Luke 10:18-20

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Luke 10:18 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate that Jesus’ reply in vv. 18-20 follows from the positive report of the messengers in v. 17.
2. Luke 10:18 tn This is an imperfect tense verb.
3. Luke 10:18 tn In Greek, this is a participle and comes at the end of the verse, making it somewhat emphatic.
4. Luke 10:18 tn This is probably best taken as allusion to Isa 14:12; the phrase in common is ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ (ek tou ouranou). These exorcisms in Jesus’ name are a picture of Satan’s greater defeat at Jesus’ hands (D. L. Bock, Luke [BECNT], 2:1006-7).
5. Luke 10:19 tn Or perhaps, “trample on” (which emphasizes the impact of the feet on the snakes). See L&N 15.226.
6. Luke 10:19 sn Snakes and scorpions are examples of the hostility in the creation that is defeated by Jesus. The use of battle imagery shows who the kingdom fights against. See Acts 28:3-6.
7. Luke 10:19 tn Or “I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and [authority] over the full force of the enemy.” The second prepositional phrase can be taken either as modifying the infinitive πατεῖν (patein, “to tread”) or the noun ἐξουσίαν (exousian, “power”). The former is to be preferred and has been represented in the translation.sn The enemy is a reference to Satan (mentioned in v. 18).
8. Luke 10:19 tn This is an emphatic double negative in the Greek text.
9. Luke 10:20 tn Grk “do not rejoice in this, that.” This is awkward in contemporary English and has been simplified to “do not rejoice that.”
10. Luke 10:20 tn The verb here is a present imperative, so the call is to an attitude of rejoicing.
11. Luke 10:20 tn The verb here, a perfect tense, stresses a present reality of that which was a completed action, that is, their names were etched in the heavenly stone, as it were.