Luke 11:23-25

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Luke 11:23 sn Whoever is not with me is against me. The call here is to join the victor. Failure to do so means that one is being destructive. Responding to Jesus is the issue.
2. Luke 11:23 sn For the image of scattering, see Pss. Sol. 17:18.
3. Luke 11:24 sn This is a reference to an evil spirit. See Luke 4:33.
4. Luke 11:24 tn Grk “man.” This is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anthrōpos), referring to both males and females.
5. Luke 11:24 sn The background for the reference to waterless places is not entirely clear, though some Jewish texts suggest spirits must have a place to dwell, but not with water (Luke 8:29-31; Tob 8:3). Some suggest that the image of the desert or deserted cities as the places demons dwell is where this idea started (Isa 13:21; 34:14).
6. Luke 11:24 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
7. Luke 11:24 tc ‡ Most mss, including a few early and significant ones (P⁴⁵ א* A C D W Ψ ƒ^1,13 M lat), lack τότε (tote, “then”). Other mss, including some early and important ones (P⁷⁵ א² B L Θ Ξ 070 33 579 892 1241 co), have the adverb. Although the external evidence better supports the longer reading, the internal evidence is on the side of the shorter, for conjunctions and adverbs were frequently added by copyists to remove asyndeton and to add clarification. The shorter reading is thus preferred. The translation, however, adds “Then” because of English stylistic requirements. NA²⁸ has τότε in brackets indicating doubts as to its authenticity.
8. Luke 11:24 tn Grk “I will return to my house from which I came.”
9. Luke 11:25 tn Grk “comes.”
10. Luke 11:25 tn The words “the house” are not in Greek but are implied.
11. Luke 11:25 sn The image of the house swept clean and put in order refers to the life of the person from whom the demon departed. The key to the example appears to be that no one else has been invited in to dwell. If an exorcism occurs and there is no response to God, then the way is free for the demon to return. Some see the reference to exorcism as more symbolic; thus the story’s only point is about responding to Jesus. This is possible and certainly is an application of the passage.