Lukas 8:18

8:18 So listen carefully, ¹  for whoever has will be given more, but ²  whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has ³  will be taken from him.”

Lukas 12:1

Fear God, Not People

12:1 Meanwhile, ⁴  when many thousands of the crowd had gathered so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus ⁵  began to speak first to his disciples, “Be on your guard against ⁶  the yeast of the Pharisees, ⁷  which is hypocrisy. ⁸ 

Lukas 12:39

12:39 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief ⁹  was coming, he would not have let ¹⁰  his house be broken into.

Lukas 21:34

Be Ready!

21:34 “But be on your guard ¹¹  so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day close down upon you suddenly like a trap. ¹² 

[8:18]  ¹ tn Or “Therefore pay close attention”; Grk “Take heed therefore how you hear.”

[8:18]  ² tn Grk “and.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[8:18]  ³ sn The phrase what he thinks he has is important, because it is not what a person thinks he has that is important but whether he actually has something or not. Jesus describes the person who does not heed his word as having nothing. The person who has nothing loses even that which he thought was something but was not. In other words, he has absolutely nothing at all. Jesus’ teaching must be taken seriously.

[12:1]  ⁴ tn The phrase ἐν οἷς (en Jois) can be translated “meanwhile.”

[12:1]  ⁵ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:1]  ⁶ tn According to L&N 27.59, “to pay attention to, to keep on the lookout for, to be alert for, to be on your guard against.” This is another Lukan present imperative calling for constant vigilance.

[12:1]  ⁷ sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.

[12:1]  ⁸ sn The pursuit of popularity can lead to hypocrisy, if one is not careful.

[12:39]  ⁹ sn On Jesus pictured as a returning thief, see 1 Thess 5:2, 4; 2 Pet 3:10; Rev 3:3; 16:15.

[12:39]  ¹⁰ tc Most mss (א¹ A B L Q W Θ Ψ 070 Ë^1,13 33 Ï lat sy^p,h sa^ms bo) read “he would have watched and not let” here, but this looks like an assimilation to Matt 24:43. The alliance of two important and early mss along with a few others (Ì⁷⁵ א* [D] e i sy^s,c sa^mss), coupled with much stronger internal evidence, suggests that the shorter reading is authentic.

[21:34]  ¹¹ tn Grk “watch out for yourselves.”

[21:34]  sn Disciples are to watch out. If they are too absorbed into everyday life, they will stop watching and living faithfully.

[21:34]  ¹² sn Or like a thief, see Luke 12:39-40. The metaphor of a trap is a vivid one. Most modern English translations traditionally place the words “like a trap” at the end of v. 34, completing the metaphor. In the Greek text (and in the NRSV and REB) the words “like a trap” are placed at the beginning of v. 35. This does not affect the meaning.