God’s Word Translation
Luke 13:23
23Someone asked him, “Sir, are only a few people going to be saved?” He answered,
Luke 13:23 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them,
- New International Version (NIV)Someone asked him, “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?” He said to them,
- English Standard Version (ESV)And someone said to him, "Lord, will those who are saved be few?" And he said to them,
- New King James Version (NKJV)Then one said to Him, “Lord, are there few who are saved?” And He said to them,
Context of Luke 13:23
21It’s like yeast that a woman mixed into a large amount of flour until the yeast worked its way through all the dough.” 22Then Jesus traveled and taught in one city and village after another on his way to Jerusalem. Someone asked him, “Sir, are only a few people going to be saved?” He answered, 24“Try hard to enter through the narrow door. I can guarantee that many will try to enter, but they won’t succeed. 25After the homeowner gets up and closes the door, ⌞it’s too late⌟. You can stand outside, knock at the door, and say, ‘Sir, open the door for us!’ But he will answer you, ‘I don’t know who you are.’
Read all of Luke 13Luke 13:23 word by word
Εἶπεν δέ τις αὐτῷ· κύριε, εἰ ὀλίγοι οἱ σῳζόμενοι; ὁ δὲ εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτούς·Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Luke 13:23
- Matthew 7:14But the narrow gate and the road that lead to life are full of trouble. Only a few people find the narrow gate.
- Matthew 19:25He amazed his disciples more than ever when they heard this. “Then who can be saved?” they asked.
- Matthew 20:16“In this way the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
- Matthew 22:14“Therefore, many are invited, but few of those are chosen to stay.”
- Luke 12:13Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to give me my share of the inheritance that our father left us.”
- Luke 21:7The disciples asked him, “Teacher, when will this happen? What will be the sign when all this will occur?”
- Matthew 24:3As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, his disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will this happen? What will be the sign that you are coming again, and when will the world come to an end?”
- Mark 13:4“Tell us, when will this happen? What will be the sign when all this will come to an end?”
- John 21:21When Peter saw him, he asked Jesus, “Lord, what about him?”
- Acts 1:7Jesus told them, “You don’t need to know about times or periods that the Father has determined by his own authority.
Commentaries on Luke 13:23
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 23Are there few that be saved? - A question either of impertinence or curiosity, the answer to which can profit no man. The grand question is, Can I be saved? Yes. How? Strive earnestly to enter in through the strait gate - , agonize - exert every power of body and soul - let your salvation be the grand business of your whole life.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 23Then said one - Who this was does not appear. It is probable that he was not one of the disciples, but one of the Jews, who came either to perplex him, or to involve him in a controversy with the Pharisees. Are there few that be saved? - It was the prevalent opinion among the Jews that few would enter heaven. As but two of all the hosts that came out of Egypt entered into the land of Canaan, so some of them maintained that a proportionally small number…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 23-30Verses 23-30 Our Saviour came to guide men's consciences, not to gratify their curiosity. Ask not, How many shall be saved? But, Shall I be one of them? Not, What shall become of such and such? But, What shall I do, and what will become of me? Strive to enter in at the strait gate. This is directed to each of us; it is, Strive ye. All that will be saved, must enter in at the strait gate, must undergo a change of the whole man. Those that would enter in…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 23will only a few people be saved?: Some believed that only a small number would be saved. Others thought that all Jews would be saved because they were descendants of Abraham (see study note on 3:8).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2323. Lord, &c.--one of those curious questions by talking of which some flatter themselves they are religious. said unto them--the multitude; taking no notice of the man or his question, save as furnishing the occasion of a solemn warning not to trifle with so momentous a matter as "salvation."Read the comment
Topics related to Luke 13:23
In the dictionaries
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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