Exegesis:
poreuthentes eipate tē alōpeki tautē ‘go and tell that fox.’ poreuthentes has the force of an imperative since it is subordinate to the imperative eipate.
alōpēx (also 9.58) ‘fox,’ here in a figurative sense, i.e. ‘crafty, or, cunning man,’ and referring to Herod.
idou lit. ‘behold,’ serves to focus the attention on what follows.
ekballō daimonia kai iaseis apotelō ‘I am casting out demons and performing cures,’ i.e. I am continuing my work, cf. 7.22 iasis and apoteleō.
sēmeron kai aurion ‘today and tomorrow,’ meaning either ‘a definite time’ (Plummer), or ‘a short time’ (Klostermann, Grundmann), probably the latter.
kai tē tritē teleioumai ‘and on the third day I reach my goal.’ tē tritē denotes the time that follows immediately upon the time to which sēmeron kai aurion refers. The exact meaning of teleioumai is difficult to ascertain; it may be (1) middle, and mean ‘I complete, or, bring to a close,’ with the casting out of demons and the healing as object understood; it may be (2) passive and mean either (a) ‘I am made perfect,’ or (b) ‘I reach my goal,’ both referring probably to Jesus’ death in Jerusalem. Since plēn at the beginning of v. 33 (which refers to Jesus’ death) suggests a contrast between v. 32 and v. 33 it seems better to interpret teleioumai as not referring to Jesus’ death. Hence (1) is preferable. teleioō, cf. on 2.43.
Translation:
Fox. The rendering used in 9.58 often has also the figurative meaning required here (e.g. in Bahasa Indonesia, Balinese, where the jackal plays a treacherous part in fables), but elsewhere another animal must be chosen, e.g. ‘civet cat’ (Javanese); or one must shift to a simile or to a non-metaphorical rendering, e.g. ‘one who deceives’ (Tae’ 1933, Tboli), ‘tricky one’ (Dios Habla Hoy). In the Caribbean it is the spider who often has the role of a trickster, and in several parts of Africa either the spider or the hare. The names of these animals may be considered as acceptable cultural equivalents of ‘fox’ here.
The subsequent message (‘behold, I … my course’) is quoted speech embedded in Jesus’ own quoted speech; Jesus is, of course, the actual speaker of both but the Pharisees are the presumed speakers on the second level, telling Herod what Jesus said. Where the use of a first person in such a position is not acceptable the sentence will have to be recast, by specifying the speaker, e.g. ‘go to that fox and bring him this message from me (or, and tell him that I have said): “Behold I…” ,’ cf. ‘go and tell … for me, “Listen here, I…” ’ (Ekari); or by shifting to the third person, cf. e.g. Tzeltal, using quotative particles indicating that the speaker is recounting what some one else has said, ‘he will cast out demons’ (quot. part.), ‘he will heal the sick’ (id.) .’.. he will finish his work’ (id.); or, again, by shifting to indirect discourse, .’.. and say (or, tell him) that I cast out….’
Cast out demons, cf. on 9.40 and 4.33, 35.
Perform cures, or, ‘cure/heal people,’ cf. “heal” in 4.23.
Today and tomorrow often can have the expanded meaning required here; if not, one must use an expression for, ‘during a few days,’ ‘for some time.’
Similarly the third day, or, ‘the day after tomorrow’ (Tae,’ and cf. on 9.22) often can be used in a more expanded sense; if not, one will have to say something like, ‘(soon) after that time/those days,’ ‘and then,’ ‘and afterwards.’
I finish my course, or, following the interpretation preferred in Exegesis, ‘I am (or, my work is) ready’ (Nieuwe Vertaling, Balinese), ‘I (shall) finish my work’ (cf. Bahasa Indonesia, Tzeltal, Good News Translation).
Quoted with permission from Reiling, J. and Swellengrebel, J.L. A Handbook on the Gospel of Luke. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1971. For this and other handbooks for translators see here . Make sure to also consult the Handbook on the Gospel of Mark for parallel or similar verses.