Luke 23:31

Luke 23:31 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?
• New International Version (NIV)For if people do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?”
• English Standard Version (ESV)For if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?"
• New King James Version (NKJV)For if they do these things in the green wood, what will be done in the dry?”

Context of Luke 23:31

29Look, the days are coming when people will say, ‘Blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore, and breasts that never nursed!’ 30At that time ‘they will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!”’ For if men do these things while the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?” 32Two others, who were criminals, were also led away to be executed with Jesus. 33When they came to the place called The Skull, they crucified Him there, along with the criminals, one on His right and the other on His left.

Luke 23:31 word by word

ὅτι εἰ ἐν τῷ ὑγρῷ ξύλῳ ταῦτα ποιοῦσιν, ἐν τῷ ξηρῷ τί γένηται;¶Read the interlinear

• Forὅτιhoti · that/since: sinceG3754
• ifεἰei · ifG1487
• doποιέωpoieō · to do/make: doG4160
• these thingsοὗτοςhoutos houtoi hautē hautai · this/he/she/itG3778
• ·ἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• theὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• treeξύλονxulon · woodG3586
• greenὑγρόςhugros · moist/greenG5200
• whatτίςtis · which?G5101
• will happenγίνομαιginomai · to beG1096
• dryξηρόςxēros · dried up/witheredG3584

Cross-references for Luke 23:31

• Proverbs 11:31If the righteous receive their due on earth, how much more the ungodly and the sinner!
• Jeremiah 25:29For behold, I am beginning to bring disaster on the city that bears My Name, so how could you possibly go unpunished? You will not go unpunished, for I am calling down a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, declares the LORD of Hosts.’
• Ezekiel 15:2“Son of man, how does the wood of the vine surpass any other branch among the trees in the forest?
• Ezekiel 20:47Say to the forest of the Negev: Hear the word of the LORD! This is what the Lord GOD says: I am about to ignite in you a fire, and it will devour all your trees, both green and dry. The blazing flame will not be quenched, and by it every face from south to north will be scorched.
• Ezekiel 21:3and tell her that this is what the LORD says: ‘I am against you, and I will draw My sword from its sheath and cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked.
• Daniel 9:26Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and will have nothing. Then the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood, and until the end there will be war; desolations have been decreed.
• Matthew 3:12His winnowing fork is in His hand to clear His threshing floor and to gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
• John 15:6If anyone does not remain in Me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers. Such branches are gathered up, thrown into the fire, and burned.
• Hebrews 6:8But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless, and its curse is imminent. In the end it will be burned.
• 1 Peter 4:17For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who disobey the gospel of God?
• Jude 1:12These men are hidden reefs in your love feasts, shamelessly feasting with you but shepherding only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried along by the wind; fruitless trees in autumn, twice dead after being uprooted.

Commentaries on Luke 23:31

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 31If they do these things in a green tree - This seems to be a proverbial expression, the sense of which is: If they spare not a tree which, by the beauty of its foliage, abundance and excellence of its fruits, deserves to be preserved, then the tree which is dry and withered will surely be cut down. If an innocent man be put to death in the very face of justice, in opposition to all its dictates and decisions, by a people who profess to be governed and…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 31For if they do these things in a green tree … - This seems to be a proverbial expression. A “green” tree is not easily set on fire; a dry one is easily kindled and burns rapidly; and the meaning of the passage is - “If they, the Romans, do these things to me, who am innocent and blameless; if they punish me in this manner in the face of justice, what will they not do in relation to this guilty nation? What security have they that heavier judgments will…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 26-31Verses 26-31 We have here the blessed Jesus, the Lamb of God, led as a lamb to the slaughter, to the sacrifice. Though many reproached and reviled him, yet some pitied him. But the death of Christ was his victory and triumph over his enemies: it was our deliverance, the purchase of eternal life for us. Therefore weep not for him, but let us weep for our own sins, and the sins of our children, which caused his death; and weep for fear of the miseries we…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 31If the Romans crucified an innocent man while conditions were still calm and stable (while the tree is green), what worse things would happen when rebellion spread through the land (when it is dry)? Jesus used the picture of green wood and dry wood to contrast a peaceful time with a time ready for destruction. During the siege of Jerusalem (AD 66–70), the Romans crucified thousands of Jews outside the city.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 27-3127-31. women--not the precious Galilean women (Lu 23:49), but part of the crowd.Read the comment

Topics related to Luke 23:31

• Death
• Israel, Prophecies Concerning
• Jesus, the Christ
• Wicked (People)

In the dictionaries

• Certainly
• Commend
• Condemnation
• Crucify
• Gorgeous
• Humiliation of Christ
• Paradise
• Superscription
• Color; Colors
• Jesus Christ

Commentaries on Luke 23

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Catena Aurea
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• John Lightfoot Commentary
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings