Luke 13:10-21

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Luke 13:10 sn See the note on synagogues in 4:15.
2. Luke 13:11 tn Grk “and behold, a woman.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) at the beginning of this statement has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).
3. Luke 13:11 tn Grk “a woman having a spirit of weakness” (or “a spirit of infirmity”).
4. Luke 13:11 tn Grk “years, and.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
5. Luke 13:11 tn Or “and could not straighten herself up at all.” If εἰς τὸ παντελές (eis to panteles) is understood to modify δυναμένη (dunamenē), the meaning is “she was not able at all to straighten herself up,” but the phrase may be taken with ἀνακύψαι (anakupsai) and understood to mean the same as the adverb παντελῶς (pantelōs), with the meaning “she was not able to straighten herself up completely.” See BDAG 754 s.v. παντελής 1 for further discussion. The second option is preferred in the translation because of proximity: The phrase in question follows ἀνακύψαι in the Greek text.
6. Luke 13:12 tn The participle ἰδών (idōn) has been taken temporally. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
7. Luke 13:12 tn The verb προσεφώνησεν (prosephōnēsen) has been translated as “called (her) to (him),” with the direct object (“her”) and the indirect object (“him”) both understood.
8. Luke 13:12 sn Woman was a polite form of address (see BDAG 208-9 s.v. γυνή), similar to “Madam” or “Ma’am” used in English in different regions.
9. Luke 13:12 tn Or “released.”
10. Luke 13:12 tn Or “sickness.”
11. Luke 13:13 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
12. Luke 13:13 sn The healing took place immediately.
13. Luke 13:14 sn The irony is that Jesus’ “work” consisted of merely touching the woman. There is no sense of joy that eighteen years of suffering was reversed with his touch.
14. Luke 13:14 tn Grk “on which it is necessary to work.” This has been simplified in the translation.
15. Luke 13:14 tn The participle ἐρχόμενοι (erchomenoi) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
16. Luke 13:15 tn Grk “answered him and said.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been shortened to “answered him.”
17. Luke 13:15 tn Grk “from the manger [feeding trough],” but by metonymy of part for whole this can be rendered “stall.”
18. Luke 13:15 sn The charge here is hypocrisy, but it is only part one of the response. Various ancient laws detail what was allowed with cattle; see Mishnah, m. Shabbat 5; CD 11:5-6.
19. Luke 13:16 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to show the connection with Jesus’ previous statement.
20. Luke 13:16 tn Grk “is it not necessary that.” Jesus argues that no other day is more appropriate to heal a descendant of Abraham than the Sabbath, the exact opposite view of the synagogue leader.
21. Luke 13:16 sn Note that this is again a battle between Satan and God; see 11:18-23.
22. Luke 13:16 tn The word “long” reflects the emphasis added in the Greek text by ἰδού (idou). See BDAG 468 s.v. 1.
23. Luke 13:16 tn Or “bondage”; Grk “bond.”
24. Luke 13:17 tn Grk “And when.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
25. Luke 13:17 tn Or “were put to shame.”
26. Luke 13:17 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
27. Luke 13:17 sn Concerning all the wonderful things see Luke 7:16; 19:37.
28. Luke 13:17 tn Grk “that were being done by him.” The passive has been converted to an active construction in the translation.
29. Luke 13:18 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
30. Luke 13:18 tn Grk “said,” but what follows is a question.
31. Luke 13:18 sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus’ teaching. The nature of the kingdom of God in the NT and in Jesus’ teaching has long been debated by interpreters and scholars, with discussion primarily centering around the nature of the kingdom (earthly, heavenly, or both) and the kingdom’s arrival (present, future, or both). An additional major issue concerns the relationship between the kingdom of God and the person and work of Jesus himself. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21.
32. Luke 13:18 sn What is the kingdom of God like? Unlike Mark 4 or Matt 13, where the kingdom parables tend to be all in one location in the narrative, Luke scatters his examples throughout the Gospel.
33. Luke 13:18 tn Grk “And to.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
34. Luke 13:19 sn The mustard seed was noted for its tiny size.
35. Luke 13:19 tn Grk “threw.”
36. Luke 13:19 tn Grk “garden, and it.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
37. Luke 13:19 sn Calling the mustard plant a tree is rhetorical hyperbole, since technically it is not one. This plant could be one of two types of mustard popular in Palestine and would be either 10 or 25 ft (3 or 7.5 m) tall.
38. Luke 13:19 tn Grk “the birds of the sky” or “the birds of the heaven”; the Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated either “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context. The idiomatic expression “birds of the sky” refers to wild birds as opposed to domesticated fowl (cf. BDAG 809 s.v. πετεινόν).
39. Luke 13:19 sn The point of the parable seems to be that while the kingdom of God may appear to have insignificant and unnoticeable beginnings (i.e., in the ministry of Jesus), it will someday (i.e., at the second advent) be great and quite expansive. The kingdom, however, is not to be equated with the church, but rather the church is an expression of the kingdom. Also, there is important OT background in the image of a small plant that grew and became a tree: Ezek 17:22-24 pictures the reemergence of the Davidic house where people can find calm and shelter. Like the mustard seed, it would start out small but grow to significant size.
40. Luke 13:20 tn Grk “And again.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
41. Luke 13:20 sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus’ teaching. See the note on this phrase in v. 18.
42. Luke 13:21 tn Grk “hid in.”
43. Luke 13:21 sn This measure was a saton, the Greek name for the Hebrew term “seah.” Three of these was a very large quantity of flour, since a saton is a little over 16 lbs (7 kg) of dry measure (or 13.13 liters). So this was over 47 lbs (21 kg) of flour total, enough to feed over a hundred people.
44. Luke 13:21 tn Grk “it was all leavened.”sn The parable of the yeast and the dough teaches that the kingdom of God will start small but eventually grow to permeate everything. Jesus’ point was not to be deceived by its seemingly small start, the same point made in the parable of the mustard seed, which preceded this one.