Luke 11:44

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.
• New International Version (NIV)“Woe to you, because you are like unmarked graves, which people walk over without knowing it.”
• 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.”

Context of Luke 11:44

42“What sorrow awaits you Pharisees! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore justice and the love of God. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things. 43“What sorrow awaits you Pharisees! For you love to sit in the seats of honor in the synagogues and receive respectful greetings as you walk in the marketplaces. 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.” 45“Teacher,” said an expert in religious law, “you have insulted us, too, in what you just said.” 46“Yes,” said Jesus, “what sorrow also awaits you experts in religious law! For you crush people with unbearable religious demands, and you never lift a finger to ease the burden.

Luke 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 19:16And if someone in an open field touches the corpse of someone who was killed with a sword or who died a natural death, or if someone touches a human bone or a grave, that person will be defiled for seven days.
• Psalms 5:9My enemies cannot speak a truthful word. Their deepest desire is to destroy others. Their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave. Their tongues are filled with flattery.
• Hosea 9:8The prophet is a watchman over Israel for my God, yet traps are laid for him wherever he goes. He faces hostility even in the house of God.
• Matthew 23:27“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity.
• Acts 23:3But Paul said to him, “God will slap you, you corrupt hypocrite! What kind of judge are you to break the law yourself by ordering me struck like that?”

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

• Hypocrisy
• Jesus, the Christ
• Pharisees
• Reproof
• Satire
• Self-Righteousness
• Teachers

In the dictionaries

• Allow
• Clean
• Hinder
• Judgment
• Manner
• Purification
• Ravening
• Seek
• Sign
• Teach

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