because a friend of mine has come to me from a journey and I have nothing to serve him’;
Parallel translations
- WEB for a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him,’
- KJV For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him?
- BSB because a friend of mine has come to me on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him.’
- NKJV for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him’;
- NLT ‘A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.’
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
The man explains he has a guest to feed and nothing to offer. His need drives his urgent request.
Overview
Hospitality customs made it shameful to have nothing for a traveling guest. The man's genuine need presses him to ask despite the hour. The detail underscores that real need is the proper ground of earnest prayer.
Cross-references & the web
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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 11:6 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.