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Now as he spoke, a certain Pharisee asked him to dine with him. He went in, and sat at the table.
Luke 11:37 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV And as he spake, a certain Pharisee besought him to dine with him: and he went in, and sat down to meat.
  • BSB As Jesus was speaking, a Pharisee invited Him to dine with him; so He went in and reclined at the table.
  • NKJV And as He spoke, a certain Pharisee asked Him to dine with him. So He went in and sat down to eat.
  • NASB Now when He had spoken, a Pharisee *asked Him to have lunch with him; and He went in and reclined at the table.
  • NLT As Jesus was speaking, one of the Pharisees invited him home for a meal. So he went in and took his place at the table.

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

A Pharisee invites Jesus to dine, and he goes in and reclines at the table. The meal sets up Jesus' rebuke of Pharisaic hypocrisy.

Overview

Jesus accepts hospitality even from those who oppose him, showing his readiness to engage all. The dinner provides the occasion for searching words about true and false righteousness. What seems an ordinary meal becomes a confrontation over the heart of religion.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 3

  • Luke 7:36One of the Pharisees invited him to eat with him. He entered into the Pharisee’s house, and sat at the table.
  • 1 Cor 9:19–23For though I was free from all, I brought myself under bondage to all, that I might gain the more.
  • Luke 14:1When he went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees on a Sabbath to eat bread, they were watching him.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (4)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Luke videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Luke 11:37YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on LukeMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 11:37 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.