Lukas 8:12

8:12 Those along the path are the ones who have heard; then the devil ¹  comes and takes away the word ²  from their hearts, so that they may not believe ³  and be saved.

Lukas 11:52

11:52 Woe to you experts in religious law! You have taken away ⁴  the key to knowledge! You did not go in yourselves, and you hindered ⁵  those who were going in.”

[8:12]  ¹ sn Interestingly, the synoptic parallels each use a different word for the devil here: Matt 13:19 has “the evil one,” while Mark 4:15 has “Satan.” This illustrates the fluidity of the gospel tradition in often using synonyms at the same point of the parallel tradition.

[8:12]  ² sn The word of Jesus has the potential to save if it germinates in a person’s heart, something the devil is very much against.

[8:12]  ³ tn The participle πιστεύσαντες (pisteusante") has been translated as a finite verb here. It may be regarded as an adverbial participle of attendant circumstance. From a logical standpoint the negative must govern both the participle and the finite verb.

[11:52]  ⁴ sn You have taken away the key to knowledge is another stinging rebuke. They had done the opposite of what they were trying to do.

[11:52]  ⁵ tn Or “you tried to prevent.”