Lukas 8:4

The Parable of the Sower

8:4 While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus ¹  from one town after another, ²  he spoke to them ³  in a parable:

Lukas 17:2

17:2 It would be better for him to have a millstone ⁴  tied around his neck and be thrown into the sea ⁵  than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. ⁶ 

[8:4]  ¹ tn Grk “to him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:4]  ² tn This phrase renders a distributive use of κατά (kata) with πόλις (polis), literally “according to [each] town.”

[8:4]  ³ tn The words “to them” do not appear in the Greek text but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[17:2]  ⁴ tn This term refers to the heavy upper stone of a grinding mill (L&N 7.70; BDAG 660 s.v. μυλικός).

[17:2]  sn The punishment of drowning with a heavy weight attached is extremely gruesome and reflects Jesus’ views concerning those who cause others who believe in him to sin.

[17:2]  ⁵ tn Grk “if a millstone were tied…and he were thrown.” The conditional construction in Greek has been translated by English infinitives: “to have… and be thrown.”

[17:2]  ⁶ tn Or “to stumble.” This verb, σκανδαλίσῃ (skandalish), has the same root as the noun σκάνδαλον (skandalon) in 17:1, translated “stumbling blocks”; this wordplay is difficult to reproduce in English. It is possible that the primary cause of offense here would be leading disciples (“little ones”) astray in a similar fashion.