Luke 13

At that time some people who were there told Jesus about some men from Galilee. Pilate had them killed while they were offering sacrifices, so their blood was mixed with the blood of their offerings.

1There were present at that season some that told him of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.

NotePilate was the Roman governor of Judea from about AD 26 to 36, and had the authority to order executions. Sacrifices were killed by the worshiper himself at the temple in Jerusalem, so these Galileans were cut down at the moment they were presenting their offerings, and their own blood ran together with the blood of the animals. No other account of this incident survives.

2Jesus answered them, "Do you think these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because this is what happened to them?"

2And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things?

NoteBehind the report lies a common assumption of the time: that a sudden or violent death was evidence of unusual guilt in the person who suffered it. The question Jesus asks is aimed at that assumption.

3"No, I tell you. But unless you turn away from your sins, you will all die the same way."

3I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

NoteThe King James "except ye repent" means "unless you repent." The Greek word behind "repent" means a change of mind that turns a person around and redirects how they live, not simply feeling sorry.

4"Or think about those eighteen people who were killed when the tower at Siloam fell on them. Do you think they were more guilty than everyone else living in Jerusalem?"

4Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem?

NoteSiloam was at the southern end of Jerusalem, where a pool collected water carried into the city through a tunnel cut under the rock. Nothing else is known about this tower or why it fell.

5"No, I tell you. But unless you turn away from your sins, you will all die the same way."

5I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

6He also told this story: "A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard. He came looking for fruit on it and found none."

6He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none.

NoteFig trees were commonly planted among the vines in a vineyard, and a newly planted tree took several years to come into bearing. Three fruitless seasons after that meant the tree had been given a fair trial.

7"So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, 'Look, for three years now I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and I never find any. Cut it down. Why should it use up the soil?'"

7Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground?

Note"Dresser of his vineyard" is the King James term for the hired man who tended the vines. "Why cumbereth it the ground" means "why should it go on taking up the soil," since a barren tree still drew water and nourishment the vines needed.

8"The worker answered him, 'Sir, leave it alone one more year, while I dig around it and put manure on it.'"

8And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it:

Note"Dung it" means to work manure into the soil around the roots as fertilizer. The "Lord" the worker uses here is the ordinary polite address of a workman to his employer, closer to "sir" than to any religious title.

9"'If it grows fruit after that, good. If it does not, then you can cut it down.'"

9And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.

10Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath.

10And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath.

NoteA synagogue was the local assembly house where Jews gathered, especially on the Sabbath, to hear the scriptures read and explained; a visiting teacher might be invited to speak. The Sabbath ran from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset and was kept as a day of rest on which work was forbidden.

11A woman was there who for eighteen years had been made weak by a spirit. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all.

11And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself.

Note"A spirit of infirmity" translates the Greek literally: "a spirit of weakness." Luke names a spirit as the cause but describes the effect in physical terms, a spine bent so far she could not straighten. "Could in no wise lift up herself" means she could not straighten up at all.

12When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said to her, "Woman, you are set free from what has crippled you."

12And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity.

NoteThe verb translated "loosed" means to untie or release, and it is the same word used of untying an animal in verse 15 and of the woman's release in verse 16. Addressing a woman as "Woman" was not rude in Greek; it was a neutral, ordinary form of address.

13He put his hands on her, and right away she stood up straight, and she praised God.

13And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.

14The leader of the synagogue was angry that Jesus had healed on the Sabbath. He said to the people, "There are six days for working. Come and be healed on those days, and not on the Sabbath."

14And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the sabbath day, and said unto the people, There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the sabbath day.

NoteThe ruler of the synagogue was the lay official who looked after the building and arranged who would read and speak. He was not a priest. His objection is that healing counted as work, which Sabbath law forbade; the recognized exception was danger to life, and a condition of eighteen years' standing could wait a day.

15The Lord answered him, "You hypocrites! On the Sabbath, doesn't every one of you untie your ox or your donkey from its stall and lead it out to drink?"

15The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering?

Note"Ass" is the older English word for a donkey. Untying livestock and leading it to water on the Sabbath was accepted practice, on the principle that an animal must not be left to suffer, so Jesus is arguing from what his critics already allow themselves. "Hypocrite" was originally the Greek word for a stage actor, someone speaking lines that are not his own.

16"This woman is a daughter of Abraham, and Satan has kept her tied up for eighteen long years. Should she not be set free from what held her, even on the Sabbath day?"

16And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?

Note"A daughter of Abraham" means a Jewish woman, one of the people descended from Abraham, and so with at least as much claim on the day as a man's ox or donkey. The wordplay is exact in the Greek: the animal is loosed from its stall, and the woman is loosed from her bond.

17When he said this, everyone who was against him was ashamed. And the whole crowd was glad about all the wonderful things he was doing.

17And when he had said these things, all his adversaries were ashamed: and all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him.

18Then he said, "What is the kingdom of God like? What can I compare it to?"

18Then said he, Unto what is the kingdom of God like? and whereunto shall I resemble it?

19"It is like a mustard seed that a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a big tree, and the birds of the sky built their nests in its branches."

19It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and cast into his garden; and it grew, and waxed a great tree; and the fowls of the air lodged in the branches of it.

NoteMustard was proverbial for the smallest seed a farmer handled. What grows from it is a tall annual shrub, not a timber tree, so calling it "a great tree" is deliberately outsized. "Waxed" means grew, and "fowls of the air" means simply birds.

20And again he said, "What can I compare the kingdom of God to?"

20And again he said, Whereunto shall I liken the kingdom of God?

21"It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into three measures of flour, until it had worked all the way through the dough."

21It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.

NoteLeaven was not packaged yeast but a lump of dough kept back from the last baking and left to ferment, then kneaded into the new batch. "Meal" means ground grain, flour. Three measures is roughly forty to fifty pounds of flour, enough bread for a large gathering, so a small piece of leaven is working through an enormous mass. The King James "hid" translates a verb meaning to conceal something inside something else: the leaven disappears into the flour.

22Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he traveled toward Jerusalem.

22And he went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem.

23Then someone said to him, "Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?" He said to them,

23Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them,

24"Work hard to get in through the narrow door. Many people, I tell you, will try to get in and will not be able to."

24Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.

Note"Strait" is an old word meaning narrow or tight, as in a strait between two coasts or being in dire straits. It has nothing to do with "straight." "Strive" translates a verb taken from athletic contests, meaning to struggle or exert yourself to the limit.

25"Once the owner of the house gets up and shuts the door, you will be left standing outside, knocking on the door and saying, 'Lord, Lord, open it for us.' He will answer, 'I don't know where you come from.'"

25When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are:

Note"Stand without" means stand outside. "I know you not whence ye are" is a householder's formula for refusing entry: I do not know where you belong, so you are not coming in.

26"Then you will say, 'We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.'"

26Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets.

NoteThe claim is one of acquaintance rather than invitation: the Greek says they ate and drank "in your presence," in the same company, and heard him teaching in public streets.

27"But he will say, 'I tell you, I don't know where you come from. Get away from me, all of you who do wrong.'"

27But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.

Note"Workers of iniquity" means people whose work is wrongdoing. The whole line repeats the wording of Psalm 6:8, "depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity," which the first hearers would have recognized.

28"There will be crying and grinding of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves are thrown out."

28There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.

Note"Gnashing of teeth" means grinding or clenching the teeth, a gesture of rage or of anguish. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are the three ancestral fathers of Israel, from whom the nation traced its descent.

29"People will come from the east and the west, and from the north and the south, and will sit down to eat in the kingdom of God."

29And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God.

NoteAt a formal meal people did not sit on chairs but reclined on cushions around a low table, so "sit down" here means taking a place at a banquet. "East, west, north and south" is a stock phrase for every quarter of the world.

30"And listen: some who are last now will be first, and some who are first now will be last."

30And, behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last.

31That same day some Pharisees came to him and said, "Get out of here and go somewhere else, because Herod wants to kill you."

31The same day there came certain of the Pharisees, saying unto him, Get thee out, and depart hence: for Herod will kill thee.

NoteThe Pharisees were a movement committed to exact observance of the law and influential in the synagogues. "Herod" here is Herod Antipas, who governed Galilee and Perea under Rome and had already executed John the Baptist. He had no authority in Jerusalem, so continuing south would take Jesus out of his jurisdiction.

32He said to them, "Go and tell that fox, 'Look, I am driving out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will finish my work.'"

32And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.

NoteCalling a ruler a fox was an insult, either for being sly or for being a small nuisance of a predator giving himself airs, and the Greek allows both. "Devils" is the King James word for demons. "I shall be perfected" translates a verb meaning to be completed or brought to the intended end. "Today, tomorrow, and the third day" is an idiom for a short, fixed stretch of time rather than a literal count of days.

33"Even so, I must keep traveling today, tomorrow, and the next day, because it cannot happen that a prophet dies outside Jerusalem."

33Nevertheless I must walk to day, and to morrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem.

Note"Perish out of Jerusalem" means die outside Jerusalem. The line is ironic: Jerusalem is where prophets get killed, so that, and not Herod's territory, is where a prophet's death belongs.

34"Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you kill the prophets and throw stones at the messengers sent to you. How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you would not let me!"

34O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not!

NoteStoning was a legal form of execution carried out by a crowd rather than by an official, and the Hebrew scriptures record prophets being killed in the city. "Thy children" means the city's own inhabitants; a city was regularly spoken of as a mother with children.

35"Look, your house is left to you empty. And I tell you, you will not see me again until the time comes when you say, 'Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.'"

35Behold, your house is left unto you desolate: and verily I say unto you, Ye shall not see me, until the time come when ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

Note"Your house" may mean the temple, the city itself, or the royal dynasty, and the Greek leaves the choice open; "desolate" means emptied and abandoned. The closing words quote Psalm 118:26, the greeting called out to pilgrims as they arrived at the temple.