New International Version
Luke 11:44
44“Woe to you, because you are like unmarked graves, which people walk over without knowing it.”
Luke 11:44 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without knowing it."
- New King James Version (NKJV)Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like graves which are not seen, and the men who walk over them are not aware of them.”
- New Living Translation (NLT)Yes, what sorrow awaits you! For you are like hidden graves in a field. People walk over them without knowing the corruption they are stepping on.”
Context of Luke 11:44
42“Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone. 43“Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the most important seats in the synagogues and respectful greetings in the marketplaces. “Woe to you, because you are like unmarked graves, which people walk over without knowing it.” 45One of the experts in the law answered him, “Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us also.” 46Jesus replied, “And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them.
Read all of Luke 11Luke 11:44 word by word
Οὐαὶ ὑμῖν ὅτι ἐστὲ ὡς τὰ μνημεῖα τὰ ἄδηλα, καὶ οἱ ἄνθρωποι οἱ περιπατοῦντες ἐπάνω οὐκ οἴδασιν.¶Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- Woeοὐαίouai · woe!G3759
- unto youσύsu · youG4771
- scribesγραμματεύςgrammateus · scribeG1122
- andκαίkai · andG2532
- PhariseesΦαρισαῖοςPharisaios · PhariseeG5330
- hypocritesὑποκριτήςhupokritēs · hypocriteG5273
- forὅτιhoti · that/since: sinceG3754
- ye areεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
- asὡςhōs · as/whenG5613
- gravesμνημεῖονmnēmeion · graveG3419
- which appear notἄδηλοςadēlos · unclearG82
- the menἄνθρωποςanthrōpos · a humanG444
- that walkπεριπατέωperipateō · to walkG4043
- overἐπάνωepanō · aboveG1883
- areεἴδωeidō · to perceive: understandG1492
- notοὐou · noG3756
Cross-references for Luke 11:44
- Numbers 19:16“Anyone out in the open who touches someone who has been killed with a sword or someone who has died a natural death, or anyone who touches a human bone or a grave, will be unclean for seven days.
- Psalms 5:9Not a word from their mouth can be trusted; their heart is filled with malice. Their throat is an open grave; with their tongues they tell lies.
- Hosea 9:8The prophet, along with my God, is the watchman over Ephraim, yet snares await him on all his paths, and hostility in the house of his God.
- Matthew 23:27“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean.
- Acts 23:3Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! You sit there to judge me according to the law, yet you yourself violate the law by commanding that I be struck!”
Commentaries on Luke 11:44
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 44Ye are as graves which appear not - In Matthew 23:27, our Lord tells them that they exactly resembled white-washed tombs: they had no fairness but on the outside: (see the note there) but here he says they are like hidden tombs, graves which were not distinguished by any outward decorations, and were not elevated above the ground, so that those who walked over them did not consider what corruption was within; so they, under the veil of hypocrisy, covered…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. 44unmarked graves: Touching a grave or a dead body made a Jew ceremonially unclean. Jesus accused the religious leaders of being a defiling influence rather than a purifying one. This was a strongly offensive accusation (11:45).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 4444. appear not, &c.--As one might unconsciously walk over a grave concealed from view, and thus contract ceremonial defilement, so the plausible exterior of the Pharisees kept people from perceiving the pollution they contracted from coming in contact with such corrupt characters. (See Psa 5:9; Ro 3:13; a different illustration from Mt 23:27).Read the comment
Topics related to Luke 11:44
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
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