Lukas 7:8

7:8 For I too am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me. ¹  I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, ²  and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” ³ 

Lukas 15:29

15:29 but he answered ⁴  his father, ‘Look! These many years I have worked like a slave ⁵  for you, and I never disobeyed your commands. Yet ⁶  you never gave me even a goat ⁷  so that I could celebrate with my friends!

[7:8]  ¹ tn Grk “having soldiers under me.”

[7:8]  ² sn I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes. The illustrations highlight the view of authority the soldier sees in the word of one who has authority. Since the centurion was a commander of a hundred soldiers, he understood what it was both to command others and to be obeyed.

[7:8]  ³ tn The word “it” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[15:29]  ⁴ tn Grk “but answering, he said.” This is somewhat redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified to “but he answered.”

[15:29]  ⁵ tn Or simply, “have served,” but in the emotional context of the older son’s outburst the translation given is closer to the point.

[15:29]  ⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “yet” to bring out the contrast indicated by the context.

[15:29]  ⁷ sn You never gave me even a goat. The older son’s complaint was that the generous treatment of the younger son was not fair: “I can’t get even a little celebration with a basic food staple like a goat!”