OET interlinear LUKE 21:32

21:32a

Truly I tell you: The Greek clause that the BSB translates as Truly I tell you is literally “Amen I tell you.” Jesus used it to introduce a statement that he wanted to emphasize.A similar clause occurs three other times in Luke. It uses the word “truly” instead of “amen,” but the meaning is the same. In 9:27 one of these clauses introduces a statement that is similar to the one in 21:32b–c. It indicates that the statement is important and reliable, and people should listen carefully to it. For more information and translation examples, see the note on 18:17a.

21:32b

21:32c

21:32b–c

this generation will not pass away until all these things have happened: There are many different ways to interpret this clause and the words and phrases it contains. Here are the three most likely interpretations:

1. It refers to the people who were alive in Jesus’ lifetime.Most English versions translate the phrase “this generation” literally. The commentaries that follow this interpretation are: Godet, Plummer, Geldenhuys, Robertson, Summers, Bratcher, and Reiling. It indicates that they will not all die until the things that Jesus mentioned have happened. For example:

   the present generation will live to see it all (REB) (BSB, REB, GNT, NCV, CEV)

2. It refers to the people who will be alive at the time when the signs in 21:25–26 begin to happen.This view is supported by Liefeld, Ellis, and Bock, for example. For example:

   The people living at that time will certainly not all die before those things happen.

3. It is used more generally to refer to the Jews as a race or specifically to Jewish people who refused to believe in Jesus. For example:

   Some of this race/type of people will still be alive/existing when these things happen.

Most English versions translate the phrase literally as this generation, as the BSB does, or as “the people of this time.”These versions are KJV, NASB, RSV, NJB, NET, GW, NLT, CEV, NCV. It is good to translate the phrase so that people can interpret it in different ways. If you must make one of the interpretations explicit, it is recommended that you follow interpretation (1).In his discussion of the parallel passage in Matthew 24:34, Hendriksen (p. 943) favors the view that the phrase “this generation” refers to the Jewish people. Here is a summary of the reasons why he follows this view: (a) Several times in the NT the Greek term genea “generation” is used to mean “a kind of people or race.” In this context, the race/people referred to are the Jews. (b) In the preceding verses Jesus talked about all the things that would happen from the destruction of Jerusalem to his second coming. (c) In the following verses, Jesus talked about “that day” as the time he would return to earth. For these reasons, Hendriksen believes that the phrase “this generation” in Matthew 24:34 and in Luke 21:32 refers to the Jewish people and not to the people who were living when Jesus was on earth.

all these things: The Greek word that the BSB translates with the phrase all these things literally means “all things.” There are different ways to interpret the phrase in this context. Two of the major interpretations are:

1. It refers to signs that happened at the time when Jerusalem was destroyed.Some scholars believe that these signs include only the ones that Jesus mentioned before 21:25. They believe that the signs in 21:26 that involve the heavenly bodies will happen before his final return.

2. It refers to all the signs and even includes his return.Scholars who follow this view generally explain that it is common in prophetic discourses to speak of the beginning of an event as including the whole event. This would indicate that since that generation was alive when the signs began and when Jerusalem was destroyed, it was as if they had already seen the end and the culmination of everything at Jesus’ return.

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). This fits with the interpretation that the Notes recommend for “this generation.” Many people who were listening to Jesus were still alive when Jerusalem was destroyed. However, it is good not to be too explicit in your translation, since there are many ways to interpret this verse.