Lukas 3:7

3:7 So John ¹  said to the crowds ²  that came out to be baptized by him, “You offspring of vipers! ³  Who warned you to flee ⁴  from the coming wrath?

Lukas 12:54

Reading the Signs

12:54 Jesus ⁵  also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, ⁶  you say at once, ‘A rainstorm ⁷  is coming,’ and it does.

[3:7]  ¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (John) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:7]  ² sn The crowds. It is interesting to trace references to “the crowd” in Luke. It is sometimes noted favorably, other times less so. The singular appears 25 times in Luke while the plural occurs 16 times. Matt 3:7 singles out the Sadducees and Pharisees here.

[3:7]  ³ tn Or “snakes.”

[3:7]  ⁴ sn The rebuke “Who warned you to flee…?” compares the crowd to snakes who flee their desert holes when the heat of a fire drives them out.

[12:54]  ⁵ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here καί (kai) has been translated as “also” and δέ (de) has not been translated.

[12:54]  ⁶ sn A cloud rising in the west refers to moisture coming from the Mediterranean Sea.

[12:54]  ⁷ tn The term ὄμβρος (ombro") refers to heavy rain, such as in a thunderstorm (L&N 14.12).