Exegesis:

tōn aggelōn Iōannou ‘John’s messengers.’ For aggelos cf. on 1.11.

ērxato legein ‘he began to speak,’ referring to a change in the situation, cf. on 4.21.

ti exēlthate eis tēn erēmon theasasthai? ‘what did you go into the desert to look at?’ ti is the object of theasasthai and exēlthate is construed with final infinitive. For theaomai cf. on 5.27. Here it denotes an intentional act.

kalamon hupo anemou saleuomenon lit. ‘a reed driven to and fro by the wind,’ hence ‘a reed swaying in the wind.’ For saleuō cf. on 6.38. The phrase may have literal or figurative meaning. Literal interpretation appears to be preferable and it implies that Jesus means to say, ‘you did not go to the desert for nothing.’ kalamos.

Translation:

Messengers, or, ‘sent-ones,’ ‘persons sent.’

What did you go out into the wilderness to behold?, or simplifying the clause structure, ‘(when) you went (out) into the wilderness, what did you want (or, what was it you intended) to see (there)?’ (cf. Javanese, Shona 1966).

A reed shaken by the wind? It may be preferable to repeat the verb, or even the two verbs, e.g. ‘used you to go to see a reed…?’ (Shona 1963). The negative meaning of the rhetorical question may have to be made explicit, e.g. by adding the answer, ‘of course not,’ or by shifting to a statement, e.g. ‘it was certainly not (or, you did certainly not go) to see a reed….’ The phrase itself has been rendered, ‘a reed swaying in, or blown by, the wind’ (cf. An American Translation, Batak Toba), ‘a leaf that the wind causes-to-move’ (Kituba). Reed, or, ‘blade/stalk of reed’; the name of any variety of reed, tall grass, wild sugarcane, bamboo, or more generically, ‘leaf’ (see above) may be used, provided it is flexible and fits the locality, and that it refers to something that is unimportant and valueless, if one followed the interpretation preferred in Exegesis. If, however, one takes the phrase as a figure of speech describing John’s character, one may better shift to a simile, e.g. ‘a man as weak as cogon grass which goes whatever direction the wind blows’ (Cuyono), or, non-figuratively, ‘a person easily persuaded’ (Tboli). Wind. Where no generic term exists the name of a specific kind of wind fitting the context may be used.

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.