Matthew 6:5

Private Prayer

6:5 “Whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray while standing in synagogues ¹  and on street corners so that people can see them. Truly I say to you, they have their reward.

Luke 11:43

11:43 Woe to you Pharisees! You love the best seats ²  in the synagogues ³  and elaborate greetings ⁴  in the marketplaces!

Luke 14:7-11

On Seeking Seats of Honor

14:7 Then ⁵  when Jesus ⁶  noticed how the guests ⁷  chose the places of honor, ⁸  he told them a parable. He said to them, 14:8 “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, ⁹  do not take ¹⁰  the place of honor, because a person more distinguished than you may have been invited by your host. ¹¹  14:9 So ¹²  the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this man your place.’ Then, ashamed, ¹³  you will begin to move to the least important ¹⁴  place. 14:10 But when you are invited, go and take the least important place, so that when your host ¹⁵  approaches he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up here to a better place.’ ¹⁶  Then you will be honored in the presence of all who share the meal with you. 14:11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but ¹⁷  the one who humbles ¹⁸  himself will be exalted.”

Luke 14:3

14:3 So ¹⁹  Jesus asked ²⁰  the experts in religious law ²¹  and the Pharisees, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath ²²  or not?”

Luke 1:9

1:9 he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, ²³  to enter ²⁴  the holy place ²⁵  of the Lord and burn incense.

[6:5]  ¹ sn See the note on synagogues in 4:23.

[11:43]  ² tn Or “seats of honor.” The term here is plural and is not a reference only to the lead “seat of Moses” in the synagogue, but includes the front seats near the ark.

[11:43]  ³ sn See the note on synagogues in 4:15.

[11:43]  ⁴ tn Grk “and the greetings.”

[14:7]  ⁵ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[14:7]  ⁶ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[14:7]  ⁷ tn Grk “those who were invited.”

[14:7]  ⁸ tn Or “the best places.” The “places of honor” at the meal would be those closest to the host.

[14:8]  ⁹ tn Or “banquet.” This may not refer only to a wedding feast, because this term can have broader sense (note the usage in Esth 2:18; 9:22 LXX). However, this difference does not affect the point of the parable.

[14:8]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “do not recline in the place of honor.” 1st century middle eastern meals were not eaten while sitting at a table, but while reclining on one’s side on the floor with the head closest to the low table and the feet farthest away.

[14:8]  ¹¹ tn Grk “by him”; the referent (the host) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[14:9]  ¹² tn Grk “host, and.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate this action is a result of the situation described in the previous verse. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[14:9]  ¹³ tn Or “then in disgrace”; Grk “with shame.” In this culture avoiding shame was important.

[14:9]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “lowest place” (also in the repetition of the phrase in the next verse).

[14:10]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “the one who invited you.”

[14:10]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “Go up higher.” This means to move to a more important place.

[14:11]  ¹⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context, which involves the reversal of expected roles.

[14:11]  ¹⁸ sn The point of the statement the one who humbles himself will be exalted is humility and the reversal imagery used to underline it is common: Luke 1:52-53; 6:21; 10:15; 18:14.

[14:3]  ¹⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the sequence of events (Jesus’ question was prompted by the man’s appearance).

[14:3]  ²⁰ tn Grk “Jesus, answering, said.” This is redundant in contemporary English. In addition, since the context does not describe a previous question to Jesus (although one may well be implied), the phrase has been translated here as “Jesus asked.”

[14:3]  ²¹ tn That is, experts in the interpretation of the Mosaic law (traditionally, “lawyers”).

[14:3]  ²² sn “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?” Will the Pharisees and experts in religious law defend tradition and speak out against doing good on the Sabbath? Has anything at all been learned since Luke 13:10-17? Has repentance come (13:6-9)?

[1:9]  ²³ tn Grk “according to the custom of the priesthood it fell to him by lot.” The order of the clauses has been rearranged in the translation to make it clear that the prepositional phrase κατὰ τὸ ἔθος τῆς ἱερατείας (kata to eqo" th" Jierateia", “according to the custom of the priesthood”) modifies the phrase “it fell to him by lot” rather than the preceding clause.

[1:9]  ²⁴ tn This is an aorist participle and is temporally related to the offering of incense, not to when the lot fell.

[1:9]  ²⁵ tn Or “temple.” Such sacrifices, which included the burning of incense, would have occurred in the holy place according to the Mishnah (m. Tamid 1.2; 3.1; 5-7). A priest would have given this sacrifice, which was offered for the nation, once in one’s career. It would be offered either at 9 a.m. or 3 p.m., since it was made twice a day.