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 4:42

4:42 The next morning ⁴  Jesus ⁵  departed and went to a deserted place. Yet ⁶  the crowds were seeking him, and they came to him and tried to keep him from leaving them.

Lukas 8:29

8:29 For Jesus ⁷  had started commanding ⁸  the evil ⁹  spirit to come out of the man. (For it had seized him many times, so ¹⁰  he would be bound with chains and shackles ¹¹  and kept under guard. But ¹²  he would break the restraints and be driven by the demon into deserted ¹³  places.) ¹⁴ 

Lukas 15:4

15:4 “Which one ¹⁵  of you, if he has a hundred ¹⁶  sheep and loses one of them, would not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture ¹⁷  and go look for ¹⁸  the one that is lost until he finds it? ¹⁹ 

[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.

[4:42]  ⁴ tn Grk “When it became day.”

[4:42]  ⁵ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:42]  ⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “yet” to indicate that the crowds still sought Jesus in spite of his withdrawal.

[8:29]  ⁷ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:29]  ⁸ tc ‡ Although the external evidence favors the aorist παρήγγειλεν (parhngeilen, “he commanded”; Ì⁷⁵ B Θ Ξ Ψ Ë¹³ 579 700 1241 1424 2542 pm), the internal evidence favors the imperfect παρήγγελλεν (parhngellen, here translated “he had started commanding”; א A C K L W Γ Δ 1 33 565 892 pm). The aorist is suspect because it can more easily be taken as a single command, and thus an immediate exorcism. The imperfect would most likely be ingressive (BDF §§328; 329; 331), suggesting that Jesus started to command the evil spirit to depart, and continued the command.

[8:29]  ⁹ tn Grk “unclean.”

[8:29]  ¹⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so,” introducing a clause that gives the result of the man being seized by the demon.

[8:29]  ¹¹ tn Or “fetters”; these were chains for the feet.

[8:29]  ¹² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[8:29]  ¹³ tn Grk “into the deserts.” The plural use here has been translated as “deserted places,” that is, uninhabited areas.

[8:29]  ¹⁴ sn This is a parenthetical, explanatory comment by the author.

[15:4]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “What man.” The Greek word ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used here in a somewhat generic sense.

[15:4]  ¹⁶ sn This individual with a hundred sheep is a shepherd of modest means, as flocks often had up to two hundred head of sheep.

[15:4]  ¹⁷ tn Or “desert,” but here such a translation might suggest neglect of the 99 sheep left behind.

[15:4]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “go after,” but in contemporary English the idiom “to look for” is used to express this.

[15:4]  ¹⁹ sn Until he finds it. The parable pictures God’s pursuit of the sinner. On the image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd, see John 10:1-18.