Luke 10:17–20

10:17 Then52 the seventy-two53 returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons submit to54 us in your name!”55 10:18 So56 he said to them, “I saw57 Satan fall58 like lightning59 from heaven. 10:19 Look, I have given you authority to tread60 on snakes and scorpions61 and on the full force of the enemy,62 and nothing will63 hurt you. 10:20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice that64 the spirits submit to you, but rejoice65 that your names stand written66 in heaven.”

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52	tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
53	tc See the tc note on the number “seventy-two” in Luke 10:1.
54	tn Or “the demons obey”; see L&N 36.18.
55	tn The prepositional phrase “in your name” indicates the sphere of authority for the messengers’ work of exorcism.
56	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.
57	tn This is an imperfect tense verb.
58	tn In Greek, this is a participle and comes at the end of the verse, making it somewhat emphatic.
59	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).
60	tn Or perhaps, “trample on” (which emphasizes the impact of the feet on the snakes). See L&N 15.226.
61	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.
62	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).
63	tn This is an emphatic double negative in the Greek text.
64	tn Grk “do not rejoice in this, that.” This is awkward in contemporary English and has been simplified to “do not rejoice that.”
65	tn The verb here is a present imperative, so the call is to an attitude of rejoicing.
66	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.

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