Luke 11:34-36

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Luke 11:34 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”).
2. Luke 11:34 tn Or “when it is sick” (L&N 23.149).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. Ancient understanding of vision involved light coming into the body from outside, and “light” thus easily becomes a metaphor for teaching. As a “diseased” eye would hinder the passage of light, so in the metaphor Jesus’ teaching would be blocked from being internalized in the hearer.
3. Luke 11:35 tn This is a present imperative, calling for a constant watch (L&N 24.32; ExSyn 721).
4. Luke 11:35 sn Here you is a singular pronoun, individualizing the application.
5. Luke 11:36 tn This is a first class condition in the Greek text, so the example ends on a hopeful, positive note.
6. Luke 11:36 tn Grk “Therefore”; the same conjunction as at the beginning of v. 35, but since it indicates a further inference or conclusion, it has been translated “then” here.
7. Luke 11:36 tn Grk “not having any part dark.”
8. Luke 11:36 tn Grk “it will be completely illumined as when a lamp illumines you with its rays.”