Luke 16:15

Luke 16:15 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.
• New International Version (NIV)He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And he said to them, "You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.

Context of Luke 16:15

13A slave cannot work for two masters at the same time. Maybe he will hate one of the masters, but he will love the other one. Or he will work well for one master, but he will think bad things about the other one. God and money are like different masters. You cannot work for both of them.’ 14The Pharisees heard all this. They loved money very much, so they laughed at Jesus. They said to him, ‘You are wrong.’ Jesus replied, ‘You are happy when people like you. You want them to think that you are good people. But God sees inside you. He knows what you are thinking. The things that many people think are valuable are not valuable to God. He hates those things.’ 16Jesus then said, ‘The books of God's Law and God's prophets spoke God's message until John the Baptist came. Since then, God's servants tell people the good news about the kingdom of God. Everyone is now trying very much to get into that kingdom. 17But this does not mean that anyone can destroy God's Law. One day, the earth and the sky will finish. But until that time, nobody can remove even a small thing from God's Law.

Luke 16:15 word by word

καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· ὑμεῖς ἐστε οἱ δικαιοῦντες ἑαυτοὺς ἐνώπιον τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ὁ δὲ θεὸς γινώσκει τὰς καρδίας ὑμῶν ὅτι τὸ ἐν ἀνθρώποις ὑψηλὸν βδέλυγμα ἐνώπιον τοῦ θεοῦRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Andκαίkai · andG2532
• he saidλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
• unto themαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• Yeσύsu · youG4771
• areεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• justifyδικαιόωdikaioō · to justifyG1344
• yourselvesἑαυτοῦheautou · themselfG1438
• beforeἐνώπιονenōpion · beforeG1799
• menἄνθρωποςanthrōpos · a humanG444
• butδέde · thenG1161
• Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
• knowethγινώσκωginōskō · to knowG1097
• heartsκαρδίαkardia · heartG2588
• forὅτιhoti · that/since: sinceG3754
• is highly esteemedὑψηλόςhupsēlos · highG5308
• amongἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• abominationβδέλυγμαbdelugma · abominationG946

Cross-references for Luke 16:15

• Luke 10:29But the man wanted to show that he had been right to ask a question. So he asked, ‘Who are the people near to me that I must love?’
• Luke 11:39So the Lord Jesus said to him, ‘You Pharisees are like someone who only cleans the outside of his cup and his plate. You only clean the part that people can see. But inside, your mind is full of bad thoughts. You like to take things from other people.
• Luke 18:11The Pharisee stood there by himself. He prayed like this: “Thank you, God, that I am different from all these other people. They are bad people. They rob other people. They have sex with women who are not their wife. Thank you, God, that I am not like this man who takes taxes on behalf of the government.
• Luke 20:20So this is what they did to catch Jesus. They sent people to ask him difficult questions. These people pretended to be honest, but they wanted to deceive Jesus. They wanted to make him say something wrong. Then they would take him to the ruler of the city to punish him.
• Proverbs 20:6Many people say that you can trust them. But it is difficult to find a truly faithful person.
• Matthew 6:2When you give something to a poor person, do not tell anyone about it. The hypocrites do this in their meeting places. They also do it in the busy streets of the town. They do this so that other people will praise them. I tell you this. They have already received their gift. God will not give them anything more.
• Matthew 23:5The Pharisees do things only so that people will see them. They wear little boxes with words from the Bible in them, but they make them really big. They also make the tassels on their clothes very long.
• Romans 3:20God's Law shows people clearly that they have done wrong things. Nobody can become right with God because they obey that Law.
• James 2:21Think about our ancestor Abraham. He offered his son Isaac on the altar as a gift to God. Because he did that good thing, God accepted him as right with himself.
• 1 Samuel 16:7But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not look at how handsome or how tall Eliab is. I have not chosen him. The Lord does not look at people in the way that people do. People look at the face and body of a person. But the Lord sees what they are like inside.’
• 1 Chronicles 29:17My God, I know that you look carefully at our thoughts. You are pleased when we want to do things that are right. And I really do want to offer all these things to you. I know that your people who have met together here are happy. I can see that they are pleased to give these things to you.
• 2 Chronicles 6:30If someone does that, please hear him from your home in heaven. Please forgive the sins of your people. Only you know what people are thinking. So please give to each person as they deserve.
• Psalms 7:9Stop wicked people from doing evil things. Keep your own people safe. You always do what is right, and you know how we think and feel.
• Psalms 139:1Lord, you look deep inside me, and you know all about me.
• Jeremiah 17:10But I, the Lord, look inside a person's mind. I see what he thinks and what he feels. I see how everyone lives, and I see the things that they do. I give to each one what he deserves.
• John 2:25He did not need anyone to tell him what people are like. He knew already what was really in each person.

Commentaries on Luke 16:15

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 15Ye - justify yourselves - Ye declare yourselves to be just. Ye endeavor to make it appear to men that ye can still feel an insatiable thirst after the present world, and yet secure the blessings of another; that ye can reconcile God and mammon, - and serve two masters with equal zeal and affection; but God knoweth your hearts, - and he knoweth that ye are alive to the world, and dead to God and goodness. Therefore, howsoever ye may be esteemed among men…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 13-18Verses 13-18 To this parable our Lord added a solemn warning. Ye cannot serve God and the world, so divided are the two interests. When our Lord spoke thus, the covetous Pharisees treated his instructions with contempt. But he warned them, that what they contended for as the law, was a wresting of its meaning: this our Lord showed in a case respecting divorce. There are many covetous sticklers for the forms of godliness, who are the bitterest enemies to…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 14-1814-18. covetous ... derided him--sneered at Him; their master sin being too plainly struck at for them to relish. But it was easier to run down than to refute such teaching.Read the comment

Topics related to Luke 16:15

• God Continued...
• Heart
• Hypocrisy
• Self-Righteousness
• Sin

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Account
• Beg
• Beside
• Cool
• Deride
• Dig
• Fare
• Put

Commentaries on Luke 16

• 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