Lukas 17:6

17:6 So ¹  the Lord replied, ²  “If ³  you had faith the size of ⁴  a mustard seed, you could say to this black mulberry ⁵  tree, ‘Be pulled out by the roots and planted in the sea,’ ⁶  and it would obey ⁷  you.

Lukas 21:25

The Arrival of the Son of Man

21:25 “And there will be signs in the sun and moon and stars, ⁸  and on the earth nations will be in distress, ⁹  anxious ¹⁰  over the roaring of the sea and the surging waves.

[17:6]  ¹ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.

[17:6]  ² tn Grk “said.”

[17:6]  ³ tn This is a mixed condition, with ἄν (an) in the apodosis.

[17:6]  ⁴ tn Grk “faith as,” “faith like.”

[17:6]  ⁵ sn A black mulberry tree is a deciduous fruit tree that grows about 20 ft (6 m) tall and has black juicy berries. This tree has an extensive root system, so to pull it up would be a major operation.

[17:6]  ⁶ tn The passives here (ἐκριζώθητι and φυτεύθητι, ekrizwqhti and futeuqhti) are probably a circumlocution for God performing the action (the so-called divine passive, see ExSyn 437-38). The issue is not the amount of faith (which in the example is only very tiny), but its presence, which can accomplish impossible things. To cause a tree to be uprooted and planted in the sea is impossible. The expression is a rhetorical idiom. It is like saying a camel can go through the eye of a needle (Luke 18:25).

[17:6]  ⁷ tn The verb is aorist, though it looks at a future event, another rhetorical touch to communicate certainty of the effect of faith.

[21:25]  ⁸ sn Signs in the sun and moon and stars are cosmic signs that turn our attention to the end and the Son of Man’s return for the righteous. OT imagery is present: See Isa 13:9-10; 24:18-20; 34:4; Ezek 32:7-8; Joel 2:1, 30-31; 3:15.

[21:25]  ⁹ tn Grk “distress of nations.”

[21:25]  ¹⁰ tn Or “in consternation” (L&N 32.9).