Lukas 1:2

1:2 like the accounts ¹  passed on ²  to us by those who were eyewitnesses and servants of the word ³  from the beginning. ⁴ 

Lukas 16:17

16:17 But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tiny stroke of a letter ⁵  in the law to become void. ⁶ 

[1:2]  ¹ tn Grk “even as”; this compares the recorded tradition of 1:1 with the original eyewitness tradition of 1:2.

[1:2]  ² tn Or “delivered.”

[1:2]  ³ sn The phrase eyewitnesses and servants of the word refers to a single group of people who faithfully passed on the accounts about Jesus. The language about delivery (passed on) points to accounts faithfully passed on to the early church.

[1:2]  ⁴ tn Grk “like the accounts those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word passed on to us.” The location of “in the beginning” in the Greek shows that the tradition is rooted in those who were with Jesus from the start.

[16:17]  ⁵ tn Or “one small part of a letter” (L&N 33.37).

[16:17]  ⁶ tn Grk “to fall”; that is, “to drop out of the text.” Jesus’ point may be that the law is going to reach its goal without fail, in that the era of the promised kingdom comes.