17; 58:6-14.

[6:10]  ³⁴ tn Grk “And after.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[6:10]  ³⁵ tn The aorist participle περιβλεψάμενος (peribleyameno") has been translated as antecedent (prior) to the action of the main verb. It could also be translated as contemporaneous (“Looking around… he said”).

[6:10]  ³⁶ tn Grk “him”; the referent (the man with the withered hand) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:10]  ³⁷ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[6:10]  ³⁸ sn The passive was restored points to healing by God. Now the question became: Would God exercise his power through Jesus, if what Jesus was doing were wrong? Note also Jesus’ “labor.” He simply spoke and it was so.

[6:1]  ³⁹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:1]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “Now it happened that on.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[6:1]  ⁴¹ tc Most later mss (A C D Θ Ψ [˹³] Ï lat) read ἐν σαββάτῳ δευτεροπρώτῳ (en sabbatw deuteroprwtw, “a second-first Sabbath”), while the earlier and better witnesses have simply ἐν σαββάτῳ (Ì⁴ א B L W ˹ 33 579 1241 2542 it sa). The longer reading is most likely secondary, though various explanations may account for it (for discussion, see TCGNT 116).

[6:1]  ⁴² tn Or “heads of grain.” While the generic term στάχυς (stacus) can refer to the cluster of seeds at the top of grain such as barley or wheat, in the NT the term is restricted to wheat (L&N 3.40; BDAG 941 s.v. 1).

[6:1]  ⁴³ tn Grk “picked and ate some heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands.” The participle ψώχοντες (ywconte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style, and the order of the clauses has been transposed to reflect the logical order, which sounds more natural in English.

[2:15]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “And it happened that when.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[2:15]  ⁴⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[2:15]  ⁴⁶ sn Note how although angels delivered the message, it was the Lord whose message is made known, coming through them.

[2:16]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “a feeding trough.”