New King James Version
Matthew 11:12
12And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.
Matthew 11:12 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.
- New International Version (NIV)From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence, and violent people have been raiding it.
- English Standard Version (ESV)From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force.
- New Living Translation (NLT)And from the time John the Baptist began preaching until now, the Kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing, and violent people are attacking it.
Context of Matthew 11:12
10For this is he of whom it is written: ‘Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You.’ 11“Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. 13For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. 14And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come.
Read all of Matthew 11Matthew 11:12 word by word
ἀπὸ δὲ τῶν ἡμερῶν Ἰωάννου τοῦ βαπτιστοῦ ἕως ἄρτι ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν βιάζεται, καὶ βιασταὶ ἁρπάζουσιν αὐτήν.Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Andδέde · thenG1161
- fromἀπόapo · away fromG575
- the daysὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- the daysἡμέραhēmera · dayG2250
- of JohnἸωάννηςIōannēs · JohnG2491
- the BaptistΒαπτιστήςBaptistēs · one who baptizesG910
- untilἕωςheōs · untilG2193
- nowἄρτιarti · nowG737
- the kingdomβασιλείαbasileia · kingdomG932
- of heavenοὐρανόςouranos · heavenG3772
- suffereth violenceβιάζωbiazō · to forceG971
- andκαίkai · andG2532
- the violentβιαστήςbiastēs · forceful personG973
- takeἁρπάζωharpazō · to seizeG726
- itαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
Cross-references for Matthew 11:12
- Matthew 21:23Now when He came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people confronted Him as He was teaching, and said, “By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority?”
- Luke 7:29And when all the people heard Him, even the tax collectors justified God, having been baptized with the baptism of John.
- Luke 13:24“Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able.
- Luke 16:16“The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is pressing into it.
- John 6:27Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.”
- Ephesians 6:11Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
- Philippians 2:12Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;
Commentaries on Matthew 11:12
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 12The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence - The tax-gatherers and heathens, whom the scribes and Pharisees think have no right to the kingdom of the Messiah, filled with holy zeal and earnestness, seize at once on the proffered mercy of the Gospel, and so take the kingdom as by force from those learned doctors who claimed for themselves the chiefest places in that kingdom. Christ himself said, The tax-gatherers and harlots go before you into the kingdom of…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 12And from the days of John - That is, from the days when John began to preach. It is not known how long this was, but it was not probably more than a year. Our Saviour here simply states a fact. He says there was a great rush or a crowd pressing to hear John. Multitudes went out to hear him, as if they were about to take the kingdom of heaven by force. See Matthew 3:5. So, he says, it has continued. Since “the kingdom of heaven,” or “the gospel,” has…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 7-15Verses 7-15 What Christ said concerning John, was not only for his praise, but for the people's profit. Those who attend on the word will be called to give an account of their improvements. Do we think when the sermon is done, the care is over? No, then the greatest of the care begins. John was a self-denying man, dead to all the pomps of the world and the pleasures of sense. It becomes people, in all their appearances, to be consistent with their…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 12The kingdom of heaven has been subject to violence: The Greek verb can mean either that the kingdom suffers violence (negative) or that it forcefully advances (positive). In Luke 16:16, a different verb (“preached”) makes the statement clearly positive. the violent lay claim to it: This phrase can also have either a negative or positive sense. Negatively, it may point to those who opposed John (see Matthew 11:2; 14:1–12) and persecuted the kingdom’s…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-191. And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciple--rather, "the twelve disciples," he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities--This was scarcely a fourth circuit--if we may judge from the less formal way in which it was expressed--but, perhaps, a set of visits paid to certain places, either not reached at all before, or too rapidly passed through, in order to fill up the time till the return of the Twelve…Read the comment
Topics related to Matthew 11:12
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Matthew 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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries