God’s Word Translation
Luke 11:39
39The Lord said to him, “You Pharisees clean the outside of cups and dishes. But inside you are full of greed and evil.
Luke 11:39 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And the Lord said unto him, Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness.
- New International Version (NIV)Then the Lord said to him, “Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And the Lord said to him, "Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Then the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees make the outside of the cup and dish clean, but your inward part is full of greed and wickedness.
Context of Luke 11:39
37After Jesus spoke, a Pharisee invited him to have lunch at his house. So Jesus accepted the invitation. 38The Pharisee was surprised to see that Jesus didn’t wash before the meal. The Lord said to him, “You Pharisees clean the outside of cups and dishes. But inside you are full of greed and evil. 40You fools! Didn’t the one who made the outside make the inside too? 41Give what is inside as a gift to the poor, and then everything will be clean for you.
Read all of Luke 11Luke 11:39 word by word
Εἶπεν δὲ ὁ κύριος πρὸς αὐτόν· νῦν ὑμεῖς οἱ Φαρισαῖοι τὸ ἔξωθεν τοῦ ποτηρίου καὶ τοῦ πίνακος καθαρίζετε, τὸ δὲ ἔσωθεν ὑμῶν γέμει ἁρπαγῆς καὶ πονηρίας.Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- Andδέde · thenG1161
- the Lordκύριοςkurios · lord: GodG2962
- saidλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
- untoπρόςpros · to/withG4314
- himαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
- Nowνῦνnun · nowG3568
- doκαθαρίζωkatharizō · to cleanG2511
- yeσύsu · youG4771
- PhariseesΦαρισαῖοςPharisaios · PhariseeG5330
- the outsideἔξωθενexōthen · outsideG1855
- of the cupποτήριονpotērion · cupG4221
- andκαίkai · andG2532
- the platterπίναξpinax · platterG4094
- inward partἔσωθενesōthen · inwardlyG2081
- is fullγέμωgemō · be fullG1073
- of raveningἁρπαγήharpagē · plunderG724
- wickednessπονηρίαponēria · evilG4189
Cross-references for Luke 11:39
- Matthew 23:25“How horrible it will be for you, experts in Moses’ Teachings and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You clean the outside of cups and dishes. But inside they are full of greed and uncontrolled desires.
- Galatians 1:14You also heard how I was far ahead of other Jews in my age group in following the Jewish religion. I had become that fanatical for the traditions of my ancestors.
- 2 Timothy 3:5They will appear to have a godly life, but they will not let its power change them. Stay away from such people.
- Luke 16:15So Jesus said to them, “You try to justify your actions in front of people. But God knows what’s in your hearts. What is important to humans is disgusting to God.
- Genesis 6:5The Lord saw how evil humans had become on the earth. All day long their deepest thoughts were nothing but evil.
- 2 Chronicles 25:2He did what the Lord considered right, but he did not do it wholeheartedly.
- 2 Chronicles 31:20This is what Hezekiah did throughout Judah. He did what was good and right and true to the Lord his God.
- Proverbs 26:25When he talks charmingly, do not trust him because of the seven disgusting things in his heart.
- Proverbs 30:12A certain kind of person thinks he is pure but is not washed from his own feces.
- Jeremiah 4:14Jerusalem, wash the evil from your heart so that you may be rescued. Don’t continue making evil plans.
- Matthew 12:33“Make a tree good, and then its fruit will be good. Or make a tree rotten, and then its fruit will be rotten. A person can recognize a tree by its fruit.
- Matthew 15:19Evil thoughts, murder, adultery, ⌞other⌟ sexual sins, stealing, lying, and cursing come from within.
- John 12:6(Judas didn’t say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief. He was in charge of the moneybag and carried the contributions.)
- John 13:2While supper was taking place, the devil had already put the idea of betraying Jesus into the mind of Judas, son of Simon Iscariot.
- Acts 5:3Peter asked, “Ananias, why did you let Satan fill you with the idea that you could deceive the Holy Spirit? You’ve held back some of the money you received for the land.
- Acts 8:21You won’t have any share in this because God can see how twisted your thinking is.
Commentaries on Luke 11:39
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 39Ye - make clean the outside - See on Matthew 23:25; (note).Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 39See Matthew 23:25. “Ravening.” Robbery, plunder. Here the sense is that the cup and platter were filled with what had been unjustly taken from others. That is, they lived by their wickedness; their food was procured by dishonesty and extortion. This was a most terrible charge; and as it was applied, among others, to the man who had invited the Saviour to dine with him, it shows that nothing would prevent his dealing faithfully with the souls of people…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 37-54Verses 37-54 We should all look to our hearts, that they may be cleansed and new-created; and while we attend to the great things of the law and of the gospel, we must not neglect the smallest matter God has appointed. When any wait to catch something out of our mouths, that they may insnare us, O Lord, give us thy prudence and thy patience, and disappoint their evil purposes. Furnish us with such meekness and patience that we may glory in reproaches, for…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 39The Pharisees had very detailed rules for washing cups and dishes in order to be religiously clean. These rules were about ceremonial cleansing (a special washing required by religious law). Jesus said they cleaned only the outside of the cup. By this, he meant they carefully followed outward rules. But inside, they were still unclean. They kept sin and wrong desires in their inner lives (their thoughts and motives).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 39-4139-41. cup and platter--remarkable example of our Lord's way of drawing the most striking illustrations of great truths from the most familiar objects and incidents of life. ravening--rapacity.Read the comment
Topics related to Luke 11:39
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Luke 11
- 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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
Commentaries