Lukas 7:39

7:39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, ¹  he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, ²  he would know who and what kind of woman ³  this is who is touching him, that she is a sinner.”

Lukas 8:45

8:45 Then ⁴  Jesus asked, ⁵  “Who was it who touched me?” When they all denied it, Peter ⁶  said, “Master, the crowds are surrounding you and pressing ⁷  against you!”

Lukas 11:34

11:34 Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, ⁸  your whole body is full of light, but when it is diseased, ⁹  your body is full of darkness.

Lukas 15:27

15:27 The slave replied, ¹⁰  ‘Your brother has returned, and your father has killed the fattened calf ¹¹  because he got his son ¹²  back safe and sound.’

Lukas 18:11

18:11 The Pharisee stood and prayed about himself like this: ¹³  ‘God, I thank ¹⁴  you that I am not like other people: ¹⁵  extortionists, ¹⁶  unrighteous people, ¹⁷  adulterers – or even like this tax collector. ¹⁸ 

Lukas 23:35

23:35 The people also stood there watching, but the rulers ridiculed ¹⁹  him, saying, “He saved others. Let him save ²⁰  himself if ²¹  he is the Christ ²²  of God, his chosen one!”

[7:39]  ¹ tn The word “this” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[7:39]  ² tn This is a good example of a second class (contrary to fact) Greek conditional sentence. The Pharisee said, in effect, “If this man were a prophet (but he is not)…”

[7:39]  ³ sn The Pharisees believed in a form of separationism that would have prevented them from any kind of association with such a sinful woman.

[8:45]  ⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[8:45]  ⁵ tn Grk “said.”

[8:45]  ⁶ tc Most mss, especially the later ones (א A C*^,3 D L W Θ Ξ Ψ Ë^1,13 33 Ï latt), also have “and those together with him” (with two different Greek constructions for the phrase “with him”), while several important witnesses omit this phrase (Ì⁷⁵ B Π 700* al sa). The singular verb εἶπεν (eipen, “he said”) could possibly suggest that only Peter was originally mentioned, but, if the longer reading is authentic, then εἶπεν would focus on Peter as the spokesman for the group, highlighting his prominence (cf. ExSyn 401-2). Nevertheless, the longer reading looks like a clarifying note, harmonizing this account with Mark 5:31.

[8:45]  ⁷ sn Pressing is a graphic term used in everyday Greek of pressing grapes. Peter says in effect, “How could you ask this? Everyone is touching you!”

[11:34]  ⁸ tn Or “sound” (so L&N 23.132 and most scholars). A few scholars take this word to mean something like “generous” here (L&N 57.107), partly due to the immediate context of this saying in Matt 6:22 which concerns money, in which case the “eye” is a metonymy for the entire person (“if you are generous”).

[11:34]  ⁹ tn Or “when it is sick” (L&N 23.149).

[11:34]  sn There may be a slight wordplay here, as this term can also mean “evil,” so the figure uses a term that points to the real meaning of being careful as to what one pays attention to or looks at.

[15:27]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “And he said to him.” Here δέ (de) has not been translated. The rest of the phrase has been simplified to “the slave replied,” with the referent (the slave) specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:27]  ¹¹ tn See note on the phrase “fattened calf” in v. 23.

[15:27]  ¹² tn Grk “him”; the referent (the younger son) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:11]  ¹³ tn Or “stood by himself and prayed like this.” The prepositional phrase πρὸς ἑαυτόν (pros eauton, “to/about himself”) could go with either the aorist participle σταθείς (staqeis, “stood”) or with the imperfect verb προσηύχετο (proshuceto, “he prayed”). If taken with the participle, then the meaning would seem at first glance to be: “stood ‘by himself’,” or “stood ‘alone’.” Now it is true that πρός can mean “by” or “with” when used with intransitive verbs such as ἵστημι ({isthmi, “I stand”; cf. BDAG 874 s.v. πρός 2.a), but πρὸς ἑαυτόν together never means “by himself” or “alone” in biblical Greek. On the other hand, if πρὸς ἑαυτόν is taken with the verb, then two different nuances emerge, both of which highlight in different ways the principal point Jesus seems to be making about the arrogance of this religious leader: (1) “prayed to himself,” but not necessarily silently, or (2) “prayed about himself,” with the connotation that he prayed out loud, for all to hear. Since his prayer is really a review of his moral résumé, directed both at advertising his own righteousness and exposing the perversion of the tax collector, whom he actually mentions in his prayer, the latter option seems preferable. If this is the case, then the Pharisee’s mention of God is really nothing more than a formality.

[18:11]  ¹⁴ sn The Pharisee’s prayer started out as a thanksgiving psalm to God, but the praise ended up not being about God.

[18:11]  ¹⁵ tn Here the plural Greek term ἀνθρώπων (anqrwpwn) is used as a generic and can refer to both men and women (NASB, NRSV, “people”; NLT, “everyone else”; NAB, “the rest of humanity”).

[18:11]  ¹⁶ tn Or “swindlers” (BDAG 134 s.v. ἅρπαξ 2); see also Isa 10:2; Josephus, J. W. 6.3.4 [6.203].

[18:11]  ¹⁷ sn A general category for “sinners” (1 Cor 6:9; Lev 19:3).

[18:11]  ¹⁸ sn Note what the Pharisee assumes about the righteousness of this tax collector by grouping him with extortionists, unrighteous people, and adulterers.

[23:35]  ¹⁹ tn A figurative extension of the literal meaning “to turn one’s nose up at someone”; here “ridicule, sneer at, show contempt for” (L&N 33.409).

[23:35]  ²⁰ sn The irony in the statement Let him save himself is that salvation did come, but later, not while on the cross.

[23:35]  ²¹ tn This is a first class condition in the Greek text.

[23:35]  ²² tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[23:35]  sn See the note on Christ in 2:11.