Lukas 17:20

The Coming of the Kingdom

17:20 Now at one point ¹  the Pharisees ²  asked Jesus ³  when the kingdom of God ⁴  was coming, so he answered, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs ⁵  to be observed,

Lukas 24:30

24:30 When ⁶  he had taken his place at the table ⁷  with them, he took the bread, blessed and broke it, ⁸  and gave it to them.

[17:20]  ¹ tn The words “at one point” are supplied to indicate that the following incident is not necessarily in chronological sequence with the preceding event.

[17:20]  ² sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.

[17:20]  ³ tn Grk “having been asked by the Pharisees.” The passive construction has been translated as an active one in keeping with contemporary English style, and the direct object, Jesus, has been supplied from the context.

[17:20]  ⁴ sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21.

[17:20]  ⁵ tn Or “is not coming in a way that it can be closely watched” (L&N 24.48). Although there are differing interpretations of what this means, it probably refers to the cosmic signs often associated with the kingdom’s coming in the Jewish view (1 En. 91, 93; 2 Bar. 53—74). See D. L. Bock, Luke (BECNT), 2:1412-14, also H. Riesenfeld, TDNT 8:150.

[24:30]  ⁶ tn Grk “And it happened that when.” 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. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[24:30]  ⁷ tn Grk “had reclined at table,” as 1st century middle eastern meals were not eaten while sitting at a table, but while reclining on one’s side on the floor with the head closest to the low table and the feet farthest away.

[24:30]  ⁸ tn The pronoun “it” is not in the Greek text here or in the following clause, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.