Lukas 3:4

3:4 As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,

“The voice ¹  of one shouting in the wilderness: ² 

‘Prepare the way for the Lord,

make ³  his paths straight.

Lukas 20:16

20:16 He will come and destroy ⁴  those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” ⁵  When the people ⁶  heard this, they said, “May this never happen!” ⁷ 

[3:4]  ¹ tn Or “A voice.”

[3:4]  ² tn Or “desert.” The syntactic position of the phrase “in the wilderness” is unclear in both Luke and the LXX. The MT favors taking it with “Prepare a way,” while the LXX takes it with “a voice shouting.” If the former, the meaning would be that such preparation should be done “in the wilderness.” If the latter, the meaning would be that the place from where John’s ministry went forth was “in the wilderness.” There are Jewish materials that support both renderings: 1QS 8:14 and 9.19-20 support the MT while certain rabbinic texts favor the LXX (see D. L. Bock, Luke [BECNT], 1:290-91). While it is not absolutely necessary that a call in the wilderness led to a response in the wilderness, it is not unlikely that such would be the case. Thus, in the final analysis, the net effect between the two choices may be minimal. In any case, a majority of commentators and translations take “in the wilderness” with “The voice of one shouting” (D. L. Bock; R. H. Stein, Luke [NAC], 129; I. H. Marshall, Luke [NIGTC], 136; NIV, NRSV, NKJV, NLT, NASB, REB).

[3:4]  ³ tn This call to “make paths straight” in this context is probably an allusion to preparation through repentance as the verb ποιέω (poiew) reappears in vv. 8, 10, 11, 12, 14.

[20:16]  ⁴ sn The statement that the owner will come and destroy those tenants is a promise of judgment; see Luke 13:34-35; 19:41-44.

[20:16]  ⁵ sn The warning that the owner would give the vineyard to others suggests that the care of the promise and the nation’s hope would be passed to others. This eventually looks to Gentile inclusion; see Eph 2:11-22.

[20:16]  ⁶ tn Grk “they”; the referent (the people addressed in v. 9) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:16]  ⁷ sn May this never happen! Jesus’ audience got the point and did not want to consider a story where the nation would suffer judgment.