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 they will say, ‘Blessed are the women without children, the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed!’ 30Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us! ’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us!’ For if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?” 32Two others — criminals — were also led away to be executed with him. 33When they arrived at the place called The Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals, one on the right and one on the left.

Luke 23:31 word by word

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

Words taken from the KJV.

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

Cross-references for Luke 23:31

• Proverbs 11:31If the righteous will be repaid on earth, how much more the wicked and sinful.
• Jeremiah 25:29For I am already bringing disaster on the city that bears my name, so how could you possibly go unpunished? You will not go unpunished, for I am summoning a sword against all the inhabitants of the earth. This is the declaration of the Lord of Armies.’
• Ezekiel 15:2“Son of man, how does the wood of the vine, that branch among the trees of the forest, compare to any other wood?
• Ezekiel 20:47and say to the forest there, ‘Hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Lord God says: I am about to ignite a fire in you, and it will devour every green tree and every dry tree in you. The blazing flame will not be extinguished, and every face from the south to the north will be scorched by it.
• Ezekiel 21:3and say to it, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am against you. I will draw my sword from its sheath and cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked.
• Daniel 9:26After those sixty-two weeks the Anointed One will be cut off and will have nothing. The people of the coming ruler will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come with a flood, and until the end there will be war; desolations are decreed.
• Matthew 3:12His winnowing shovel is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn. But the chaff he will burn with fire that never goes out.”
• John 15:6If anyone does not remain in me, he is thrown aside like a branch and he withers. They gather them, throw them into the fire, and they are burned.
• Hebrews 6:8But if it produces thorns and thistles, it is worthless and about to be cursed, and at the end will be burned.
• 1 Peter 4:17For the time has come for judgment to begin with God’s household, and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who disobey the gospel of God?
• Jude 1:12These people are dangerous reefs at your love feasts as they eat with you without reverence. They are shepherds who only look after themselves. They are waterless clouds carried along by winds; trees in late autumn — fruitless, twice dead and 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