Lukas 5:23

5:23 Which is easier, ¹  to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Stand up and walk’?

Lukas 11:34

11:34 Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, ²  your whole body is full of light, but when it is diseased, ³  your body is full of darkness.

Lukas 12:36

12:36 be like people ⁴  waiting for their master to come back from the wedding celebration, ⁵  so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him.

[5:23]  ¹ sn Which is easier is a reflective kind of question. On the one hand to declare sins are forgiven is easier, since one does not need to see it, unlike telling a paralyzed person to walk. On the other hand, it is harder, because for it to be true one must possess the authority to forgive the sin.

[11:34]  ² tn Or “sound” (so L&N 23.132 and most scholars). A few scholars take this word to mean something like “generous” here (L&N 57.107), partly due to the immediate context of this saying in Matt 6:22 which concerns money, in which case the “eye” is a metonymy for the entire person (“if you are generous”).

[11:34]  ³ tn Or “when it is sick” (L&N 23.149).

[11:34]  sn There may be a slight wordplay here, as this term can also mean “evil,” so the figure uses a term that points to the real meaning of being careful as to what one pays attention to or looks at.

[12:36]  ⁴ tn That is, like slaves (who are mentioned later, vv. 37-38), although the term ἀνθρώποις (anqrwpoi") is used here. Since in this context it appears generic rather than gender-specific, the translation “people” is employed.

[12:36]  ⁵ sn An ancient wedding celebration could last for days (Tob 11:18).