English Standard Version
Luke 19:40
40He answered, "I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out."
Luke 19:40 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.
- New International Version (NIV)“I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”
- New King James Version (NKJV)But He answered and said to them, “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.”
- New Living Translation (NLT)He replied, “If they kept quiet, the stones along the road would burst into cheers!”
Context of Luke 19:40
38saying, "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" 39And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples." He answered, "I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out." 41And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, 42saying, "Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.
Read all of Luke 19Luke 19:40 word by word
καὶ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν λέγω ὑμῖν ἐὰν οὗτοι σιωπήσουσιν, οἱ λίθοι κράξουσιν.¶Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Andκαίkai · andG2532
- he answeredἀποκρίνωapokrinomai · to answerG611
- and saidλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
- unto themαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
- I tellλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
- youσύsu · youG4771
- thatὅτιhoti · that/since: thatG3754
- ifἐάνean · ifG1437
- theseοὗτοςhoutos houtoi hautē hautai · this/he/she/itG3778
- should hold their peaceσιωπάωsiōpaō · be quietG4623
- the stonesὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- the stonesλίθοςlithos · stoneG3037
- would immediately cry outκράζωkrazō · to cryG2896
Cross-references for Luke 19:40
- Psalms 96:11Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
- Psalms 98:7Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; the world and those who dwell in it!
- Psalms 114:1When Israel went out from Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language,
- Isaiah 55:12"For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
- Habakkuk 2:11For the stone will cry out from the wall, and the beam from the woodwork respond.
- Matthew 3:9And do not presume to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father,' for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.
- Matthew 21:15But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" they were indignant,
- Matthew 27:45Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour.
- 2 Peter 2:6if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly;
Commentaries on Luke 19:40
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 40If these should hold their peace, the stones would - cry out - Of such importance is my present conduct to you and to others, being expressly predicted by one of your own prophets, Zechariah 9:9, as pointing out the triumph of humility over pride, and of meekness over rage and malice, as signifying the salvation which I bring to the lost souls of men, that, if this multitude were silent, God would give even to the stones a voice, that the advent of the…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 40The stones would cry out - It is “proper” that they should celebrate my coming. Their acclamations “ought” not to be suppressed. So joyful is the event which they celebrate - the coming of the Messiah - that it is not fit that I should attempt to impose silence on them. The expression here seems to be “proverbial,” and is not to be taken literally. Proverbs are designed to express the truth “strongly,” but are not to be taken to signify as much as if…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 28-40Verses 28-40 Christ has dominion over all creatures, and may use them as he pleases. He has all men's hearts both under his eye and in his hand. Christ's triumphs, and his disciples' joyful praises, vex proud Pharisees, who are enemies to him and to his kingdom. But Christ, as he despises the contempt of the proud, so he accepts the praises of the humble. Pharisees would silence the praises of Christ, but they cannot; for as God can out of stones raise up…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 40Compare Isaiah 55:12, in which nature is said to rejoice at the coming of God’s salvation, and Habakkuk 2:11, in which the stones of the walls cry out against Babylon.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 4040. the stones, &c.--Hitherto the Lord had discouraged all demonstrations in His favor; latterly He had begun an opposite course; on this one occasion He seems to yield His whole soul to the wide and deep acclaim with a mysterious satisfaction, regarding it as so necessary a part of the regal dignity in which as Messiah He for this last time entered the city, that if not offered by the vast multitude, it would have been wrung out of the stones rather than…Read the comment
Topics related to Luke 19:40
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Luke 19
- 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
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Commentaries