1 tn Or “banquet.” This may not refer only to a wedding feast, because this term can have broader sense (note the usage in Esth 2:18; 9:22 LXX). However, this difference does not affect the point of the parable.
2 tn Grk “do not recline in the place of honor.” 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.
3 tn Grk “by him”; the referent (the host) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
4 tn Or “all unanimously” (BDAG 107 s.v. ἀπό 6). "One after another" is suggested by L&N 61.2.
5 sn To make excuses and cancel at this point was an insult in the culture of the time. Regardless of customs concerning responses to invitations, refusal at this point was rude.
6 sn I have bought a field. An examination of newly bought land was a common practice. It was this person’s priority.
7 sn The expression Please excuse me is probably a polite way of refusing, given the dynamics of the situation, although it is important to note that an initial acceptance had probably been indicated and it was now a bit late for a refusal. The semantic equivalent of the phrase may well be “please accept my apologies.”
7 tn Grk “And the.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
8 tn Grk “the”; in context the article is used as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).
9 tn L&N 57.19 notes that in nonbiblical contexts in which the word οὐσία (ousia) occurs, it refers to considerable possessions or wealth, thus “estate.”
10 tn L&N 57.3, “to belong to or come to belong to, with the possible implication of by right or by inheritance.”
11 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the father’s response to the younger son’s request.
12 tn Grk “the”; in context the article is used as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).
13 sn He divided his assets between them. There was advice against doing this in the OT Apocrypha (Sir 33:20). The younger son would get half of what the older son received (Deut 21:17).
10 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
11 sn The phrase against heaven is a circumlocution for God. 1st century Judaism tended to minimize use of the divine name out of reverence.
12 sn The younger son launches into his confession just as he had planned. See vv. 18-19.
13 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the tenants’ decision to kill the son.
14 sn Throwing the heir out of the vineyard pictures Jesus’ death outside of Jerusalem.
16 tn Grk “to attain to.”
17 sn Life in the age to come is different than life here (they neither marry nor are given in marriage). This means Jesus’ questioners had made a false assumption that life was the same both now and in the age to come.