Luke 18:14-16

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Luke 18:14 sn The prayer that was heard and honored was the one given with humility; in a surprising reversal it was the tax collector who went down to his home justified.
2. Luke 18:14 tn Grk “the other”; the referent (the Pharisee, v. 10) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3. Luke 18:14 sn Everyone who exalts himself. See Luke 14:11. Jesus often called for humility and condemned those who sought honor.
4. Luke 18:15 tn Grk “they.”
5. Luke 18:15 tn The term βρέφος (brephos) here can refer to babies or to toddlers (2:12, 16; Acts 7:19; 2 Tim 3:15; 1 Pet 2:2).
6. Luke 18:15 tn Grk “so that he would touch them.” Here the touch is connected with (or conveys) a blessing (cf. Mark 10:16; also BDAG 126 s.v. ἅπτω 2.c).
7. Luke 18:15 tn Grk “the disciples began to scold them.” In the translation the referent has been specified as “those who brought them,” since otherwise the statement could be understood to mean that the disciples began scolding the children rather than their parents who brought them.
8. Luke 18:16 tn Grk “summoned them”; the referent (the children) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
9. Luke 18:16 sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus’ teaching. The nature of the kingdom of God in the NT and in Jesus’ teaching has long been debated by interpreters and scholars, with discussion primarily centering around the nature of the kingdom (earthly, heavenly, or both) and the kingdom’s arrival (present, future, or both). An additional major issue concerns the relationship between the kingdom of God and the person and work of Jesus himself. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21.
10. Luke 18:16 sn The kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Children are a picture of those whose simple trust illustrates what faith is all about. The remark illustrates how everyone is important to God, even those whom others regard as insignificant.