independentparticipialrelativepurposecausecomparativecontentconditionaldashed = verbless / suspended
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The widow's two lepta 21:1–4
vv. 1–2 — the upward glance: the rich, and one poor widow
1
Ἀναβλέψας δὲparticipial — antecedent aorist participle — forward-leaning on εἶδεν; the glance that frames the contrast
εἶδεν τοὺς βάλλοντας εἰς τὸ γαζοφυλάκιον τὰ δῶρα αὐτῶν πλουσίους.independent — the rich, plural and anonymous — the trumpet-shaped chests of the Court of the Women
2
εἶδεν δέ τινα χήραν πενιχρὰν βάλλουσαν ἐκεῖ λεπτὰ δύο,independent — εἶδεν doubled — one πενιχρά (NT hapax) against the many rich; the λεπτόν the smallest coin, 1/128 denarius
vv. 3–4 — the verdict: more than all of them
3
καὶ εἶπεν·independent — the speech-frame of the pronouncement
Ἀληθῶς λέγω ὑμῖνcontent — Ἀληθῶς — Luke's Greek equivalent of the solemn ἀμήν-formula
ὅτι ἡ χήρα αὕτη ἡ πτωχὴ πλεῖον πάντων ἔβαλεν·content — the verdict inverts the visible arithmetic — πτωχή now, stronger than πενιχρά: destitute
4
πάντες γὰρ οὗτοι ἐκ τοῦ περισσεύοντος αὐτοῖς ἔβαλον εἰς τὰ δῶρα,cause — the ground — ἐκ τοῦ περισσεύοντος: gifts skimmed from surplus
αὕτη δὲ ἐκ τοῦ ὑστερήματος αὐτῆς πάντα τὸν βίον ὃν εἶχεν ἔβαλεν.cause — the antithesis — ὑστέρημα against περίσσευμα; πάντα τὸν βίον, her whole means of living, the measure of the gift its cost
The temple's fall foretold and the disciples' question 21:5–7
vv. 5–6 — the admired stones and the demolition oracle
5
Καί τινων λεγόντων περὶ τοῦ ἱεροῦ,participial — genitive absolute — forward-leaning on εἶπεν; unnamed admirers (Luke's τινες, not Mark's disciple) set the occasion
ὅτι λίθοις καλοῖς καὶ ἀναθήμασιν κεκόσμηται,content — the content of their admiration — Herod's ashlars and the ἀναθήματα (the golden vine, the dedicated crowns); perfect κεκόσμηται, a standing adornment
εἶπεν·independent — the answering oracle — speech-frame
6
Ταῦτα ἃ θεωρεῖτε,content — pendent (hanging) nominative — the admired topic suspended, resumed only by the prophecy; asyndeton lends abruptness
ἐλεύσονται ἡμέραιcontent — the prophetic idiom 'days are coming' (LXX; cf. Luke 5:35; 17:22; 19:43)
ἐν αἷς οὐκ ἀφεθήσεται λίθος ἐπὶ λίθῳrelative — the demolition — fulfilled A.D. 70; the λίθοι καλοί of v. 5 answered stone for stone
ὃς οὐ καταλυθήσεται.relative — the doubled negative relative makes the demolition exhaustive — καταλύω, dismantled stone from stone
v. 7 — the double question: when, and what sign
7
Ἐπηρώτησαν δὲ αὐτὸν λέγοντες·independent — unnamed askers, still in the temple — Luke drops Mark's Olivet setting and four names
Διδάσκαλε, πότε οὖν ταῦτα ἔσται,content — the first question — πότε: timing; οὖν draws the inference from the oracle of v. 6
καὶ τί τὸ σημεῖονcontent — the second question, verbless — the demanded σημεῖον the discourse will both give (v. 20) and withhold
ὅταν μέλλῃ ταῦτα γίνεσθαι;conditional — backward ὅταν on σημεῖον (typed cnd; no temporal key) — μέλλῃ, imminence built into the asking
The discourse — deceivers, persecutions, Jerusalem's desolation, the Son of Man, and the watch 21:8–36
vv. 8–9 — the keynote: do not be deceived, do not be terrified
8
Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν·independent — the discourse's first frame — Luke will re-frame it twice more (vv. 10, 29)
Βλέπετεcontent — the keynote imperative — deception, not delay, the first danger named
μὴ πλανηθῆτε·content — μή + subjunctive of apprehension — the feared passive: being deceived
πολλοὶ γὰρ ἐλεύσονται ἐπὶ τῷ ὀνόματί μουcause — the ground of the warning — impostors trading on his name
λέγοντες·participial — speech-participle — the deceivers' two lines follow
Ἐγώ εἰμι,content — the messianic self-claim, verbless in force — Ἐγώ εἰμι, the divine self-designation arrogated
καί· Ὁ καιρὸς ἤγγικεν.content — the second cry — Jesus' own perfect ἤγγικεν (10:9, 11) counterfeited as date-setting; Luke alone records it
μὴ πορευθῆτε ὀπίσω αὐτῶν.content — prohibitive aorist — do not so much as set out; ὀπίσω, the vocabulary of discipleship refused to impostors
9
ὅταν δὲ ἀκούσητε πολέμους καὶ ἀκαταστασίας,conditional — fronted ὅταν (typed cnd; no temporal key) — forward-leaning on μὴ πτοηθῆτε; ἀκαταστασίαι, Luke's insurrections for Mark's 'rumors of wars'
μὴ πτοηθῆτε·content — the command of calm — πτοέω, panic forbidden to the forewarned
δεῖ γὰρ ταῦτα γενέσθαι πρῶτον,cause — the apocalyptic δεῖ — necessity inside God's plan; πρῶτον, sequence not signal
ἀλλ’ οὐκ εὐθέως τὸ τέλος.cause — verbless — οὐκ εὐθέως, Luke's delaying word for Mark's οὔπω: wars are preliminaries, not the end
vv. 10–11 — nation against nation: the catalogue of woes
10
Τότε ἔλεγεν αὐτοῖς·independent — the second frame — imperfect ἔλεγεν, continued teaching; the discourse re-keyed
Ἐγερθήσεται ἔθνος ἐπ’ ἔθνος καὶ βασιλεία ἐπὶ βασιλείαν,content — Isa 19:2 / 2 Chr 15:6 — the scripted convulsions; the verb gapped in the second pair
11
σεισμοί τε μεγάλοι καὶ κατὰ τόπους λιμοὶ καὶ λοιμοὶ ἔσονται,content — the terrestrial list — λιμοὶ καὶ λοιμοί, the famous assonant pair; distributive κατὰ τόπους
φόβητρά τε καὶ σημεῖα ἀπ’ οὐρανοῦ μεγάλα ἔσται.content — the celestial list — φόβητρα (NT hapax), dread portents; the asked-for σημεῖα (v. 7) come plural and terrifying
vv. 12–19 — but before all this: persecution as testimony, the promised mouth, the hairs of your head
12
πρὸ δὲ τούτων πάντων ἐπιβαλοῦσιν ἐφ’ ὑμᾶς τὰς χεῖρας αὐτῶν καὶ διώξουσιν,content — πρὸ δὲ τούτων πάντων — Luke's timeline reset: the disciples' trials precede the cosmic woes; ἐπιβάλλειν τὰς χεῖρας, the idiom of arrest (Acts 4:3; 5:18)
παραδιδόντες εἰς τὰς συναγωγὰς καὶ φυλακάς,participial — participle of means — παραδίδωμι, the verb of Jesus' own passion; the venues of Acts foretold
ἀπαγομένους ἐπὶ βασιλεῖς καὶ ἡγεμόνας ἕνεκεν τοῦ ὀνόματός μου·participial — the arenas widen — Jewish courts to Roman tribunals (Herod and Pilate, Agrippa and Festus); ἕνεκεν τοῦ ὀνόματος, the charge is Christ
13
ἀποβήσεται ὑμῖν εἰς μαρτύριον.content — asyndetic verdict — ἀποβαίνω εἰς: the dock turned pulpit; the persecutions' God-given outcome
14
θέτε οὖν ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ὑμῶνcontent — the Semitic idiom 'put in your hearts' — a resolve commanded in advance
μὴ προμελετᾶν ἀπολογηθῆναι·content — the content of the resolve — προμελετάω, the rhetor's term for rehearsing a speech (NT hapax); no prepared ἀπολογία
15
ἐγὼ γὰρ δώσω ὑμῖν στόμα καὶ σοφίανcause — the ground — emphatic ἐγώ: Christ himself the giver, where Mark 13:11 names the Spirit; fulfilled in Stephen (Acts 6:10)
ᾗ οὐ δυνήσονται ἀντιστῆναι ἢ ἀντειπεῖν ἅπαντες οἱ ἀντικείμενοι ὑμῖν.relative — the irresistibility clause — ἀντιστῆναι ἢ ἀντειπεῖν, neither withstand nor out-argue; ἅπαντες … οὐ, the Semitic 'none at all'
16
παραδοθήσεσθε δὲ καὶ ὑπὸ γονέων καὶ ἀδελφῶν καὶ συγγενῶν καὶ φίλων,content — Mic 7:6 — betrayal reaches the closest bonds; the fourfold list widens Mark's family pairs
καὶ θανατώσουσιν ἐξ ὑμῶν,content — partitive ἐξ ὑμῶν — some, not all: Stephen and James ahead (Acts 7; 12:2)
17
καὶ ἔσεσθε μισούμενοι ὑπὸ πάντων διὰ τὸ ὄνομά μου.content — future periphrastic — a standing state of hatred; the name of v. 8, now the offense
18
καὶ θρὶξ ἐκ τῆς κεφαλῆς ὑμῶν οὐ μὴ ἀπόληται.content — the proverbial assurance (1 Sam 14:45; Luke 12:7), Luke's own — set unharmonized beside the deaths of v. 16: preservation deeper than survival
19
ἐν τῇ ὑπομονῇ ὑμῶν κτήσεσθε τὰς ψυχὰς ὑμῶν.content — the section's maxim — instrumental ἐν; future κτήσεσθε read over the imperative κτήσασθε: endurance the means, the ψυχή the prize (the paradox of v. 18 resolved)
vv. 20–24 — Jerusalem surrounded: the days of vengeance and the times of the Gentiles
20
Ὅταν δὲ ἴδητε κυκλουμένην ὑπὸ στρατοπέδων Ἰερουσαλήμ,conditional — fronted ὅταν (typed cnd) — forward-leaning on γνῶτε; Luke's concrete siege (στρατόπεδα, NT hapax) replaces Mark's abomination of desolation — the sign made legible
τότε γνῶτεcontent — the apodosis — τότε answers the ὅταν; recognition commanded
ὅτι ἤγγικεν ἡ ἐρήμωσις αὐτῆς.content — ἐρήμωσις — Daniel's word (Dan 9:27 LXX) kept even as the βδέλυγμα is dropped; the perfect ἤγγικεν, imminence as settled fact
21
τότε οἱ ἐν τῇ Ἰουδαίᾳ φευγέτωσαν εἰς τὰ ὄρη,content — the first of three third-person imperatives — flight, not defense (the Pella tradition remembers it obeyed)
καὶ οἱ ἐν μέσῳ αὐτῆς ἐκχωρείτωσαν,content — ἐκχωρέω (NT hapax) — out of the doomed city, against every siege instinct
καὶ οἱ ἐν ταῖς χώραις μὴ εἰσερχέσθωσαν εἰς αὐτήν,content — the third command — the walls that promise refuge are the trap
22
ὅτι ἡμέραι ἐκδικήσεως αὗταί εἰσινcause — the ground of all three commands — ἡμέραι ἐκδικήσεως (Hos 9:7; Deut 32:35): the siege read as covenant judgment
τοῦ πλησθῆναι πάντα τὰ γεγραμμένα.purpose — τοῦ + infinitive of purpose/result — πάντα τὰ γεγραμμένα: the city's fall inside Scripture, not outside it
23
οὐαὶ ταῖς ἐν γαστρὶ ἐχούσαις καὶ ταῖς θηλαζούσαις ἐν ἐκείναις ταῖς ἡμέραις·content — verbless woe — compassion, not curse: the burdened cannot run (cf. 23:29, where the barren are called blessed)
ἔσται γὰρ ἀνάγκη μεγάλη ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς καὶ ὀργὴ τῷ λαῷ τούτῳ,cause — the ground — ἀνάγκη on the land, ὀργή on this people: judgment named without euphemism
24
καὶ πεσοῦνται στόματι μαχαίρηςcause — coordinate in the ground — στόμα μαχαίρης, the LXX's 'mouth of the sword' (Josephus counts the fallen in myriads)
καὶ αἰχμαλωτισθήσονται εἰς τὰ ἔθνη πάντα,cause — the exile renewed — αἰχμαλωτίζω, deportation language of 587 B.C. replayed
καὶ Ἰερουσαλὴμ ἔσται πατουμένη ὑπὸ ἐθνῶν,cause — future periphrastic — sustained trampling (Dan 8:13; Zech 12:3 LXX; cf. Rev 11:2)
ἄχρι οὗ πληρωθῶσιν καιροὶ ἐθνῶν.conditional — backward ἄχρι οὗ (typed cnd; no temporal key) — the καιροὶ ἐθνῶν, Luke's own phrase: Gentile dominion measured and bounded, judgment with a term set to it
vv. 25–28 — cosmic signs and the Son of Man: straighten up, your redemption nears
25
Καὶ ἔσονται σημεῖα ἐν ἡλίῳ καὶ σελήνῃ καὶ ἄστροις,content — the scene widens from city to cosmos — Isa 13:10; the σημεῖον of v. 7 answered at last, in the heavens
καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς συνοχὴ ἐθνῶν ἐν ἀπορίᾳ ἤχους θαλάσσης καὶ σάλου,content — verbless — συνοχή, ἀπορία, σάλος, a cluster of rare words (Ps 65:7): the nations at a loss before the unquiet deep
26
ἀποψυχόντων ἀνθρώπων ἀπὸ φόβου καὶ προσδοκίας τῶν ἐπερχομένων τῇ οἰκουμένῃ,participial — genitive absolute painting the distress — ἀποψύχω (NT hapax), breath failing; προσδοκία, dread of what is still only expected
αἱ γὰρ δυνάμεις τῶν οὐρανῶν σαλευθήσονται.cause — the ground of the terror — Isa 34:4: the cosmic frame itself convulses before the theophany
27
καὶ τότε ὄψονται τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐρχόμενον ἐν νεφέλῃ μετὰ δυνάμεως καὶ δόξης πολλῆς.content — Dan 7:13 — the climax; Luke's singular νεφέλη, the one theophanic cloud (9:34–35; Acts 1:9): the advent visible to all
28
ἀρχομένων δὲ τούτων γίνεσθαιparticipial — genitive absolute — forward-leaning on ἀνακύψατε; at the mere onset, not the end
ἀνακύψατε καὶ ἐπάρατε τὰς κεφαλὰς ὑμῶν,content — the discourse's reversal — while the nations faint, the disciples stand erect: the same signs, opposite posture
διότι ἐγγίζει ἡ ἀπολύτρωσις ὑμῶν.cause — the ground — ἀπολύτρωσις, Luke's only use in the Gospels: what terrifies the world is the believers' release approaching
vv. 29–33 — the fig tree and all the trees: this generation, the abiding words
29
Καὶ εἶπεν παραβολὴν αὐτοῖς·independent — the third frame — Luke alone labels the fig tree a παραβολή
Ἴδετε τὴν συκῆν καὶ πάντα τὰ δένδρα·content — καὶ πάντα τὰ δένδρα — Luke's widening: the sign generalized beyond the fig, Israel's emblem, to every tree
30
ὅταν προβάλωσιν ἤδη,conditional — fronted ὅταν (typed cnd) — forward-leaning on γινώσκετε; προβάλλω, the bursting into leaf
βλέποντες ἀφ’ ἑαυτῶν γινώσκετεcontent — the apodosis — ἀφ’ ἑαυτῶν: the inference needs no teacher; the participle kept in line
ὅτι ἤδη ἐγγὺς τὸ θέρος ἐστίν·content — ἐγγύς — the nearness-word the application will reuse of the kingdom
31
οὕτως καὶ ὑμεῖς,content — the suspended subject — held across its protasis until γινώσκετε
ὅταν ἴδητε ταῦτα γινόμενα,conditional — the ὅταν of the application (typed cnd) — forward-leaning on γινώσκετε; ταῦτα, the discourse's own events
γινώσκετεcontent — the application's verb — imperative answering v. 30's habitual knowing
ὅτι ἐγγύς ἐστιν ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ.content — Luke names the referent Mark leaves unexpressed — not 'he' but ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ: the kingdom is the summer
32
ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖνcontent — the ἀμήν-formula — oath-strength asseveration over the timing
ὅτι οὐ μὴ παρέλθῃ ἡ γενεὰ αὕτηcontent — ἡ γενεὰ αὕτη — the crux: most naturally Jesus' contemporaries, who saw Jerusalem fall; 'the Jewish people' and 'the final generation' are the rival escapes, named and declined
ἕως ἂν πάντα γένηται.conditional — backward ἕως ἄν (typed cnd; no temporal key) — πάντα: the sign-complex through v. 28, or all of it; the scope left open
33
ὁ οὐρανὸς καὶ ἡ γῆ παρελεύσονται,content — the cosmos conceded transient — παρέρχομαι carried over from v. 32
οἱ δὲ λόγοι μου οὐ μὴ παρελεύσονται.content — οὐ μή with the future — absolute denial; Isa 40:8, said of God's word, claimed for his own
vv. 34–36 — the closing charge: take heed to yourselves, stay awake and pray
34
Προσέχετε δὲ ἑαυτοῖςcontent — προσέχετε ἑαυτοῖς — Luke's own closing charge (12:1; 17:3; Acts 20:28) where Mark tells the doorkeeper parable: the danger turned inward
μήποτε βαρηθῶσιν ὑμῶν αἱ καρδίαι ἐν κραιπάλῃ καὶ μέθῃ καὶ μερίμναις βιωτικαῖς,content — the feared clause — κραιπάλη (NT hapax, the hangover's heaviness), μέθη, and the μέριμναι βιωτικαί: the seed choked among thorns (8:14) restated for the last days
καὶ ἐπιστῇ ἐφ’ ὑμᾶς αἰφνίδιος ἡ ἡμέρα ἐκείνηcontent — coordinate in the μήποτε-clause — αἰφνίδιος, the suddenness of 1 Thess 5:3; ἡ ἡμέρα ἐκείνη, the Day absolute
35
ὡς παγίς·comparative — the verbless simile — Isa 24:17's snare on the earth-dwellers; the Day a trap sprung on the unwatchful
ἐπεισελεύσεται γὰρ ἐπὶ πάντας τοὺς καθημένους ἐπὶ πρόσωπον πάσης τῆς γῆς.cause — the ground — ἐπεισέρχομαι (NT hapax), it rushes in; πάσης τῆς γῆς: universal, so no one may presume exemption
36
ἀγρυπνεῖτε δὲ ἐν παντὶ καιρῷcontent — the positive counterpart — ἀγρυπνέω for Mark's γρηγορεῖτε; ἐν παντὶ καιρῷ, vigilance without calendar
δεόμενοιparticipial — participle of means — wakefulness practiced as petition (cf. 18:1, 'always to pray and not lose heart')
ἵνα κατισχύσητε ἐκφυγεῖν ταῦτα πάντα τὰ μέλλοντα γίνεσθαι,purpose — the prayer's aim — κατισχύσητε read over the later καταξιωθῆτε ('be counted worthy'): strength asked, not status
καὶ σταθῆναι ἔμπροσθεν τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου.content — the second infinitive — σταθῆναι, to be made to stand (divine passive): not escape only but vindication before the Judge of v. 27; the discourse's last word
The coda — days in the temple, nights on Olivet 21:37–38
vv. 37–38 — the rhythm of the final week, and the people at dawn
37
Ἦν δὲ τὰς ἡμέρας ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ διδάσκων,independent — periphrastic imperfect — the customary rhythm; accusative τὰς ἡμέρας, day after day
τὰς δὲ νύκτας ἐξερχόμενος ηὐλίζετο εἰς τὸ ὄρος τὸ καλούμενον Ἐλαιῶν·independent — the nightly withdrawal — αὐλίζομαι, he bivouacked on the very mount of the discourse's name; the pattern Judas will exploit (22:39)
38
καὶ πᾶς ὁ λαὸς ὤρθριζεν πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐν τῷ ἱερῷindependent — ὀρθρίζω (NT hapax) — πᾶς ὁ λαός rising at dawn: the public ministry closes with the people still eager, the leaders' hour not yet come
ἀκούειν αὐτοῦ.purpose — infinitive of purpose — hearing him the chapter's last act, as watching for him was its last command
Analysis. Luke 21 sets the widow's two lepta at the door of the Olivet discourse: the same upward glance (Ἀναβλέψας, v. 1) that sees the rich casting their gifts sees the poor widow whose whole βίος outweighs them all — true value measured against the doomed splendor the next verses admire. Where Mark hangs his whole discourse on one ἤρξατο λέγειν, Luke re-frames it three times — Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν (v. 8), Τότε ἔλεγεν αὐτοῖς (v. 10, the imperfect of continued teaching), Καὶ εἶπεν παραβολὴν αὐτοῖς (v. 29) — so the page shows three blue cnt catenae at constant depth under three speech-anchors, the discourse re-keyed at each frame. Against that column the grammar indents as in Mark: fronted ὅταν-temporals lean forward anchor-less on their apodoses (vv. 9, 20, 30, 31), the γάρ-grounds hang cau beneath the commands they motivate (vv. 8, 9, 15, 23, 35), and πρὸ δὲ τούτων πάντων (v. 12) resets the timeline — persecution comes BEFORE the cosmic catalogue, and is turned to μαρτύριον by Christ's own promise of στόμα καὶ σοφίαν (v. 15), the hairs of your head kept even of those put to death (vv. 16, 18 — the paradox is left standing, resolved only by v. 19's κτήσεσθε). Luke's distinctives are kept explicit: the encircling στρατόπεδα replace Mark's abomination (v. 20), and trampled Jerusalem runs ἄχρι οὗ the καιροὶ ἐθνῶν are fulfilled — a bounded, therefore hope-bearing, judgment (v. 24); the fig tree is joined by πάντα τὰ δένδρα (v. 29); and the closing charge is Lukan paraenesis — προσέχετε ἑαυτοῖς against κραιπάλη, μέθη and the μέριμναι βιωτικαί, ἀγρυπνεῖτε δεόμενοι for strength to escape and to stand before the Son of Man (vv. 34–36). Text-critical sides follow the data file: the future κτήσεσθε at v. 19 ('you will gain your lives,' not the imperative), κατισχύσητε at v. 36 over the later καταξιωθῆτε. At v. 32 ἡ γενεὰ αὕτη is glossed with its natural sense — Jesus' contemporaries, who saw the city fall — with the rival referents ('the Jewish people,' 'the final generation') named, not adopted; v. 33 then sets the permanence of his words above heaven and earth. The narrative coda (vv. 37–38) closes the public ministry in a rhythm: days teaching in the temple, nights on Olivet, and all the people rising at dawn to hear him.