Exegesis:
elegen de kai tois ochlois ‘he also said to the crowds,’ marking the transition to a new point.
hotan idēte [tēn] nephelēn anatellousan epi dusmōn ‘when you see a cloud coming up in the west.’ nephelē is used here in the sense of rain-cloud. The article tēn (if read) is generic.
anatellō ‘to rise’ (of the sun), here ‘to come up.’
dusmē (also 13.29) lit. ‘going down,’ ‘setting’ (of the sun), in the plural ‘the west,’ ‘the western horizon.’
eutheōs legete ‘you say at once, or, promptly.’
hoti Ombros erchetai ‘a rain-storm is coming,’ i.e. ‘it is going to rain.’ hoti introduces direct speech. erchetai, present tense, refers to the immediate future.
ombros ‘rain-storm,’ ‘thunder-storm.’
kai ginetai houtōs ‘and so it happens,’ i.e. as expressed in ombros erchetai.
(V. 55) kai hotan noton pneonta, scil. idēte ‘and when (you see) the south wind blowing.’ For notos cf. on 11.31.
pneō ‘to blow.’
legete hoti Kausōn estai ‘you say: there will be heat.’
kausōn ‘burning,’ ‘heat,’ ‘heat wave.’
kai ginetai ‘and it happens,’ i.e. what you have said.
Translation:
When you see…, you say at once, or, ‘as soon as you see…, then you say’ (Balinese, similarly in v. 55).
A cloud rising in the west, or ‘that clouds are rising in (or, from) the west.’ In Palestine the west, i.e. the side of the Mediterranean, is the normal place for rain-clouds to gather (cf. e.g. 1 Kings 18.44); where the situation is entirely different an explanatory note may be required. The same holds true for “south wind” and “heat” in v. 55. Some idiomatic expressions for rain-clouds rising are, ‘air becomes closed (i.e. with clouds)’ (Tzeltal), ‘sky makes hedges’ (Zarma). For west: ‘where the sun pours-out’ (Tzeltal), ‘down-river’ (Kele).
A shower is coming, or, ‘heavy rain is coming/near,’ ‘a rain-storm is-passing’ (Toraja-Sa’dan).
And so it happens, or repeating the term in the preceding clause, ‘and rain it does’ (cf. New English Bible), ‘and the rain really comes (presently).’
(V. 55) See, or, ‘know/notice’ (Javanese), “feel” (Good News Translation).
The south wind blowing. Idiom may require, ‘it is blowing from the south,’ ‘a wind coming from the south’ (Sundanese), ‘a strong wind from the south’ (Javanese). For south see 11.31.
There will be scorching heat, or, ‘it will be very hot,’ ‘the sun will hurt very much’ (Tzeltal), ‘the heavens will become scorching-hot’ (Kele). In some cases the term for ‘dry season’ can be used (Tae,’ Batak Toba; also in Toraja-Sa’dan, which speaks of ‘the time when the rains cease, or, stay away’).
And it happens, or, again repeating the preceding term, ‘and hot it is’ (cf. The Four Gospels – a New 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.