Luke 12:35-40

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Luke 12:35 tn Grk “Let your loins be girded,” an idiom referring to the practice of tucking the ends of the long cloak (outer garment) into the belt to shorten it in preparation for activities like running, etc.
2. Luke 12:35 sn Keep your lamps burning means to be ready at all times.
3. Luke 12:36 tn That is, like slaves (who are mentioned later, vv. 37-38), although the term ἀνθρώποις (anthrōpois) is used here. Since in this context it appears generic rather than gender-specific, the translation “people” is employed.
4. Luke 12:36 sn An ancient wedding celebration could last for days (Tob 11:18).
5. Luke 12:37 tn See the note on the word “slave” in 7:2.
6. Luke 12:37 tn Or “watching”; Grk “awake,” but in context this is not just being awake but alert and looking out.
7. Luke 12:37 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amēn), I say to you.”
8. Luke 12:37 tn See v. 35 (same verb).
9. Luke 12:37 tn Grk “have them recline at table,” as 1st 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.
10. Luke 12:37 tn The participle παρελθών (parelthōn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
11. Luke 12:37 sn He…will come and wait on them is a reversal of expectation, but shows that what Jesus asks for he is willing to do as well; see John 13:5 and 15:18-27, although those instances merely foreshadow what is in view here.
12. Luke 12:38 sn The second or third watch of the night would be between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m. on a Roman schedule and 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. on a Jewish schedule. Luke uses the four-watch schedule of the Romans in Acts 12:4, so that is more probable here. Regardless of the precise times of the watches, however, it is clear that the late-night watches when a person is least alert are in view here.
13. Luke 12:38 tn Grk “finds (them) thus,” but this has been clarified in the translation by referring to the status (“alert”) mentioned in v. 37.
14. Luke 12:38 tn Grk “blessed are they”; the referent (the watchful slaves, v. 37) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
15. Luke 12:39 sn On Jesus pictured as a returning thief, see 1 Thess 5:2, 4; 2 Pet 3:10; Rev 3:3; 16:15.
16. Luke 12:39 tc Most mss (א¹ A B L Q W Θ Ψ 070 ƒ^1,13 33 M lat sy^p,h sa^ms bo) read “he would have watched and not let” here, but this looks like an assimilation to Matt 24:43. The alliance of two significant and early mss along with a few others (P⁷⁵ א* [D] e i sy^s,c sa^mss), coupled with much stronger internal evidence, suggests that the shorter reading is authentic.
17. Luke 12:40 sn Jesus made clear that his coming could not be timed, and suggested it might take some time—so long, in fact, that some would not be looking for him any longer (at an hour when you do not expect him).