Lukas 9:27

9:27 But I tell you most certainly, ¹  there are some standing here who will not ²  experience ³  death before they see the kingdom of God.” ⁴ 

Lukas 11:18

11:18 So ⁵  if ⁶  Satan too is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? I ask you this because ⁷  you claim that I cast out demons by Beelzebul.

Lukas 12:15

12:15 Then ⁸  he said to them, “Watch out and guard yourself from ⁹  all types of greed, ¹⁰  because one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

[9:27]  ¹ tn Grk “I tell you truly” (λέγω δὲ ὑμῖν ἀληθῶς, legw de Jumin alhqw").

[9:27]  ² tn The Greek negative here (οὐ μή, ou mh) is the strongest possible.

[9:27]  ³ tn Grk “will not taste.” Here the Greek verb does not mean “sample a small amount” (as a typical English reader might infer from the word “taste”), but “experience something cognitively or emotionally; come to know something” (cf. BDAG 195 s.v. γεύομαι 2).

[9:27]  ⁴ sn The meaning of the statement that some will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God is clear at one level, harder at another. Jesus predicts some will experience the kingdom before they die. When does this happen? (1) An initial fulfillment is the next event, the transfiguration. (2) It is also possible in Luke’s understanding that all but Judas experience the initial fulfillment of the coming of God’s presence and rule in the work of Acts 2. In either case, the “kingdom of God” referred to here would be the initial rather than the final phase.

[11:18]  ⁵ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate that the clause that follows is a logical conclusion based on the preceding examples.

[11:18]  ⁶ tn This first class condition, the first of three “if” clauses in the following verses, presents the example vividly as if it were so. In fact, all three conditions in these verses are first class. The examples are made totally parallel. The expected answer is that Satan’s kingdom will not stand, so the suggestion makes no sense. Satan would not seek to heal.

[11:18]  ⁷ tn Grk “because.” “I ask you this” is supplied for the sake of English.

[12:15]  ⁸ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[12:15]  ⁹ tn See L&N 13.154 for this use of the middle voice of φυλάσσω (fulassw) in this verse.

[12:15]  ¹⁰ tn Or “avarice,” “covetousness.” Note the warning covers more than money and gets at the root attitude – the strong desire to acquire more and more possessions and experiences.