Lukas 7:11-15

Raising a Widow’s Son

7:11 Soon ¹  afterward ²  Jesus ³  went to a town ⁴  called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went with him. 7:12 As he approached the town gate, a man ⁵  who had died was being carried out, ⁶  the only son of his mother (who ⁷  was a widow ⁸ ), and a large crowd from the town ⁹  was with her. 7:13 When ¹⁰  the Lord saw her, he had compassion ¹¹  for her and said to her, “Do not weep.” ¹²  7:14 Then ¹³  he came up ¹⁴  and touched ¹⁵  the bier, ¹⁶  and those who carried it stood still. He ¹⁷  said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” 7:15 So ¹⁸  the dead man ¹⁹  sat up and began to speak, and Jesus ²⁰  gave him back ²¹  to his mother.

Lukas 18:7-8

18:7 Won’t ²²  God give justice to his chosen ones, who cry out ²³  to him day and night? ²⁴  Will he delay ²⁵  long to help them? 18:8 I tell you, he will give them justice speedily. ²⁶  Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith ²⁷  on earth?”

Lukas 21:1-4

The Widow’s Offering

21:1 Jesus ²⁸  looked up ²⁹  and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box. ³⁰  21:2 He also saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. ³¹  21:3 He ³²  said, “I tell you the truth, ³³  this poor widow has put in more than all of them. ³⁴  21:4 For they all offered their gifts out of their wealth. ³⁵  But she, out of her poverty, put in everything she had to live on.” ³⁶ 

[7:11]  ¹ tn Grk “And it happened that soon.” 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.

[7:11]  ² tc Several variants to ἐγένετο ἐν τῷ (egeneto en tw) are found before the adverb ἑξῆς (Jexh"), all of them clarifying by the use of the feminine article that the next day is meant (τῇ [th] in D; ἐγένετο τῇ in W; ἐγένετο ἐν τῇ in א* C K 565 892 1424 pm). But these readings are decidedly secondary, for they are more specific than Luke usually is, and involve an unparalleled construction (viz., article + ἡμέρα [Jhmera] + ἑξῆς; elsewhere, when Luke uses this adverb, the noun it modifies is either implied or after the adverb [cf. Luke 9:37; Acts 21:1; 25:17; 27:18)]. The reading adopted for the translation is a more general time indicator; the article τῷ modifies an implied χρόνῳ (cronw), with the general sense of “soon afterward.”

[7:11]  ³ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:11]  ⁴ tn The term πόλις (polis) can refer to a small town, which is what Nain was. It was about six miles southeast of Nazareth.

[7:12]  ⁵ tn Grk “behold.” 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).

[7:12]  ⁶ tn That is, carried out for burial. This was a funeral procession.

[7:12]  ⁷ tn Grk “and she.” The clause introduced by καί (kai) has been translated as a relative clause for the sake of English style.

[7:12]  ⁸ sn The description of the woman as a widow would mean that she was now socially alone and without protection in 1st century Jewish culture.

[7:12]  ⁹ tn Or “city.”

[7:13]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “And seeing her, the Lord.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style. The participle ἰδών (idwn) has been taken temporally.

[7:13]  ¹¹ sn He had compassion. It is unusual for Luke to note such emotion by Jesus, though the other Synoptics tend to mention it (Matt 14:14; Mark 6:34; Matt 15:32; Mark 8:2).

[7:13]  ¹² tn The verb κλαίω (klaiw) denotes the loud wailing or lamenting typical of 1st century Jewish mourning.

[7:14]  ¹³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[7:14]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “coming up, he touched.” The participle προσελθών (proselqwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[7:14]  ¹⁵ sn The act of having touched the bier would have rendered Jesus ceremonially unclean, but it did not matter to him, since he was expressing his personal concern (Num 19:11, 16).

[7:14]  ¹⁶ sn Although sometimes translated “coffin,” the bier was actually a stretcher or wooden plank on which the corpse was transported to the place of burial. See L&N 6.109.

[7:14]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “And he.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[7:15]  ¹⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the result of Jesus’ command.

[7:15]  ¹⁹ tn Or “the deceased.”

[7:15]  ²⁰ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:15]  ²¹ tn In the context, the verb δίδωμι (didwmi) has been translated “gave back” rather than simply “gave.”

[18:7]  ²² tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[18:7]  ²³ sn The prayers have to do with the righteous who cry out to him to receive justice. The context assumes the righteous are persecuted.

[18:7]  ²⁴ tn The emphatic particles in this sentence indicate that God will indeed give justice to the righteous.

[18:7]  ²⁵ sn The issue of delay has produced a whole host of views for this verse. (1) Does this assume provision to endure in the meantime? Or (2) does it mean God restricts the level of persecution until he comes? Either view is possible.

[18:8]  ²⁶ tn Some argue this should be translated “suddenly.” When vindication comes it will be quick. But the more natural meaning is “soon.” God will not forget his elect and will respond to them. It may be that this verse has a prophetic perspective. In light of the eternity that comes, vindication is soon.

[18:8]  ²⁷ sn Will he find faith on earth? The Son of Man is looking for those who continue to believe in him, despite the wait.

[21:1]  ²⁸ tn Grk “He”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[21:1]  ²⁹ 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]  ³⁰ 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.

[21:1]  sn The offering box probably refers to the receptacles in the temple forecourt by the Court of Women used to collect freewill offerings. These are mentioned by Josephus, J. W. 5.5.2 (5.200), 6.5.2 (6.282); Ant. 19.6.1 (19.294); and in 1 Macc 14:49 and 2 Macc 3:6, 24, 28, 40 (see also Mark 12:41; John 8:20).

[21:2]  ³¹ sn These two small copper coins were lepta (sing. “lepton”), the smallest and least valuable coins in circulation in Palestine, worth one-half of a quadrans or 1/128 of a denarius, or about six minutes of an average daily wage. This was next to nothing in value.

[21:3]  ³² tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[21:3]  ³³ tn Grk “Truly, I say to you.”

[21:3]  ³⁴ sn Has put in more than all of them. With God, giving is weighed evaluatively, not counted. The widow was praised because she gave sincerely and at some considerable cost to herself.

[21:4]  ³⁵ tn Grk “out of what abounded to them.”

[21:4]  ³⁶ tn Or “put in her entire livelihood.”