Lukas 5:23

5:23 Which is easier, ¹  to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Stand up and walk’?

Lukas 9:42

9:42 As ²  the boy ³  was approaching, the demon threw him to the ground ⁴  and shook him with convulsions. ⁵  But Jesus rebuked ⁶  the unclean ⁷  spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father.

Lukas 12:8

12:8 “I ⁸  tell you, whoever acknowledges ⁹  me before men, ¹⁰  the Son of Man will also acknowledge ¹¹  before God’s angels.

[5:23]  ¹ sn Which is easier is a reflective kind of question. On the one hand to declare sins are forgiven is easier, since one does not need to see it, unlike telling a paralyzed person to walk. On the other hand, it is harder, because for it to be true one must possess the authority to forgive the sin.

[9:42]  ² tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[9:42]  ³ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the boy) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:42]  ⁴ sn At this point the boy was thrown down in another convulsion by the demon. See L&N 23.168.

[9:42]  ⁵ tn See L&N 23.167-68, where the second verb συσπαράσσω (susparassw) is taken to mean the violent shaking associated with the convulsions, thus the translation here “and shook him with convulsions.”

[9:42]  ⁶ tn Or “commanded” (often with the implication of a threat, L&N 33.331).

[9:42]  ⁷ sn This is a reference to an evil spirit. See Luke 4:33.

[12:8]  ⁸ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[12:8]  ⁹ tn Or “confesses.”

[12:8]  ¹⁰ tn Although this is a generic reference and includes both males and females, in this context “men” has been retained because of the wordplay with the Son of Man and the contrast with the angels. The same is true of the occurrence of “men” in v. 9.

[12:8]  ¹¹ sn This acknowledgment will take place at the judgment. Of course, the Son of Man is a reference to Jesus as it has been throughout the Gospel. On Jesus and judgment, see 22:69; Acts 10:42-43; 17:31.