Luke 4:25

Luke 4:25 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land;
• New International Version (NIV)I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land.
• English Standard Version (ESV)But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land,
• New King James Version (NKJV)But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land;

Context of Luke 4:25

23Jesus said to them, “No doubt you will quote to me the proverb, ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ and say, ‘What we have heard that you did in Capernaum, do here in your hometown too.’” 24And he added, “I tell you the truth, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. But in truth I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s days, when the sky was shut up three and a half years, and there was a great famine over all the land. 26Yet Elijah was sent to none of them, but only to a woman who was a widow at Zarephath in Sidon. 27And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, yet none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.”

Luke 4:25 word by word

ἐπ᾽ ἀληθείας δὲ λέγω ὑμῖν· πολλαὶ χῆραι ἦσαν ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις Ἠλίου ἐν τῷ Ἰσραὴλ ὅτε ἐκλείσθη ὁ οὐρανὸς ἐπὶ ἔτη τρία καὶ μῆνας ἕξ, ὡς ἐγένετο λιμὸς μέγας ἐπὶ πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν·Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Butδέde · thenG1161
• I tellλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
• youσύsu · youG4771
• ofἐπίepi · upon/to/againstG1909
• a truthἀλήθειαalētheia · truthG225
• manyπολύςpolus polos · muchG4183
• widowsχήραchēra · widowG5503
• wereεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• IsraelἸσραήλIsraēl · IsraelG2474
• the daysἡμέραhēmera · dayG2250
• of EliasἩλίαςHēlias · ElijahG2243
• whenὅτεhote ho te hē te tō te · whenG3753
• the heavenοὐρανόςouranos · heavenG3772
• was shut upκλείωkleiō · to shutG2808
• threeτρεῖςtreis tria · ThreeG5140
• yearsἔτοςetos · yearG2094
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• sixἕξhex · sixG1803
• monthsμήνmēn · monthG3376
• whenὡςhōs · as/whenG5613
• greatμέγαςmegas · greatG3173
• famineλιμόςlimos · hungerG3042
• wasγίνομαιginomai · to beG1096
• allπᾶςpas · allG3956
• the landγῆgē · earth: countryG1093

Cross-references for Luke 4:25

• Luke 10:21On that same occasion Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your gracious will.
• Isaiah 55:8“Indeed, my plans are not like your plans, and my deeds are not like your deeds,
• Matthew 20:15Am I not permitted to do what I want with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?’
• Mark 7:26The woman was a Greek, of Syrophoenician origin. She asked him to cast the demon out of her daughter.
• Romans 9:15For he says to Moses: “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”
• Ephesians 1:9He did this when he revealed to us the secret of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ,
• 1 Kings 17:1Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As certainly as the Lord God of Israel lives (whom I serve), there will be no dew or rain in the years ahead unless I give the command.”
• 1 Kings 18:1Some time later, in the third year of the famine, the Lord told Elijah, “Go, make an appearance before Ahab, so I may send rain on the surface of the ground.”
• James 5:17Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain and there was no rain on the land for three years and six months!

Commentaries on Luke 4:25

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 25In the days of Elias - See this history, 1 Kings 17:1-9, compared with 1 Kings 18:1-45. This was evidently a miraculous interference, as no rain fell for three years and six months, even in the rainy seasons. There were two of these in Judea, called the first and the latter rains; the first fell in October, the latter in April: the first prepared the ground for the seed, the latter ripened the harvest. As both these rains were withheld, consequently there…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 25Of a truth - Truly, and therefore worthy of your credit. He calls attention to two cases where “acknowledged” prophets had so little honor in their own nation that they bestowed their favors on foreigners. So, says he, such is the want of faith in my own country, that I shall work no miracles here, but shall give the evidence of my divine mission to others. In Israel - In the land of Israel, or Judea. It was therefore the more remarkable, since there were…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 14-30Verses 14-30 Christ taught in their synagogues, their places of public worship, where they met to read, expound, and apply the word, to pray and praise. All the gifts and graces of the Spirit were upon him and on him, without measure. By Christ, sinners may be loosed from the bonds of guilt, and by his Spirit and grace from the bondage of corruption. He came by the word of his gospel, to bring light to those that sat in the dark, and by the power of his…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 25-26widow of Zarephath: See 1 Kings 17–18.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 25-2725-27. But I tell you, &c.--falling back for support on the well-known examples of Elijah and Elisha (Eliseus), whose miraculous power, passing by those who were near, expended itself on those at a distance, yea on heathens, "the two great prophets who stand at the commencement of prophetic antiquity, and whose miracles strikingly prefigured those of our Lord. As He intended like them to feed the poor and cleanse the lepers, He points to these miracles of…Read the comment

Topics related to Luke 4:25

• Jesus, the Christ
• Nazareth
• Predestination
• Prophets
• Synagogue
• Word of God

In the dictionaries

• Israel
• Israel, Israelites
• Jacob, Israel
• Capernaum
• Close
• Deliverance
• Elijah
• Gracious
• Isaiah, The Book of
• Keep

Commentaries on Luke 4

• 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