Lukas 5:21

5:21 Then ¹  the experts in the law ²  and the Pharisees began to think ³  to themselves, ⁴  “Who is this man ⁵  who is uttering blasphemies? ⁶  Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

Lukas 21:34

Be Ready!

21:34 “But be on your guard ⁷  so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day close down upon you suddenly like a trap. ⁸ 

[5:21]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[5:21]  ² tn Or “Then the scribes.” The traditional rendering of γραμματεύς (grammateu") as “scribe” does not communicate much to the modern English reader, for whom the term might mean “professional copyist,” if it means anything at all. The people referred to here were recognized experts in the law of Moses and in traditional laws and regulations. Thus “expert in the law” comes closer to the meaning for the modern reader.

[5:21]  ³ tn Or “to reason” (in a hostile sense). See G. Schrenk, TDNT 2:97.

[5:21]  ⁴ tn The participle λέγοντες (legontes, “saying”) has not been translated because it is redundant in contemporary English.

[5:21]  ⁵ tn Grk “this one” (οὗτος, Joutos).

[5:21]  ⁶ sn Uttering blasphemies meant to say something that dishonored God. To claim divine prerogatives or claim to speak for God when one really does not would be such an act of offense. The remark raised directly the issue of the nature of Jesus’ ministry.

[21:34]  ⁷ tn Grk “watch out for yourselves.”

[21:34]  sn Disciples are to watch out. If they are too absorbed into everyday life, they will stop watching and living faithfully.

[21:34]  ⁸ sn Or like a thief, see Luke 12:39-40. The metaphor of a trap is a vivid one. Most modern English translations traditionally place the words “like a trap” at the end of v. 34, completing the metaphor. In the Greek text (and in the NRSV and REB) the words “like a trap” are placed at the beginning of v. 35. This does not affect the meaning.