Numbers 18:21-24

18:21 See, I have given the Levites all the tithes in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they perform – the service of the tent of meeting. 18:22 No longer may the Israelites approach the tent of meeting, or else they will bear their sin ¹  and die. 18:23 But the Levites must perform the service ²  of the tent of meeting, and they must bear their iniquity. ³  It will be a perpetual ordinance throughout your generations that among the Israelites the Levites ⁴  have no inheritance. ⁵  18:24 But I have given ⁶  to the Levites for an inheritance the tithes of the Israelites that are offered ⁷  to the Lord as a raised offering. That is why I said to them that among the Israelites they are to have no inheritance.”

Deuteronomy 12:17-19

12:17 You will not be allowed to eat in your villages your tithe of grain, new wine, olive oil, the firstborn of your herd and flock, any votive offerings you have vowed, or your freewill and personal offerings. 12:18 Only in the presence of the Lord your God may you eat these, in the place he ⁸  chooses. This applies to you, your son, your daughter, your male and female servants, and the Levites ⁹  in your villages. In that place you will rejoice before the Lord your God in all the output of your labor. ¹⁰  12:19 Be careful not to overlook the Levites as long as you live in the land.

Luke 10:1-8

The Mission of the Seventy-Two

10:1 After this ¹¹  the Lord appointed seventy-two ¹²  others and sent them on ahead of him two by two into every town ¹³  and place where he himself was about to go. 10:2 He ¹⁴  said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore ask the Lord of the harvest ¹⁵  to send out ¹⁶  workers into his harvest. 10:3 Go! I ¹⁷  am sending you out like lambs ¹⁸  surrounded by wolves. ¹⁹  10:4 Do not carry ²⁰  a money bag, ²¹  a traveler’s bag, ²²  or sandals, and greet no one on the road. ²³  10:5 Whenever ²⁴  you enter a house, ²⁵  first say, ‘May peace ²⁶  be on this house!’ 10:6 And if a peace-loving person ²⁷  is there, your peace will remain on him, but if not, it will return to you. ²⁸  10:7 Stay ²⁹  in that same house, eating and drinking what they give you, ³⁰  for the worker deserves his pay. ³¹  Do not move around from house to house. 10:8 Whenever ³²  you enter a town ³³  and the people ³⁴  welcome you, eat what is set before you.

Luke 10:1

The Mission of the Seventy-Two

10:1 After this ³⁵  the Lord appointed seventy-two ³⁶  others and sent them on ahead of him two by two into every town ³⁷  and place where he himself was about to go.

Luke 5:12-13

Healing a Leper

5:12 While ³⁸  Jesus ³⁹  was in one of the towns, ⁴⁰  a man came ⁴¹  to him who was covered with ⁴²  leprosy. ⁴³  When ⁴⁴  he saw Jesus, he bowed down with his face to the ground ⁴⁵  and begged him, ⁴⁶  “Lord, if ⁴⁷  you are willing, you can make me clean.” 5:13 So ⁴⁸  he stretched out his hand and touched ⁴⁹  him, saying, “I am willing. Be clean!” And immediately the leprosy left him.

[18:22]  ¹ tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive construct of the verb “to bear” with the lamed (ל) preposition to express the result of such an action. “To bear their sin” would mean that they would have to suffer the consequences of their sin.

[18:23]  ² tn The verse begins with the perfect tense of עָבַד (’avad) with vav (ו) consecutive, making the form equal to the instructions preceding it. As its object the verb has the cognate accusative “service.”

[18:23]  ³ sn The Levites have the care of the tent of meeting, and so they are responsible for any transgressions against it.

[18:23]  ⁴ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Levites) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[18:23]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew text uses both the verb and the object from the same root to stress the point: They will not inherit an inheritance. The inheritance refers to land.

[18:24]  ⁶ tn The classification of the perfect tense here too could be the perfect of resolve, since this law is declaring what will be their portion – “I have decided to give.”

[18:24]  ⁷ tn In the Hebrew text the verb has no expressed subject (although the “Israelites” is certainly intended), and so it can be rendered as a passive.

[12:18]  ⁸ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in 12:5.

[12:18]  ⁹ tn See note at Deut 12:12.

[12:18]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “in all the sending forth of your hands.”

[10:1]  ¹¹ tn Grk “And after these things.” Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[10:1]  ¹² tc There is a difficult textual problem here and in v. 17, where the number is either “seventy” (א A C L W Θ Ξ Ψ Ë^1,13 Ï and several church fathers and early versions) or “seventy-two” (Ì⁷⁵ B D 0181 pc lat as well as other versions and fathers). The more difficult reading is “seventy-two,” since scribes would be prone to assimilate this passage to several OT passages that refer to groups of seventy people (Num 11:13-17; Deut 10:22; Judg 8:30; 2 Kgs 10:1 et al.); this reading also has slightly better ms support. “Seventy” could be the preferred reading if scribes drew from the tradition of the number of translators of the LXX, which the Letter of Aristeas puts at seventy-two (TCGNT 127), although this is far less likely. All things considered, “seventy-two” is a much more difficult reading and accounts for the rise of the other. Only Luke notes a second larger mission like the one in 9:1-6.

[10:1]  ¹³ tn Or “city.”

[10:2]  ¹⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[10:2]  ¹⁵ sn The phrase Lord of the harvest recognizes God’s sovereignty over the harvest process.

[10:2]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “to thrust out.”

[10:3]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “Behold I.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[10:3]  ¹⁸ sn On the imagery of lambs see Isa 40:11, Ezek 34:11-31, and John 10:1-18.

[10:3]  ¹⁹ sn This imagery of wolves is found in intertestamental Judaism as well; see Pss. Sol. 8:23.

[10:4]  ²⁰ sn On the command Do not carry see Luke 9:3. The travel instructions communicate a note of urgency and stand in contrast to philosophical teachers, who often took a bag. There is no ostentation in this ministry.

[10:4]  ²¹ tn Traditionally, “a purse.”

[10:4]  ²² tn Or possibly “a beggar’s bag” (L&N 6.145; BDAG 811 s.v. πήρα).

[10:4]  ²³ tn Or “no one along the way.”

[10:5]  ²⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[10:5]  ²⁵ tn Grk “Into whatever house you enter.” This acts as a distributive, meaning every house they enter; this is expressed more naturally in English as “whenever you enter a house.”

[10:5]  ²⁶ sn The statement ‘May peace be on this house!’ is really a benediction, asking for God’s blessing. The requested shalom (peace) is understood as coming from God.

[10:6]  ²⁷ tn Grk “a son of peace,” a Hebrew idiom for a person of a certain class or kind, as specified by the following genitive construction (in this case, “of peace”). Such constructions are discussed further in L&N 9.4. Here the expression refers to someone who responds positively to the disciples’ message, like “wisdom’s child” in Luke 7:30.

[10:6]  ²⁸ sn The response to these messengers determines how God’s blessing is bestowed – if they are not welcomed with peace, their blessing will return to them. Jesus shows just how important their mission is by this remark.

[10:7]  ²⁹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[10:7]  ³⁰ tn Grk “eating and drinking the things from them” (an idiom for what the people in the house provide the guests).

[10:7]  ³¹ sn On the phrase the worker deserves his pay see 1 Tim 5:18 and 1 Cor 9:14.

[10:8]  ³² tn Grk “And whatever town you enter,” but this is more often expressed in English as “whenever you enter a town.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[10:8]  ³³ tn Or “city.” Jesus now speaks of the town as a whole, as he will in vv. 10-12.

[10:8]  ³⁴ tn Grk “and they”; the referent (the people who live in the town) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:1]  ³⁵ tn Grk “And after these things.” Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[10:1]  ³⁶ tc There is a difficult textual problem here and in v. 17, where the number is either “seventy” (א A C L W Θ Ξ Ψ Ë^1,13 Ï and several church fathers and early versions) or “seventy-two” (Ì⁷⁵ B D 0181 pc lat as well as other versions and fathers). The more difficult reading is “seventy-two,” since scribes would be prone to assimilate this passage to several OT passages that refer to groups of seventy people (Num 11:13-17; Deut 10:22; Judg 8:30; 2 Kgs 10:1 et al.); this reading also has slightly better ms support. “Seventy” could be the preferred reading if scribes drew from the tradition of the number of translators of the LXX, which the Letter of Aristeas puts at seventy-two (TCGNT 127), although this is far less likely. All things considered, “seventy-two” is a much more difficult reading and accounts for the rise of the other. Only Luke notes a second larger mission like the one in 9:1-6.

[10:1]  ³⁷ tn Or “city.”

[5:12]  ³⁸ tn Grk “And it happened that while.” 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.

[5:12]  ³⁹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:12]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “cities.”

[5:12]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “towns, behold, a man covered with leprosy.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou, “behold”) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[5:12]  ⁴² tn Grk “full of leprosy” (an idiom for a severe condition).

[5:12]  ⁴³ sn The ancient term for leprosy covers a wider array of conditions than what is called leprosy today. A leper was totally ostracized from society until he was declared cured (Lev 13:45-46).

[5:12]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “And seeing.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, δέ (de) has not been translated here. The participle ἰδών (idwn) has been taken temporally.

[5:12]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “he fell on his face”; an idiom for bowing down with one’s face to the ground.

[5:12]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “and begged him, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in English and has not been translated.

[5:12]  ⁴⁷ tn This is a third class condition. The report portrays the leper making no presumptions about whether Jesus will heal him or not.

[5:13]  ⁴⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the response of Jesus to the man’s request.

[5:13]  ⁴⁹ sn Touched. This touch would have rendered Jesus ceremonially unclean (Lev 14:46; also Mishnah, m. Nega’im 3.1; 11.1; 12.1; 13.6-12).