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Luke 4:21-31
New English Translation

21 Then[a] he began to tell them, “Today[b] this scripture has been fulfilled even as you heard it being read.”[c] 22 All[d] were speaking well of him, and were amazed at the gracious words coming out of his mouth. They[e] said, “Isn’t this[f] Joseph’s son?” 23 Jesus[g] said to them, “No doubt you will quote to me the proverb, ‘Physician, heal yourself!’[h] and say, ‘What we have heard that you did in Capernaum,[i] do here in your hometown too.’” 24 And he added,[j] “I tell you the truth,[k] no prophet is acceptable[l] in his hometown. 25 But in truth I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s days,[m] when the sky[n] was shut up three and a half years, and[o] there was a great famine over all the land. 26 Yet[p] Elijah was sent to none of them, but only to a woman who was a widow at Zarephath in Sidon.[q] 27 And there were many lepers[r] in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha,[s] yet[t] none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.”[u] 28 When they heard this, all the people[v] in the synagogue were filled with rage. 29 They got up, forced[w] him out of the town,[x] and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that[y] they could throw him down the cliff.[z] 30 But he passed through the crowd[aa] and went on his way.[ab]

Ministry in Capernaum

31 So[ac] he went down to Capernaum,[ad] a town[ae] in Galilee, and on the Sabbath he began to teach the people.[af]

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 4:21 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
  2. Luke 4:21 sn See the note on today in 2:11.
  3. Luke 4:21 tn Grk “in your hearing.”
  4. Luke 4:22 tn Grk “And all.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
  5. Luke 4:22 tn Grk “And they.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
  6. Luke 4:22 sn The form of the question assumes a positive reply. It really amounts to an objection, as Jesus’ response in the next verses shows. Jesus spoke smoothly and impressively. He made a wonderful declaration, but could a local carpenter’s son make such an offer? That was their real question.
  7. Luke 4:23 tn Grk “And he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
  8. Luke 4:23 sn The proverb Physician, heal yourself! means that Jesus should prove his claims. It is a “Prove it to us!” mentality that Jesus says the people have.
  9. Luke 4:23 sn The remark “What we have heard that you did at Capernaum” makes many suspect that Luke has moved this event forward in sequence to typify what Jesus’ ministry was like, since the ministry in Capernaum follows in vv. 31-44. The location of this event in the parallel of Mark 6:1-6 also suggests this transposition. On Capernaum itself, see the note at Luke 4:31.
  10. Luke 4:24 tn Grk “said,” but since this is a continuation of previous remarks, “added” is used here.
  11. Luke 4:24 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amēn), I say to you.”
  12. Luke 4:24 sn Jesus argues that he will get no respect in his own hometown. There is a wordplay here on the word acceptable (δεκτός, dektos), which also occurs in v. 19: Jesus has declared the “acceptable” year of the Lord (here translated year of the Lord’s favor), but he is not “accepted” by the people of his own hometown.
  13. Luke 4:25 sn Elijah’s days. Jesus, by discussing Elijah and Elisha, pictures one of the lowest periods in Israel’s history. These examples, along with v. 24, also show that Jesus is making prophetic claims as well as messianic ones. See 1 Kgs 17-18.
  14. Luke 4:25 tn Or “the heaven”; the Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context. Since the context here refers to a drought (which produced the famine), “sky” is preferable.
  15. Luke 4:25 tn Grk “as.” The particle ὡς can also function temporally (see BDAG 1105-6 s.v. 8).
  16. Luke 4:26 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “yet” to indicate the contrast.
  17. Luke 4:26 sn Zarephath in Sidon was Gentile territory (see 1 Kgs 17:9-24). Jesus’ point was that he would be forced to minister elsewhere, and the implication is that this ministry would ultimately extend (through the work of his followers) to those outside the nation.
  18. Luke 4:27 sn The ancient term for leprosy covers a wider array of conditions than what is called leprosy today (Hansen’s disease). In the OT the Hebrew term generally referred to a number of exfoliative (scaly) skin diseases (when applied to humans). A person with one of these diseases was totally ostracized from society until he was declared cured (Lev 13:45-46). In the NT the Greek term also refers to a number of skin diseases, but there is some evidence that true leprosy (Hansen’s disease) could be referred to, since that disease began to be described by Greek physicians in Alexandria, Egypt around 300 B.C. and thus might have been present in Judea and Galilee just before the time of Jesus.
  19. Luke 4:27 sn On Elisha see 2 Kgs 5:1-14.
  20. Luke 4:27 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “yet” to indicate the contrast.
  21. Luke 4:27 sn The reference to Naaman the Syrian (see 2 Kgs 5:1-24) is another example where an outsider and Gentile was blessed. The stress in the example is the missed opportunity of the people to experience God’s work, but it will still go on without them.
  22. Luke 4:28 tn The words “the people” are not in the Greek text but have been supplied.
  23. Luke 4:29 tn Grk “cast.”
  24. Luke 4:29 tn Or “city.”
  25. Luke 4:29 tn The Greek conjunction ὥστε (hōste) here indicates their purpose.
  26. Luke 4:29 sn The attempt to throw him down the cliff looks like “lynch law,” but it may really be an indication that Jesus was regarded as a false prophet who was worthy of death (Deut 13:5). Such a sentence meant being thrown into a pit and then stoned.
  27. Luke 4:30 tn Grk “their midst.”
  28. Luke 4:30 tn The verb πορεύομαι (poreuomai) in Luke often suggests divine direction, “to go in a led direction” (4:42; 7:6, 11; 9:51, 52, 56, 57; 13:33; 17:11; 22:22, 29; 24:28). It could suggest that Jesus is on a journey, a theme that definitely is present later in Luke 9-19.
  29. Luke 4:31 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the continuation of the topic; in light of his rejection at Nazareth, Jesus went on to Capernaum.
  30. Luke 4:31 sn Capernaum was a town located on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee, 680 ft (204 m) below sea level. It existed since Hasmonean times and was a major trade and economic center in the North Galilean region. The population in the first century is estimated to be around 1,500. Capernaum became the hub of operations for Jesus’ Galilean ministry (Matt 4:13; Mark 2:1). In modern times the site was discovered in 1838 by the American explorer E. Robinson, and major excavations began in 1905 by German archaeologists H. Kohl and C. Watzinger. Not until 1968, however, were remains from the time of Jesus visible; in that year V. Corbo and S. Loffreda began a series of annual archaeological campaigns that lasted until 1985. This work uncovered what is thought to be the house of Simon Peter as well as ruins of the first century synagogue beneath the later synagogue from the fourth or fifth century A.D. Today gently rolling hills and date palms frame the first century site, a favorite tourist destination of visitors to the Galilee.
  31. Luke 4:31 tn Or “city.”
  32. Luke 4:31 tn Grk “them”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
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