Lukas 14:34

14:34 “Salt ¹  is good, but if salt loses its flavor, ²  how can its flavor be restored?

Lukas 18:2

18:2 He said, ³  “In a certain city ⁴  there was a judge ⁵  who neither feared God nor respected people. ⁶ 

Lukas 18:30

18:30 who will not receive many times more ⁷  in this age ⁸  – and in the age to come, eternal life.” ⁹ 

Lukas 22:29

22:29 Thus ¹⁰  I grant ¹¹  to you a kingdom, ¹²  just as my Father granted to me,

Lukas 22:55

22:55 When they had made a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat down among them.

Lukas 23:32

23:32 Two other criminals ¹³  were also led away to be executed with him.

[14:34]  ¹ tn Grk “Now salt…”; here οὖν has not been translated.

[14:34]  sn Salt was used as seasoning or fertilizer (BDAG 41 s.v. ἅλας a), or as a preservative. If salt ceased to be useful, it was thrown away. With this illustration Jesus warned about a disciple who ceased to follow him.

[14:34]  ² sn The difficulty of this saying is understanding how salt could lose its flavor since its chemical properties cannot change. It is thus often assumed that Jesus was referring to chemically impure salt, perhaps a natural salt which, when exposed to the elements, had all the genuine salt leached out, leaving only the sediment or impurities behind. Others have suggested the background of the saying is the use of salt blocks by Arab bakers to line the floor of their ovens: Under the intense heat these blocks would eventually crystallize and undergo a change in chemical composition, finally being thrown out as unserviceable. A saying in the Talmud (b. Bekhorot 8b) attributed to R. Joshua ben Chananja (ca. a.d. 90), when asked the question “When salt loses its flavor, how can it be made salty again?” is said to have replied, “By salting it with the afterbirth of a mule.” He was then asked, “Then does the mule (being sterile) bear young?” to which he replied: “Can salt lose its flavor?” The point appears to be, both are impossible. The saying, while admittedly late, suggests that culturally the loss of flavor by salt was regarded as an impossibility. Genuine salt can never lose its flavor. In this case the saying by Jesus here may be similar to Matt 19:24, where it is likewise impossible for the camel to go through the eye of a sewing needle.

[18:2]  ³ tn Grk “lose heart, saying.” This is a continuation of the previous sentence in the Greek text, but a new sentence was started here in the translation by supplying the pronominal subject “He.”

[18:2]  ⁴ tn Or “town.”

[18:2]  ⁵ sn The judge here is apparently portrayed as a civil judge who often handled financial cases.

[18:2]  ⁶ tn Grk “man,” but the singular ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used as a generic in comparison to God.

[18:30]  ⁷ sn Jesus reassures his disciples with a promise that (1) much benefit in this life (many times more) and (2) eternal life in the age to come will be given.

[18:30]  ⁸ tn Grk “this time” (καιρός, kairos), but for stylistic reasons this has been translated “this age” here.

[18:30]  ⁹ sn Note that Luke (see also Matt 19:29; Mark 10:30; Luke 10:25) portrays eternal life as something one receives in the age to come, unlike John, who emphasizes the possibility of receiving eternal life in the present (John 5:24).

[22:29]  ¹⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “thus” to indicate the implied result of the disciples’ perseverance with Jesus.

[22:29]  ¹¹ sn With the statement “I grant to you a kingdom” Jesus gave the disciples authority over the kingdom, as God had given him such authority. The present tense looks at authority given presently, though the major manifestation of its presence is yet to come as the next verse shows.

[22:29]  ¹² tn Or “I give you the right to rule” (cf. CEV). For this translation of διατίθεμαι βασιλείαν (diatiqemai basileian) see L&N 37.105.

[23:32]  ¹³ tc The text reads either “two other criminals” or “others, two criminals.” The first reading (found in Ì⁷⁵ א B) could be read as describing Jesus as a criminal, while the second (found in A C D L W Θ Ψ 070 0250 Ë^1,13 33 Ï) looks like an attempt to prevent this identification. The first reading, more difficult to explain from the other, is likely original.

[23:32]  sn Jesus is numbered among the criminals (see Isa 53:12 and Luke 22:37).