Luke 23:31

Luke 23:31 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?
• English Standard Version (ESV)For if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?"
• New King James Version (NKJV)For if they do these things in the green wood, what will be done in the dry?”
• New Living Translation (NLT)For if these things are done when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?”

Context of Luke 23:31

29For the time will come when you will say, ‘Blessed are the childless women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ 30Then “ ‘they will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!” ’ For if people do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?” 32Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. 33When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left.

Luke 23:31 word by word

ὅτι εἰ ἐν τῷ ὑγρῷ ξύλῳ ταῦτα ποιοῦσιν, ἐν τῷ ξηρῷ τί γένηται;¶Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Forὅτιhoti · that/since: sinceG3754
• ifεἰei · ifG1487
• they doποιέωpoieō · to do/make: doG4160
• these thingsοὗτοςhoutos houtoi hautē hautai · this/he/she/itG3778
• inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• a greenὑγρόςhugros · moist/greenG5200
• treeξύλονxulon · woodG3586
• whatτίςtis · which?G5101
• shall be doneγίνομαιginomai · to beG1096
• the dryξηρόςxēros · dried up/witheredG3584

Cross-references for Luke 23:31

• Proverbs 11:31If the righteous receive their due on earth, how much more the ungodly and the sinner!
• Jeremiah 25:29See, I am beginning to bring disaster on the city that bears my Name, and will you indeed go unpunished? You will not go unpunished, for I am calling down a sword on all who live on the earth, declares the Lord Almighty.’
• Ezekiel 15:2“Son of man, how is the wood of a vine different from that of a branch from any of the trees in the forest?
• Ezekiel 20:47Say to the southern forest: ‘Hear the word of the Lord. This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am about to set fire to you, and it will consume all your trees, both green and dry. The blazing flame will not be quenched, and every face from south to north will be scorched by it.
• Ezekiel 21:3and say to her: ‘This is what the Lord says: I am against you. I will draw my sword from its sheath and cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked.
• Daniel 9:26After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be put to death and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed.
• Matthew 3:12His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
• John 15:6If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.
• Hebrews 6:8But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned.
• 1 Peter 4:17For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?
• Jude 1:12These people are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm—shepherds who feed only themselves. They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted—twice dead.

Commentaries on Luke 23:31

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 31If they do these things in a green tree - This seems to be a proverbial expression, the sense of which is: If they spare not a tree which, by the beauty of its foliage, abundance and excellence of its fruits, deserves to be preserved, then the tree which is dry and withered will surely be cut down. If an innocent man be put to death in the very face of justice, in opposition to all its dictates and decisions, by a people who profess to be governed and…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 31For if they do these things in a green tree … - This seems to be a proverbial expression. A “green” tree is not easily set on fire; a dry one is easily kindled and burns rapidly; and the meaning of the passage is - “If they, the Romans, do these things to me, who am innocent and blameless; if they punish me in this manner in the face of justice, what will they not do in relation to this guilty nation? What security have they that heavier judgments will…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 26-31Verses 26-31 We have here the blessed Jesus, the Lamb of God, led as a lamb to the slaughter, to the sacrifice. Though many reproached and reviled him, yet some pitied him. But the death of Christ was his victory and triumph over his enemies: it was our deliverance, the purchase of eternal life for us. Therefore weep not for him, but let us weep for our own sins, and the sins of our children, which caused his death; and weep for fear of the miseries we…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 31If the Romans crucified an innocent man while conditions were still calm and stable (while the tree is green), what worse things would happen when rebellion spread through the land (when it is dry)? Jesus used the picture of green wood and dry wood to contrast a peaceful time with a time ready for destruction. During the siege of Jerusalem (AD 66–70), the Romans crucified thousands of Jews outside the city.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 27-3127-31. women--not the precious Galilean women (Lu 23:49), but part of the crowd.Read the comment

Topics related to Luke 23:31

• Death
• Israel, Prophecies Concerning
• Jesus, the Christ
• Wicked (People)

In the dictionaries

• Certainly
• Commend
• Condemnation
• Crucify
• Gorgeous
• Humiliation of Christ
• Paradise
• Superscription
• Color; Colors
• Jesus Christ

Commentaries on Luke 23

• 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