And Jesus responded and said to them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans just because they have suffered this fate?
Parallel translations
- WEB Jesus answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered such things?
- KJV And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things?
- BSB To this He replied, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered this fate?
- NKJV And Jesus answered and said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things?
- NLT “Do you think those Galileans were worse sinners than all the other people from Galilee?” Jesus asked. “Is that why they suffered?
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 asks whether those slain Galileans were worse sinners than others because they suffered so. He challenges the assumption that suffering proves greater guilt.
Overview
Jesus confronts the mistaken belief that calamity is a reliable measure of someone's sinfulness. By questioning this, He shifts attention from judging the victims to examining oneself. This prepares the way for His urgent call that everyone, not just the unfortunate, stands in need of repentance before God.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- John 9:2His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
- Acts 28:4When the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he has escaped from the sea, yet Justice has not allowed to live.”
- Job 22:5–16Isn’t your wickedness great? Neither is there any end to your iniquities.
- Luke 13:4Or those eighteen, on whom the tower in Siloam fell, and killed them; do you think that they were worse offenders than all the men who dwell in Jerusalem?
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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 13:2 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.