Luke 11:46-48 New English Translation

⁴⁶But Jesus^[a] replied,^[b] “Woe to you experts in religious law as well!^[c] You load people^[d] down with burdens difficult to bear, yet you yourselves refuse to touch^[e] the burdens with even one of your fingers! ⁴⁷Woe to you! You build^[f] the tombs of the prophets whom your ancestors^[g] killed. ⁴⁸So you testify that you approve of^[h] the deeds of your ancestors,^[i] because they killed the prophets^[j] and you build their^[k] tombs!^[l]

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Footnotes

Luke 11:46 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Luke 11:46 tn Grk “said.”
Luke 11:46 tn Here “as well” is used to translate καί (kai) at the beginning of the statement.
Luke 11:46 tn Grk “men.” This is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anthrōpos), referring to both males and females.
Luke 11:46 tn Grk “you yourselves do not touch.” This could mean one of two things: (1) Either they make others do what they themselves do not (through various technical exceptions) or (2) they make no effort to help the others fulfill what they are required to do. Considering the care these religious figures are said to have given to the law, the second option is more likely (see L&N 18.11).
Luke 11:47 sn The effect of what the experts in the law were doing was to deny the message of the prophets and thus honor their death by supporting those who had sought their removal. The charge that this is what previous generations did shows the problem is chronic. As T. W. Manson said, the charge here is “The only prophet you honor is a dead prophet!” (The Sayings of Jesus, 101).
Luke 11:47 tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”
Luke 11:48 tn Grk “you are witnesses and approve of.”
Luke 11:48 tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”
Luke 11:48 tn Grk “them”; the referent (the prophets) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Luke 11:48 tn “Their,” i.e., the prophets.
Luke 11:48 tc The majority of mss list a specific object (“their tombs”), filling out the sentence (although there are two different words for “tombs” among the mss, as well as different word orders: αὐτῶν τὰ μνημεῖα (autōn ta mnēmeia; found in A C W Θ Ψ 33 M) and τοὺς τάφους αὐτῶν (tous taphous autōn; found in ƒ^1,[13] 2542). This suggests that early copyists had no term in front of them but felt the verb needed an object. But since a wide distribution of early Alexandrian and Western mss lack these words (P⁷⁵ א B D L 579 1241 it sa), it is likely that they were not part of the original text of Luke. Nevertheless, the words “their tombs” are inserted in the translation because of requirements of English style.

New English Translation (NET)