But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.
Parallel translations
- WEB But he said, “On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God, and keep it.”
- BSB But He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”
- NKJV But He said, “More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”
- NASB But He said, “On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God and follow it.”
- NLT Jesus replied, “But even more blessed are all who hear the word of God and put it into practice.”
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
Jesus says the truly blessed are those who hear and keep God's word. Spiritual obedience matters more than physical kinship.
Overview
Without dishonoring his mother, Jesus broadens blessedness to all who receive and obey God's word. The greatest privilege is not bearing Christ but believing and following him. This makes the blessing accessible to every disciple who heeds the gospel.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Luke 6:47–48Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like:
- Luke 8:21And he answered and said unto them, My mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of God, and do it.
- Ps 112:1Praise ye the LORD. Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD, that delighteth greatly in his commandments.
- Jas 1:21–25Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
- John 13:17If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.
- Isa 48:17–18Thus saith the LORD, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the LORD thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go.
- Ps 1:1–3Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
- 1 Jn 3:21–24Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.
- Ps 119:1–6Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD.
- Matt 12:48–50But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren?
- Ps 128:1Blessed is every one that feareth the LORD; that walketh in his ways.
- Matt 7:21–25Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
- Rev 22:14Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
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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 11:28 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.