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17 His winnowing fork[a] is in his hand to clean out his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his storehouse,[b] but the chaff he will burn up with inextinguishable fire.”[c]

18 And in this way,[d] with many other exhortations, John[e] proclaimed good news to the people. 19 But when John rebuked Herod[f] the tetrarch[g] because of Herodias, his brother’s wife,[h] and because of all the evil deeds[i] that he had done,

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 3:17 sn A winnowing fork is a pitchfork-like tool used to toss threshed grain in the air so that the wind blows away the chaff, leaving the grain to fall to the ground. The note of purging is highlighted by the use of imagery involving sifting though threshed grain for the useful kernels.
  2. Luke 3:17 tn Or “granary,” “barn” (referring to a building used to store a farm’s produce rather than a building for housing livestock).
  3. Luke 3:17 sn The image of fire that cannot be extinguished is from the OT: Job 20:26; Isa 34:8-10; 66:24.
  4. Luke 3:18 tn On construction μὲν οὖν καί (men oun kai), see BDF §451.1.
  5. Luke 3:18 tn Grk “he”; the referent (John) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  6. Luke 3:19 sn Herod refers here to Herod Antipas. See the note on Herod Antipas in 3:1.
  7. Luke 3:19 sn See the note on tetrarch in 3:1.
  8. Luke 3:19 tc Several mss (A C K W Ψ 33 565 579 1424 2542 al bo) read τῆς γυναικὸς Φιλίππου τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ αὐτοῦ (tēs gunaikos Philippou tou adelphou autou, “the wife of his brother Philip”), specifying whose wife Herodias was. The addition of “Philip,” however, is an assimilation to Matt 14:3 and is lacking in the better witnesses.sn This marriage to his brother’s wife was a violation of OT law (Lev 18:16; 20:21). In addition, both Herod Antipas and Herodias had each left previous marriages to enter into this union.
  9. Luke 3:19 tn Or “immoralities.”