Luke 21

put in their gifts
While some translations have “put into the offering” or simply “contributed,” the translation here most literally reflects the Greek wording with “put in their gifts” (ἔβαλον εἰς τὰ δῶρα; ebalon eis ta dōra). This literal translation brings out the plural mention of the gifts (τὰ δῶρα; ta dōra) with an anaphoric article referring back to what the rich and the widow gave in verse 1. With such wording, Jesus places the emphasis on the actual contributions of the givers, rather than the act of giving or the offering receptacle in general. This helps to create a greater contrast between what they had and what they gave (see following note).

abundance
The Greek term περισσεύω (perisseuō) literally refers to an “abundance” of things (see BDAG on περισσεύω). Its translation as such here helps to heighten the contrast between how the rich had an “abundance” while the woman had great “lack.”

had been adorned
The translation here as “had been adorned,” rather than simply “was adorned,” accurately captures the perfect tense of the Greek verb κεκόσμηται (kekosmētai), from κοσμέω (kosmeō). The perfect tense goes further than simply describing the current aesthetic of the temple to emphasize that it had reached this beautifully adorned state through the contribution of many decorative gifts.

dedicated gifts
The word ἀνάθεμα (anathema) here literally refers to something “offered up,” but was used more specifically at the time of writing to denote a gift offered or dedicated to a deity and displayed in a temple. The translation “dedicated gifts” is used here because “dedicated” is clearer and more familiar than some translations’ use of “votive.” This kind of offering usually consisted of lavish or rich decorations, which is the case here. These decorative gifts were impressive and contributed to the beauty and wealth of the temple, creating an opportunity for extreme contrast when Jesus teaches that it will all be destroyed and plundered.

continued saying
The phrase, “continued saying” captures the imperfect tense of the verb λέγω (legō), which portrays an action as continuing or ongoing during the time of the narrative. The use of this tense here communicates that Jesus was continually or repeatedly emphasizing this particular aspect of His teaching.

famines and plagues
Though a couple textual variants have “plagues and famines,” the translation here as “famines and plagues” rightly reflects the most trustworthy Greek manuscripts. Admittedly, the Greek words for “famines” and “plagues” are quite similar, distinguished by only a single letter (λιμοὶ καὶ λοιμοὶ; limoi kai loimoi), and could easily be misordered by a copyist. The rhetoric of this grouping, seen together with the next pair (“terrors and great signs from heaven”), conveys a sense of both “natural” judgments (famines, terrors) and supernatural judgments (plagues, great signs from heaven). Of course, God is sovereign over those “natural judgments,” but the language used here tips the scales even further to emphasize the supernatural source of these more impressive judgments.

set in your hearts
Translations tend to vary regarding this verse, but “set in your hearts” is a literal translation of the Greek phrase θέτε…ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ὑμῶν (thete…en tais kardias hymōn). As one’s heart was viewed at the time as the center of his or her thinking and ambition, this translation helps readers to understand the resolve that Jesus is encouraging—even commanding—His disciples to cultivate. In “setting their hearts,” they are to establish their thinking and intentions ahead of time to resist the desire to defend themselves. This will provide greater opportunity for God’s own glory to be displayed in their faithful perseverance (cf. v. 13), as their defense will not come from themselves, but clearly from God (cf. v. 15).

a mouth
“A mouth” literally translates the word στόμα (stoma). This pictorial language of “giving a mouth” communicates vividly that Jesus’ faithful disciples in this time will literally be used as a mouthpiece for God, similar to the prophets of the Old Testament (cf. Exod 4:12; Jer 1:9).

perseverance
The word “perseverance” is the consistent translation of the Greek term ὑπομονή (hupomonē), which means literally to “remain under.” The translation here helps readers to see the need for diligence as they maintain their faithfulness, and the Greek term’s consistent translation throughout the New Testament helps the reader to identify it wherever it appears.

know
“Know” is the literal translation of the Greek verb γινώσκω (ginōskō). Its translation here helps readers see that Jesus is saying that the disciples are to be able to connect what they see in the world with what God has told them in word. This explains why the same term is used to make that point later (v. 31) in the parable of verses 29–33.

against
The phrase “wrath against this people” translates the Greek phrase ὀργὴ τῷ λαῷ τούτῳ (orgē tō laō toutō). The dative case of “this people” is translated with the word “against” rather than the typical “to” or “for” in order to bring out Jesus’ intent more clearly in this particular instance. Wrath is not just coming “to” this people as a matter of coincidence, it is clearly the wrath of God “against” this people because of sin.

anguish
The word translated “anguish” here is the Greek word συνοχή (synochē), which appears in the New Testament only here and in 2 Corinthians 2:4. “Anguish” provides an accurate meaning of the Greek word and maintains consistency between these two different occurrences, giving the reader the clearest possible window into the original text.

and you see it
The Greek verb behind this translation appears in the form of a participle (βλέποντες; blepontes), which means that it functions as a subordinate modifier of the main command to “know” (γινώσκετε; ginōskete) in the next clause. Therefore, in order to maintain the sense and function of the participle, the phrase has been translated “and you see it,” connecting it more closely with the other modifying clause “as soon as they put forth leaves.” Thus, there are two modifying clauses given before the main verb “know.” Putting the sense of the clauses together, Jesus wants His disciples to track closely with the signs of the times and know where they are positioned within God’s greater plan.

know
Refer to the discussion on verse 20 above.

for yourselves
The word order of the Greek has the modifier “for yourselves” immediately after the term for “see” but before the term for “know,” which appears to indicate that it only modifies “see.” In that case, the emphasis of the phrase is on the personal recognition of the signs of the times.

know
Refer to the discussion on verse 20 above.

will never pass away
The translation here is “will never pass away,” as opposed to simply “will not pass away,” in order to account for the stronger emphasis communicated by the double negative in Greek (οὐ μὴ παρελεύσονται; ou mē pareleusontai). Jesus communicates the steadfastness of His words with this especially emphatic language to drive the point home.

overcome
While the Greek βαρέω (bareō) is usually defined in lexicons as “to be heavy or to weigh down,” both here and in Luke 9:32 the English verb “overcome” better captures the imagery of drunkenness or sleep defeating the will and awareness of man. The consistency within these two specific instances helps the reader see the similar imagery Luke employs in these two verses.

during the night
The marking of time in Greek is nuanced based on which grammatical case is used. While a temporal distinction using the genitive case signifies more generally the type of time (e.g., “of the night” or familiarly, “nighttime”), and using the dative case signifies a point in time (e.g., “in the night” or “at night”), a temporal distinction using the accusative case (as here: τὰς…νύκτας; tas…nyktas) signifies a duration of time (e.g., “throughout the night” or “during the night”). Thus, this verse describes that Jesus had activities He would do throughout each part of the day, providing a comprehensive overview—He spent the duration of the day (Ἦν δὲ τὰς ἡμέρας; ēn de tas hēmeras) teaching in the temple and the duration of the night (τὰς δὲ νύκτας; tas de nyktas) on the Mount of Olives.

“of Olives”
The name “of Olives,” while perhaps a bit strange to modern ears, gives a straight, literal translation of the Greek Ἐλαιῶν (Elaiōn) in the genitive case. In his unique style, Luke mentions a mountain, and then specifies that it is the one called “of Olives.” In his gospel Luke refers to this mountain four times, twice as “the mount called ‘of Olives’” (here and 19:29; τὸ ὄρος τὸ καλούμενον Ἐλαιῶν; to oros to kaloumenon Elaiōn) and twice as “the mount of Olives” (19:37; 22:39; τοῦ/τό Ὄρους/ος τῶν Ἐλαιῶν; tou/to Orous/os tōn Elaiōn). The precise translation of these different ways of identifying the mountain gives the reader the clearest window into the Greek text.