Luke 17:22-37

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Luke 17:22 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
2. Luke 17:22 sn This is a reference to the days of the full manifestation of Jesus’ power in a fully established kingdom. The reference to “days” instead of “day” is unusual, appearing only here and in v. 26, but it may be motivated merely by parallelism with the “days” of Noah there and the “days of Lot” in v. 28.
3. Luke 17:23 tn Grk “And they will say.” The plural in Greek is indefinite, referring to people in general. Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
4. Luke 17:23 tn The words “he is” here and in the following clause are understood and have been supplied from the context.
5. Luke 17:23 sn Do not go out or chase after them. There will be no need to search for the Son of Man at his coming, though many will falsely claim its arrival.
6. Luke 17:24 sn The Son of Man’s coming in power will be sudden and obvious like lightning. No one will need to point it out.
7. Luke 17:24 tc Some very significant mss (P⁷⁵ B D it sa) lack the words ἐν τῇ ἡμέρα αὐτοῦ (en tē hēmera autou, “in his day”), but the words are included in א A L W Θ Ψ ƒ^1,13 M lat sy bo. On the one hand, the shorter reading is impressive because it has some of the best Alexandrian and Western witnesses in support; on the other hand, the expression ἐν τῇ ἡμέρα αὐτοῦ is unusual (found nowhere else in the NT), and may be considered the harder reading. A decision is difficult, but it is probably best to retain the words. NA²⁸ rightly has the words in brackets, expressing doubt as to their authenticity.
8. Luke 17:25 sn The Son of Man’s suffering and rejection by this generation is another “it is necessary” type of event in God’s plan (Luke 4:43; 24:7, 26, 44) and the fifth passion prediction in Luke’s account (9:22, 44; 12:50; 13:32-33; for the last, see 18:32-33).
9. Luke 17:26 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
10. Luke 17:26 tn Or “as it happened.”
11. Luke 17:26 sn Like the days of Noah, the time of the flood in Gen 6:5-8:22, the judgment will come as a surprise as people live their day to day lives.
12. Luke 17:27 tn Grk “They.” The plural in Greek is indefinite, referring to people in general.
13. Luke 17:27 tn These verbs (“eating…drinking…marrying…being given in marriage”) are all progressive imperfects, describing action in progress at that time.
14. Luke 17:27 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
15. Luke 17:27 sn Like that flood came and destroyed them all, the coming judgment associated with the Son of Man will condemn many.
16. Luke 17:28 tn Or “as it happened.”
17. Luke 17:28 tn Grk “they.” The plural in Greek is indefinite, referring to people in general.
18. Luke 17:29 sn And destroyed them all. The coming of the Son of Man will be like the judgment on Sodom, one of the most immoral places of the OT (Gen 19:16-17; Deut 32:32-33; Isa 1:10).
19. Luke 17:31 sn Most of the roofs in the NT were flat roofs made of pounded dirt, sometimes mixed with lime or stones, supported by heavy wooden beams. They generally had an easy means of access, either a sturdy wooden ladder or stone stairway, sometimes on the outside of the house.
20. Luke 17:31 sn The swiftness and devastation of the judgment will require a swift escape. There is no time to come down from one’s roof and pick up anything from inside one’s home.
21. Luke 17:32 sn An allusion to Gen 19:26. The warning about Lot’s wife is not to look back and long to be where one used to be. The world is being judged, and the person who delays or turns back will be destroyed.
22. Luke 17:33 tn Or “tries to preserve”; Grk “seeks to gain.”
23. Luke 17:33 tn Grk “soul.” See the discussion of this Greek term in the note on “life” in Luke 9:24.
24. Luke 17:33 sn The Greek word translated life can refer to both earthly, physical life and inner, transcendent life (one’s “soul”). In the context, if a person is not willing to suffer the world’s rejection and persecution in order to follow Jesus but instead seeks to retain his physical life, then that person will lose both physical life and inner, transcendent life (at the judgment). On the other hand, the one who willingly gives up earthly, physical life to follow Jesus (“loses his life”) will ultimately preserve one’s “soul” (note that the parallel in John’s Gospel speaks of “guarding one’s ‘soul’ for eternal life” (John 12:25).
25. Luke 17:34 sn There is debate among commentators and scholars over the phrase one will be taken and the other left about whether one is taken for judgment or for salvation. If the imagery is patterned after the rescue of Noah from the flood and Lot from Sodom, as some suggest, the ones taken are the saved (as Noah and Lot were) and those left behind are judged. The imagery, however, is not directly tied to the identification of the two groups. Its primary purpose in context is to picture the sudden, surprising separation of the righteous and the judged (i.e., condemned) at the return of the Son of Man.
26. Luke 17:35 tn Grk “at the same place.” According to L&N 46.16, this refers to a hand mill normally operated by two women.
27. Luke 17:35 tc Several mss (D ƒ¹³ [579] 700 al lat sy) add (with several variations among these witnesses) 17:36 “There will be two in the field; one will be taken and the other left.” It is not well enough attested to be original. Further, it is an assimilation to the parallel in Matt 24:40, which marks the addition as secondary. The present translation follows NA²⁸ in omitting the verse number, a procedure also followed by a number of other modern translations.
28. Luke 17:37 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
29. Luke 17:37 tn Grk “they”; the referent (the disciples, v. 22) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
30. Luke 17:37 tn Grk “answering, they said to him.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified in the translation.
31. Luke 17:37 sn The question “Where, Lord?” means, “Where will the judgment take place?”
32. Luke 17:37 tn Or “corpse.”
33. Luke 17:37 tn The same Greek term can refer to “eagles” or “vultures” (L&N 4.42; BDAG 22 s.v. ἀετός), but in this context it must mean vultures, because the gruesome image is one of dead bodies being consumed by scavengers. sn Jesus’ answer is that when the judgment comes, the scenes of death will be obvious and so will the location of the judgment.
34. Luke 17:37 tn Grk “will be gathered.” The passive construction has been translated as an active one in English.