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24 “Exert every effort[a] to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. 25 Once[b] the head of the house[c] gets up[d] and shuts the door, then you will stand outside and start to knock on the door and beg him, ‘Lord,[e] let us in!’[f] But he will answer you,[g] ‘I don’t know where you come from.’[h] 26 Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’[i] 27 But[j] he will reply,[k] ‘I don’t know where you come from![l] Go away from me, all you evildoers!’[m] 28 There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth[n] when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob,[o] and all the prophets in the kingdom of God[p] but you yourselves thrown out.[q] 29 Then[r] people[s] will come from east and west, and from north and south, and take their places at the banquet table[t] in the kingdom of God.[u] 30 But[v] indeed,[w] some are last[x] who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 13:24 tn Or “Make every effort” (L&N 68.74; cf. NIV); “Do your best” (TEV); “Work hard” (NLT); Grk “Struggle.” The idea is to exert one’s maximum effort (cf. BDAG 17 s.v. ἀγωνίζομαι 2.b, “strain every nerve to enter”) because of the supreme importance of attaining entry into the kingdom of God.
  2. Luke 13:25 tn The syntactical relationship between vv. 24-25 is disputed. The question turns on whether v. 25 is connected to v. 24 or not. A lack of a clear connective makes an independent idea more likely. However, one must then determine what the beginning of the sentence connects to. Though it makes for slightly awkward English, the translation has opted to connect it to “he will answer” so that this functions, in effect, as an apodosis. One could end the sentence after “us” and begin a new sentence with “He will answer” to make simpler sentences, although the connection between the two sentences is thereby less clear. The point of the passage, however, is clear. Once the door is shut, because one failed to come in through the narrow way, it is closed permanently. The moral: Do not be too late in deciding to respond.
  3. Luke 13:25 tn Or “the master of the household.”
  4. Luke 13:25 tn Or “rises,” or “stands up.”
  5. Luke 13:25 tn Or “Sir.”
  6. Luke 13:25 tn Grk “Open to us.”
  7. Luke 13:25 tn Grk “and answering, he will say to you.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified to “he will answer you.”
  8. Luke 13:25 sn For the imagery behind the statement “I do not know where you come from,” see Ps 138:6; Isa 63:16; Jer 1:5; Hos 5:3.
  9. Luke 13:26 sn This term refers to wide streets, and thus suggests the major streets of a city.
  10. Luke 13:27 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
  11. Luke 13:27 tc Most mss (P75* A D L W Θ Ψ 070 ƒ1,13 M) have ἐρεῖ λέγω ὑμῖν (erei legō humin; “he will say, ‘I say to you’”) here, while some have only ἐρεῖ ὑμῖν (“he will say to you” in א 579 lat sa) or simply ἐρεῖ (“he will say” in 1195). The variety of readings seems to have arisen from the somewhat unusual wording of the initial text, ἐρεῖ λέγων ὑμῖν (erei legōn humin; “he will say, saying to you” found in P75c B 892). Given the indicative λέγω, it is difficult to explain how the other readings would have arisen. But if the participle λέγων were original, the other readings can more easily be explained as arising from it. Although the external evidence is significantly stronger in support of the indicative reading, the internal evidence is on the side of the participle. tn Grk “he will say, saying to you.” The participle λέγων (legōn) and its indirect object ὑμῖν (humin) are redundant in contemporary English and have not been translated.
  12. Luke 13:27 sn The issue is not familiarity (with Jesus’ teaching) or even shared activity (eating and drinking with him), but knowing Jesus. Those who do not know him, he will not know where they come from (i.e., will not acknowledge) at the judgment.
  13. Luke 13:27 tn Grk “all you workers of iniquity.” The phrase resembles Ps 6:8.
  14. Luke 13:28 sn Weeping and gnashing of teeth is a figure for remorse and trauma, which occurs here because of exclusion from God’s promise.
  15. Luke 13:28 tn Grk “and Isaac and Jacob,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.
  16. Luke 13:28 sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus’ teaching. See the note on this phrase in v. 18.
  17. Luke 13:28 tn Or “being thrown out.” The present accusative participle, ἐκβαλλομένους (ekballomenous), related to the object ὑμᾶς (humas), seems to suggest that these evildoers will witness their own expulsion from the kingdom.
  18. Luke 13:29 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events in the discourse.
  19. Luke 13:29 tn Grk “they”; the referent (people who will come to participate in the kingdom) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  20. Luke 13:29 tn Grk “and recline at table,” as first century middle eastern meals were not eaten while sitting at a table, but while reclining on one’s side on the floor with the head closest to the low table and the feet farthest away. The phrase “take their places at the banquet table” has been used in the translation to clarify for the modern reader the festive nature of the imagery. The banquet imagery is a way of describing the fellowship and celebration of participation with the people of God at the end. Cf. BDAG 65 s.v. ἀνακλίνω 2, “In transf. sense, of the Messianic banquet w. the idea dine in style (or some similar rendering, not simply ‘eat’ as NRSV) Mt 8:11; Lk 13:29.”
  21. Luke 13:29 sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus’ teaching. See the note on this phrase in v. 18.
  22. Luke 13:30 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
  23. Luke 13:30 tn Grk “behold.”
  24. Luke 13:30 sn Some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last. Jesus’ answer is that some who are expected to be there (many from Israel) will not be there, while others not expected to be present (from other nations) will be present. The question is not, “Will the saved be few?” (see v. 23), but “Will it be you?”