And if he is unable, he will send a delegation while the other king is still far off, to ask for terms of peace.
Parallel translations
- WEB Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends an envoy, and asks for conditions of peace.
- KJV Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace.
- NKJV Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace.
- NASB Otherwise, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and requests terms of peace.
- NLT And if he can’t, he will send a delegation to discuss terms of peace while the enemy is still far away.
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
If unable to fight, the king sends to seek peace terms while the enemy is far off. Realism about one's resources leads to wise decision.
Overview
The weaker king sues for peace rather than face certain defeat. The point is the necessity of clear-eyed judgment before commitment. Jesus uses the picture to press hearers to recognize that following Him is an all-or-nothing decision requiring full surrender.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Acts 12:20Now Herod was in a furious dispute with the people of Tyre and Sidon, and they convened before him. Having secured the support of Blastus, the king’s chamberlain, they asked for peace, because their region depended on the king’s country for food.
- Jas 4:6–10But He gives us more grace. This is why it says: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
- Job 40:9Do you have an arm like God’s? Can you thunder with a voice like His?
- 1 Kgs 20:31–34Then the servants of Ben-hadad said to him, “Look now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful. Let us go out to the king of Israel with sackcloth around our waists and ropes around our heads. Perhaps he will spare your life.”
- 2 Kgs 10:4–5But they were terrified and reasoned, “If two kings could not stand against him, how can we?”
- Luke 12:58Make every effort to reconcile with your adversary while you are on your way to the magistrate. Otherwise, he may drag you off to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and the officer may throw you into prison.
- Matt 5:25Reconcile quickly with your adversary, while you are still on the way to court. Otherwise, he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison.
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 14:32 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.