Luke 13:18

Luke 13:18 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Then said he, Unto what is the kingdom of God like? and whereunto shall I resemble it?
• New International Version (NIV)Then Jesus asked, “What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to?
• English Standard Version (ESV)He said therefore, "What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it?
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then He said, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it?

Context of Luke 13:18

16Satan has bound this woman, a daughter of Abraham, for eighteen years — shouldn’t she be untied from this bondage on the Sabbath day?” 17When he had said these things, all his adversaries were humiliated, but the whole crowd was rejoicing over all the glorious things he was doing. He said, therefore, “What is the kingdom of God like, and what can I compare it to? 19It’s like a mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds of the sky nested in its branches.” 20Again he said, “What can I compare the kingdom of God to?

Luke 13:18 word by word

Ἔλεγεν οὖν· τίνι ὁμοία ἐστὶν ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ, καὶ τίνι ὁμοιώσω αὐτήν;Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Thenδέde · thenG1161
• said heλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
• Unto whatτίςtis · which?G5101
• isεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• the kingdomὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• the kingdomβασιλείαbasileia · kingdomG932
• of Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
• likeὅμοιοςhomoios · likeG3664
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• shall I resembleὁμοιόωhomoioō · to likenG3666
• itαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846

Cross-references for Luke 13:18

• Luke 13:20Again he said, “What can I compare the kingdom of God to?
• Luke 7:31“To what then should I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like?
• Lamentations 2:13What can I say on your behalf? What can I compare you to, Daughter Jerusalem? What can I liken you to, so that I may console you, Virgin Daughter Zion? For your ruin is as vast as the sea. Who can heal you?
• Matthew 13:31He presented another parable to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field.
• Luke 17:21no one will say, ‘See here! ’ or ‘There! ’ For you see, the kingdom of God is in your midst.”
• Mark 4:26“The kingdom of God is like this,” he said. “A man scatters seed on the ground.

Commentaries on Luke 13:18

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 18The kingdom - is like a grain of mustard seed - See on Matthew 13:31; (note).Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 18-21Verses 18-21 See these parables explained in the notes at Matthew 13:31-32.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 18-22Verses 18-22 Here is the progress of the gospel foretold in two parables, as in Mt 13. The kingdom of the Messiah is the kingdom of God. May grace grow in our hearts; may our faith and love grow exceedingly, so as to give undoubted evidence of their reality. May the example of God's saints be blessed to those among whom they live; and may his grace flow from heart to heart, until the little one becomes a thousand.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 18-21The parables of the mustard seed and the yeast reveal the nature of the kingdom of God. Like a mustard seed, it grows from a tiny size until it becomes large. Like yeast (leaven) in dough, it spreads through everything.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 18-3018-21. mustard seed ... leaven--(See on Mr 4:30-32). The parable of "the Leaven" sets forth, perhaps, rather the inward growth of the kingdom, while "the Mustard Seed" seems to point chiefly to the outward. It being a woman's work to knead, it seems a refinement to say that "the woman" here represents the Church, as the instrument of depositing the leaven. Nor does it yield much satisfaction to understand the "three measures of meal" of that threefold…Read the comment

Topics related to Luke 13:18

• Gospel
• Jesus Continued
• Jesus, the Christ
• Kingdom of Heaven

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Kingdom of God
• Bind
• Mustard
• Nay
• Repent
• Jesus Christ
• Luke, the Gospel of
• Mark, the Gospel According to

Commentaries on Luke 13

• 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