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 14:18-19

14:18 But one after another they all ⁴  began to make excuses. ⁵  The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, ⁶  and I must go out and see it. Please excuse me.’ ⁷  14:19 Another ⁸  said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, ⁹  and I am going out ¹⁰  to examine them. Please excuse me.’

[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.

[14:18]  ⁴ tn Or “all unanimously” (BDAG 107 s.v. ἀπό 6). "One after another" is suggested by L&N 61.2.

[14:18]  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.

[14:18]  ⁶ sn I have bought a field. An examination of newly bought land was a common practice. It was this person’s priority.

[14:18]  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.”

[14:19]  ⁸ tn Grk “And another.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[14:19]  ⁹ sn Five yoke of oxen. This was a wealthy man, because the normal farmer had one or two yoke of oxen.

[14:19]  ¹⁰ tn The translation “going out” for πορεύομαι (poreuomai) is used because “going” in this context could be understood to mean “I am about to” rather than the correct nuance, “I am on my way to.”