Lukas 1:55

1:55 as he promised ¹  to our ancestors, ²  to Abraham and to his descendants ³  forever.”

Lukas 10:29

10:29 But the expert, ⁴  wanting to justify ⁵  himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

Lukas 11:16

11:16 Others, to test ⁶  him, ⁷  began asking for ⁸  a sign ⁹  from heaven.

Lukas 11:20

11:20 But if I cast out demons by the finger ¹⁰  of God, then the kingdom of God ¹¹  has already overtaken ¹²  you.

[1:55]  ¹ tn Grk “as he spoke.” Since this is a reference to the covenant to Abraham, ἐλάλησεν (elalhsen) can be translated in context “as he promised.” God keeps his word.

[1:55]  ² tn Grk “fathers.”

[1:55]  ³ tn Grk “his seed” (an idiom for offspring or descendants).

[10:29]  ⁴ tn Grk “And he”; the referent (the expert in religious law, shortened here to “the expert”) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:29]  ⁵ tn Or “vindicate.”

[10:29]  sn The expert in religious law picked up on the remark about the neighbor and sought to limit his responsibility for loving. Some believed this obligation would only be required toward the righteous (Sir 12:1-4). The lawyer was trying to see if that was right and thus confidently establish his righteousness (wanting to justify himself).

[11:16]  ⁶ tn Grk “testing”; the participle is taken as indicating the purpose of the demand.

[11:16]  ⁷ tn The pronoun “him” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[11:16]  ⁸ tn Grk “seeking from him.” The imperfect ἐζήτουν (ezhtoun) is taken ingressively. It is also possible to regard it as iterative (“kept on asking”).

[11:16]  ⁹ sn What exactly this sign would have been, given what Jesus was already doing, is not clear. But here is where the fence-sitters reside, refusing to commit to him.

[11:20]  ¹⁰ sn The finger of God is a figurative reference to God’s power (L&N 76.3). This phrase was used of God’s activity during the Exodus (Exod 8:19).

[11:20]  ¹¹ sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21.

[11:20]  ¹² tn The phrase ἔφθασεν ἐφ᾿ ὑμᾶς (efqasen ef’ Juma") is important. Does it mean merely “approach” (which would be reflected in a translation like “has come near to you”) or actually “come upon” (as in the translation given above, “has already overtaken you,” which has the added connotation of suddenness)? The issue here is like the one in 10:9 (see note there on the phrase “come on”). Is the arrival of the kingdom merely anticipated or already in process? Two factors favor arrival over anticipation here. First, the prepositional phrase “upon you” suggests arrival (Dan 4:24, 28 Theodotion). Second, the following illustration in vv. 21-23 looks at the healing as portraying Satan being overrun. So the presence of God’s authority has arrived. See also L&N 13.123 for the translation of φθάνω (fqanw) as “to happen to already, to come upon, to come upon already.”