She had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word.
Parallel translations
- KJV And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word.
- BSB She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to His message.
- NKJV And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word.
- NASB And she had a sister called Mary, who was also seated at the Lord’s feet, and was listening to His word.
- NLT Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Mary sits at Jesus' feet to hear his teaching. She takes the posture of a devoted disciple attending to the Lord's word.
Overview
Sitting at a teacher's feet was the place of a learner, a striking role for a woman of that day. Mary's focus on hearing Jesus' word marks her as a true disciple. The detail commends prioritizing attentiveness to Christ above all else.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Prov 8:34Blessed is the man who hears me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at my door posts.
- Luke 8:35People went out to see what had happened. They came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus’ feet, clothed and in his right mind; and they were afraid.
- John 12:3Mary, therefore, took a pound of ointment of pure nard, very precious, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment.
- Acts 22:3“I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, instructed according to the strict tradition of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God, even as you all are today.
- Deut 33:3Yes, he loves the people. All his saints are in your hand. They sat down at your feet. Each receives your words.
- Luke 2:46After three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the middle of the teachers, both listening to them, and asking them questions.
- 1 Cor 7:32–40But I desire to have you to be free from cares. He who is unmarried is concerned for the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord;
- John 11:1Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus from Bethany, of the village of Mary and her sister, Martha.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 10:39 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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