Lukas 12:28

12:28 And if ¹  this is how God clothes the wild grass, ²  which is here ³  today and tomorrow is tossed into the fire to heat the oven, ⁴  how much more ⁵  will he clothe you, you people of little faith!

Lukas 2:12

2:12 This ⁶  will be a sign ⁷  for you: You will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger.” ⁸ 

Lukas 2:16

2:16 So they hurried off and located Mary and Joseph, and found the baby lying in a manger. ⁹ 

Lukas 2:7

2:7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in strips of cloth ¹⁰  and laid him in a manger, ¹¹  because there was no place for them in the inn. ¹² 

Lukas 7:24

7:24 When ¹³  John’s messengers had gone, Jesus ¹⁴  began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness ¹⁵  to see? A reed shaken by the wind? ¹⁶ 

Lukas 2:8

The Shepherds’ Visit

2:8 Now ¹⁷  there were shepherds ¹⁸  nearby ¹⁹  living out in the field, keeping guard ²⁰  over their flock at night.

Lukas 2:20

2:20 So ²¹  the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising ²²  God for all they had heard and seen; everything was just as they had been told. ²³ 

Lukas 15:4

15:4 “Which one ²⁴  of you, if he has a hundred ²⁵  sheep and loses one of them, would not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture ²⁶  and go look for ²⁷  the one that is lost until he finds it? ²⁸ 

Lukas 12:27

12:27 Consider how the flowers ²⁹  grow; they do not work ³⁰  or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed like one of these!

[12:28]  ¹ tn This is a first class condition in the Greek text.

[12:28]  ² tn Grk “grass in the field.”

[12:28]  ³ tn Grk “which is in the field today.”

[12:28]  ⁴ tn Grk “into the oven.” The expanded translation “into the fire to heat the oven” has been used to avoid misunderstanding; most items put into modern ovens are put there to be baked, not burned.

[12:28]  sn The oven was most likely a rounded clay oven used for baking bread, which was heated by burning wood and dried grass.

[12:28]  ⁵ sn The phrase how much more is a typical form of rabbinic argumentation, from the lesser to the greater. If God cares for the little things, surely he will care for the more important things.

[2:12]  ⁶ tn Grk “And this.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[2:12]  ⁷ sn The sign functions for the shepherds like Elizabeth’s conception served for Mary in 1:36.

[2:12]  ⁸ tn Or “a feeding trough,” see Luke 2:7.

[2:16]  ⁹ tn Or “a feeding trough.”

[2:7]  ¹⁰ sn The strips of cloth (traditionally, “swaddling cloths”) were strips of linen that would be wrapped around the arms and legs of an infant to keep the limbs protected.

[2:7]  ¹¹ tn Or “a feeding trough.”

[2:7]  ¹² tn The Greek word κατάλυμα is flexible, and usage in the LXX and NT refers to a variety of places for lodging (see BDAG 521 s.v.). Most likely Joseph and Mary sought lodging in the public accommodations in the city of Bethlehem (see J. Nolland, Luke [WBC], 1:105), which would have been crude shelters for people and animals. However, it has been suggested by various scholars that Joseph and Mary were staying with relatives in Bethlehem (e.g., C. S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, 194; B. Witherington, “Birth of Jesus,” DJG, 69-70); if that were so the term would refer to the guest room in the relatives’ house, which would have been filled beyond capacity with all the other relatives who had to journey to Bethlehem for the census.

[2:7]  sn There was no place for them in the inn. There is no drama in how this is told. There is no search for a variety of places to stay or a heartless innkeeper. (Such items are later, nonbiblical embellishments.) Bethlehem was not large and there was simply no other place to stay. The humble surroundings of the birth are ironic in view of the birth’s significance.

[7:24]  ¹³ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[7:24]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:24]  ¹⁵ tn Or “desert.”

[7:24]  ¹⁶ tn There is a debate as to whether one should read this figuratively (“to see someone who is easily blown over?”) or literally (Grk “to see the wilderness vegetation?…No, to see a prophet”). Either view makes good sense, but the following examples suggest the question should be read literally and understood to point to the fact that a prophet drew them to the desert.

[2:8]  ¹⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[2:8]  ¹⁸ sn Some argue that shepherds were among the culturally despised, but the evidence for this view of shepherds is late, coming from 5th century Jewish materials. December 25 as the celebrated date of Jesus’ birth arose around the time of Constantine (ca. a.d. 306-337), though it is mentioned in material from Hippolytus (a.d. 165-235). Some think that the reason for celebration on this date was that it coincided with the pagan Roman festival of Saturnalia, and Christians could celebrate their own festival at this time without fear of persecution. On the basis of the statement that the shepherds were living out in the field, keeping guard over their flock at night it is often suggested that Jesus’ birth took place in early spring, since it was only at lambing time that shepherds stood guard over their flocks in the field. This is not absolutely certain, however.

[2:8]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “in that region.”

[2:8]  ²⁰ tn Grk “living in the field (see BDAG 15 s.v. ἀγραυλέω) and guarding their flock.”

[2:20]  ²¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the conclusion of the topic.

[2:20]  ²² sn The mention of glorifying and praising God is the second note of praise in this section; see Luke 2:13-14.

[2:20]  ²³ tn Grk “just as [it] had been spoken to them.” This has been simplified in the English translation by making the prepositional phrase (“to them”) the subject of the passive verb.

[2:20]  sn The closing remark just as they had been told notes a major theme of Luke 1-2 as he sought to reassure Theophilus: God does what he says he will do.

[15:4]  ²⁴ tn Grk “What man.” The Greek word ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used here in a somewhat generic sense.

[15:4]  ²⁵ sn This individual with a hundred sheep is a shepherd of modest means, as flocks often had up to two hundred head of sheep.

[15:4]  ²⁶ tn Or “desert,” but here such a translation might suggest neglect of the 99 sheep left behind.

[15:4]  ²⁷ tn Grk “go after,” but in contemporary English the idiom “to look for” is used to express this.

[15:4]  ²⁸ sn Until he finds it. The parable pictures God’s pursuit of the sinner. On the image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd, see John 10:1-18.

[12:27]  ²⁹ tn Traditionally, “lilies.” According to L&N 3.32, “Though traditionally κρίνον has been regarded as a type of lily, scholars have suggested several other possible types of flowers, including an anemone, a poppy, a gladiolus, and a rather inconspicuous type of daisy.” In view of the uncertainty, the more generic “flowers” has been used in the translation.

[12:27]  ³⁰ tn Traditionally, “toil.” Although it might be argued that “work hard” would be a more precise translation of κοπιάω (kopiaw) here, the line in English scans better in terms of cadence with a single syllable.