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?
• New International Version (NIV)For if people do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is 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?”

Context of Luke 23:31

29For indeed, the days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are barren, and the wombs that never gave birth, and the breasts that did not feed.’ 30’Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us!’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us!’ ”For if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?” 32Others, two evildoers, were also led away to be put to death with Him. 33When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified Him and the evildoers, one on His right and 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 is rewarded on earth, how much more the wicked and the sinner!
• Jeremiah 25:29See, I am beginning to bring evil on the city where My name is called, and should you go completely unpunished? You will not go unpunished, for I am summoning a sword against all the inhabitants of the earth.” It is a declaration of Adonai-Tzva’ot.
• Ezekiel 15:2“Son of man, how can the wood of a vine be better than the branch of any tree that is among the trees of the forest?
• Ezekiel 21:3Say to the brush land of the South: ‘Hear the word of Adonai!’ Thus says Adonai Elohim: ‘Behold, I will kindle a fire in you. It will devour every moist tree in you and every dry tree. Its leaping flame will not be extinguished. All faces from the south to the north will be scorched by it.
• Daniel 9:26Then after the 62 weeks Mashiach will be cut off and have nothing. Then the people of a prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. But his end will come like a flood. Until the end of the war that is decreed there will be destruction.
• Matthew 3:12His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He shall clear His threshing floor and gather His wheat into the barn; but the chaff He shall burn up with inextinguishable fire.”
• John 15:6If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away like a branch and is dried up. Such branches are picked up and thrown into the fire and burned.
• Hebrews 6:8But if it produces thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed—its end is to be burned over.
• 1 Peter 4:17For the time has come for judgment to begin with the house of God. If judgment begins with us first, what will be the end for those who disobey the Good News of God?
• Jude 1:12These people are hidden rocky reefs at your love feasts—shamelessly feasting with you, tending only to themselves. They are waterless clouds, carried along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, doubly dead, uprooted;

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