Lukas 10:1

The Mission of the Seventy-Two

10:1 After this ¹  the Lord appointed seventy-two ²  others and sent them on ahead of him two by two into every town ³  and place where he himself was about to go.

Lukas 10:17-24

10:17 Then ⁴  the seventy-two ⁵  returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons submit to ⁶  us in your name!” ⁷  10:18 So ⁸  he said to them, “I saw ⁹  Satan fall ¹⁰  like lightning ¹¹  from heaven. 10:19 Look, I have given you authority to tread ¹²  on snakes and scorpions ¹³  and on the full force of the enemy, ¹⁴  and nothing will ¹⁵  hurt you. 10:20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice that ¹⁶  the spirits submit to you, but rejoice ¹⁷  that your names stand written ¹⁸  in heaven.”

10:21 On that same occasion ¹⁹  Jesus ²⁰  rejoiced ²¹  in the Holy Spirit and said, “I praise ²²  you, Father, Lord ²³  of heaven and earth, because ²⁴  you have hidden these things from the wise ²⁵  and intelligent, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your gracious will. ²⁶  10:22 All things have been given to me by my Father. ²⁷  No one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son decides ²⁸  to reveal him.”

10:23 Then ²⁹  Jesus ³⁰  turned ³¹  to his ³²  disciples and said privately, “Blessed ³³  are the eyes that see what you see! 10:24 For I tell you that many prophets and kings longed to see ³⁴  what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”

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

[10:1]  ² 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]  ³ tn Or “city.”

[10:17]  ⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[10:17]  ⁵ tc See the tc note on the number “seventy-two” in Luke 10:1.

[10:17]  ⁶ tn Or “the demons obey”; see L&N 36.18.

[10:17]  ⁷ tn The prepositional phrase “in your name” indicates the sphere of authority for the messengers’ work of exorcism.

[10:18]  ⁸ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate that Jesus’ reply in vv. 18-20 follows from the positive report of the messengers in v. 17.

[10:18]  ⁹ tn This is an imperfect tense verb.

[10:18]  ¹⁰ tn In Greek, this is a participle and comes at the end of the verse, making it somewhat emphatic.

[10:18]  ¹¹ tn This is probably best taken as allusion to Isa 14:12; the phrase in common is ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ (ek tou ouranou). These exorcisms in Jesus’ name are a picture of Satan’s greater defeat at Jesus’ hands (D. L. Bock, Luke [BECNT], 2:1006-7).

[10:19]  ¹² tn Or perhaps, “trample on” (which emphasizes the impact of the feet on the snakes). See L&N 15.226.

[10:19]  ¹³ sn Snakes and scorpions are examples of the hostility in the creation that is defeated by Jesus. The use of battle imagery shows who the kingdom fights against. See Acts 28:3-6.

[10:19]  ¹⁴ tn Or “I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and [authority] over the full force of the enemy.” The second prepositional phrase can be taken either as modifying the infinitive πατεῖν (patein, “to tread”) or the noun ἐξουσίαν (exousian, “power”). The former is to be preferred and has been represented in the translation.

[10:19]  sn The enemy is a reference to Satan (mentioned in v. 18).

[10:19]  ¹⁵ tn This is an emphatic double negative in the Greek text.

[10:20]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “do not rejoice in this, that.” This is awkward in contemporary English and has been simplified to “do not rejoice that.”

[10:20]  ¹⁷ tn The verb here is a present imperative, so the call is to an attitude of rejoicing.

[10:20]  ¹⁸ tn The verb here, a perfect tense, stresses a present reality of that which was a completed action, that is, their names were etched in the heavenly stone, as it were.

[10:21]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “In that same hour” (L&N 67.1).

[10:21]  ²⁰ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:21]  ²¹ sn Jesus rejoiced. The account of the mission in 10:1-24 ends with several remarks about joy.

[10:21]  ²² tn Or “thank.”

[10:21]  ²³ sn The title Lord is an important name for God, showing his sovereignty, but it is interesting that it comes next to a reference to the Father, a term indicative of God’s care. The two concepts are often related in the NT; see Eph 1:3-6.

[10:21]  ²⁴ tn Or “that.”

[10:21]  ²⁵ sn See 1 Cor 1:26-31.

[10:21]  ²⁶ tn Grk “for (to do) thus was well pleasing before you,” BDAG 325 s.v. ἔμπροσθεν 1.δ; speaking of something taking place “before” God is a reverential way of avoiding direct connection of the action to him.

[10:22]  ²⁷ sn This verse has been noted for its conceptual similarity to teaching in John’s Gospel (10:15; 17:2). The authority of the Son and the Father are totally intertwined.

[10:22]  ²⁸ tn Or “wishes”; or “intends”; or “plans” (cf. BDAG 182 s.v. βούλομαι 2.b). Here it is the Son who has sovereignty.

[10:23]  ²⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[10:23]  ³⁰ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:23]  ³¹ tn Grk “turning to the disciples, he said.” The participle στραφείς (strafei") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[10:23]  ³² tn Grk “the”; in context the article is used as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

[10:23]  ³³ sn This beatitude highlights the great honor bestowed on the disciples to share in this salvation, as v. 20 also noted. See also Luke 2:30.

[10:24]  ³⁴ sn This is what past prophets and kings had wanted very much to see, yet the fulfillment had come to the disciples. This remark is like 1 Pet 1:10-12 or Heb 1:1-2.