Lukas 12:27

12:27 Consider how the flowers ¹  grow; they do not work ²  or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed like one of these!

Lukas 13:7

13:7 So ³  he said to the worker who tended the vineyard, ‘For ⁴  three years ⁵  now, I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and each time I inspect it ⁶  I find none. Cut ⁷  it down! Why ⁸  should it continue to deplete ⁹  the soil?’

Lukas 19:21

19:21 For I was afraid of you, because you are a severe ¹⁰  man. You withdraw ¹¹  what you did not deposit ¹²  and reap what you did not sow.’

[12:27]  ¹ 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]  ² 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.

[13:7]  ³ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the man’s response as a result of the lack of figs in the preceding clause.

[13:7]  ⁴ tn Grk “Behold, for.”

[13:7]  ⁵ sn The elapsed time could be six years total since planting, since often a fig was given three years before one even started to look for fruit. The point in any case is that enough time had been given to expect fruit.

[13:7]  ⁶ tn The phrase “each time I inspect it” is not in the Greek text but has been supplied to indicate the customary nature of the man’s search for fruit.

[13:7]  ⁷ tc ‡ Several witnesses (Ì⁷⁵ A L Θ Ψ 070 ˹³ 33 579 892 al lat co) have “therefore” (οὖν, oun) here. This conjunction has the effect of strengthening the logical connection with the preceding statement but also of reducing the rhetorical power and urgency of the imperative. In light of the slightly greater internal probability of adding a conjunction to an otherwise asyndetic sentence, as well as significant external support for the omission (א B D W ˹ Ï), the shorter reading appears to be more likely as the original wording here. NA²⁷ puts the conjunction in brackets, indicating some doubts as to its authenticity.

[13:7]  ⁸ tn Grk “Why indeed.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[13:7]  ⁹ sn Such fig trees would deplete the soil, robbing it of nutrients needed by other trees and plants.

[19:21]  ¹⁰ tn Or “exacting,” “harsh,” “hard.”

[19:21]  ¹¹ tn Grk “man, taking out.” The Greek word can refer to withdrawing money from a bank (L&N 57.218), and in this context of financial accountability that is the most probable meaning. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation by supplying the pronoun “you” as subject and translating the participle αἴρεις (airei") as a finite verb.

[19:21]  ¹² tn The Greek verb τίθημι (tiqhmi) can be used of depositing money with a banker to earn interest (L&N 57.217). In effect the slave charges that the master takes what he has not earned.