And when they bring you unto the synagogues, and unto magistrates, and powers, take ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer, or what ye shall say:
Parallel translations
- WEB When they bring you before the synagogues, the rulers, and the authorities, don’t be anxious how or what you will answer, or what you will say;
- BSB When you are brought before synagogues, rulers, and authorities, do not worry about how to defend yourselves or what to say.
- NKJV “Now when they bring you to the synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how or what you should answer, or what you should say.
- NASB Now when they bring you before the synagogues and the officials and the authorities, do not worry about how or what you are to speak in your defense, or what you are to say;
- NLT “And when you are brought to trial in the synagogues and before rulers and authorities, don’t worry about how to defend yourself or what to say,
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
When dragged before authorities, do not be anxious about how to defend yourselves. Christ frees His witnesses from fearful worry under persecution.
Overview
Anticipating the trials His followers will face, Jesus tells them not to be consumed with anxiety over their defense. This is not a license for laziness but an assurance that God will provide in the moment of need. It encourages bold, trusting witness rather than fearful self-protection when believers are called to account for their faith.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Matt 10:17–20But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues;
- Acts 4:5–7And it came to pass on the morrow, that their rulers, and elders, and scribes,
- Luke 21:12–14But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name’s sake.
- Luke 12:22And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on.
- Matt 23:34Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:
- Mark 13:9–11But take heed to yourselves: for they shall deliver you up to councils; and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten: and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them.
- Acts 6:9–15Then there arose certain of the synagogue, which is called the synagogue of the Libertines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and of Asia, disputing with Stephen.
- Acts 5:27–32And when they had brought them, they set them before the council: and the high priest asked them,
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 12:11 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.