Lukas 5:23

5:23 Which is easier, ¹  to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Stand up and walk’?

Lukas 8:2

8:2 and also some women ²  who had been healed of evil spirits and disabilities: ³  Mary ⁴  (called Magdalene), from whom seven demons had gone out,

Lukas 9:58

9:58 Jesus said to him, “Foxes have dens and the birds in the sky ⁵  have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” ⁶ 

Lukas 10:40

10:40 But Martha was distracted ⁷  with all the preparations she had to make, ⁸  so ⁹  she came up to him and said, “Lord, don’t you care ¹⁰  that my sister has left me to do all the work ¹¹  alone? Tell ¹²  her to help me.”

Lukas 11:22

11:22 But ¹³  when a stronger man ¹⁴  attacks ¹⁵  and conquers him, he takes away the first man’s ¹⁶  armor on which the man relied ¹⁷  and divides up ¹⁸  his plunder. ¹⁹ 

Lukas 13:24

13:24 “Exert every effort ²⁰  to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.

Lukas 15:20

15:20 So ²¹  he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way from home ²²  his father saw him, and his heart went out to him; ²³  he ran and hugged ²⁴  his son ²⁵  and kissed him.

Lukas 15:27

15:27 The slave replied, ²⁶  ‘Your brother has returned, and your father has killed the fattened calf ²⁷  because he got his son ²⁸  back safe and sound.’

Lukas 18:10

18:10 “Two men went up ²⁹  to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee ³⁰  and the other a tax collector. ³¹ 

¹ sn Which is easier is a reflective kind of question. On the one hand to declare sins are forgiven is easier, since one does not need to see it, unlike telling a paralyzed person to walk. On the other hand, it is harder, because for it to be true one must possess the authority to forgive the sin.

² sn There is an important respect shown to women in this text, as their contributions were often ignored in ancient society.

³ tn Or “illnesses.” The term ἀσθένεια (asqeneia) refers to the state of being ill and thus incapacitated in some way – “illness, disability, weakness.” (L&N 23.143).

⁴ sn This Mary is not the woman mentioned in the previous passage (as some church fathers claimed), because she is introduced as a new figure here. In addition, she is further specified by Luke with the notation called Magdalene, which seems to distinguish her from the woman at Simon the Pharisee’s house.

⁵ tn Grk “the birds of the sky” or “the birds of the heaven”; the Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated either “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context. The idiomatic expression “birds of the sky” refers to wild birds as opposed to domesticated fowl (cf. BDAG 809 s.v. πετεινόν).

⁶ sn Jesus’ reply is simply this: Does the man understand the rejection he will be facing? Jesus has no home in the world (the Son of Man has no place to lay his head).

⁷ sn The term distracted means “to be pulled away” by something (L&N 25.238). It is a narrative comment that makes clear who is right in the account.

⁸ tn Grk “with much serving.”

⁹ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate that the following was a result of Martha’s distraction.

¹⁰ tn The negative οὐ (ou) used with the verb expects a positive reply. Martha expected Jesus to respond and rebuke Mary.

¹¹ tn Grk “has left me to serve alone.”

¹² tn The conjunction οὖν (oun, “then, therefore”) has not been translated here.

¹³ tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

¹⁴ tn The referent of the expression “a stronger man” is Jesus.

¹⁵ tn Grk “stronger man than he attacks.”

¹⁶ tn Grk “his”; the referent (the first man mentioned) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁷ tn Grk “on which he relied.”

¹⁸ tn Or “and distributes.”

¹⁹ sn Some see the imagery here as similar to Eph 4:7-10, although no opponents are explicitly named in that passage. Jesus has the victory over Satan. Jesus’ acts of healing mean that the war is being won and the kingdom is coming.

²⁰ tn Or “Make every effort” (L&N 68.74; cf. NIV); “Do your best” (TEV); “Work hard” (NLT); Grk “Struggle.” The idea is to exert one’s maximum effort (cf. BDAG 17 s.v. ἀγωνίζομαι 2.b, “strain every nerve to enter”) because of the supreme importance of attaining entry into the kingdom of God.

²¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the result of the son’s decision to return home. Greek style often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” but English style generally does not.

²² tn Grk “a long way off from [home].” The word “home” is implied (L&N 85.16).

²³ tn Or “felt great affection for him,” “felt great pity for him.”

sn The major figure of the parable, the forgiving father, represents God the Father and his compassionate response. God is ready with open arms to welcome the sinner who comes back to him.

²⁴ tn Grk “he fell on his neck,” an idiom for showing special affection for someone by throwing one’s arms around them. The picture is of the father hanging on the son’s neck in welcome.

²⁵ tn Grk “him”; the referent (the son) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

²⁶ tn Grk “And he said to him.” Here δέ (de) has not been translated. The rest of the phrase has been simplified to “the slave replied,” with the referent (the slave) specified in the translation for clarity.

²⁷ tn See note on the phrase “fattened calf” in v. 23.

²⁸ tn Grk “him”; the referent (the younger son) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

²⁹ sn The temple is on a hill in Jerusalem, so one would go up to enter its precincts.

³⁰ sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.

³¹ sn See the note on tax collectors in 3:12.