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But they kept silent. And He took him and healed him, and let him go.
Luke 14:4 · New King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB But they were silent. He took him, and healed him, and let him go.
  • KJV And they held their peace. And he took him, and healed him, and let him go;
  • BSB But they remained silent. Then Jesus took hold of the man, healed him, and sent him on his way.
  • NASB But they kept silent. And He took hold of him and healed him, and sent him away.
  • NLT When they refused to answer, Jesus touched the sick man and healed him and sent him 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

They stay silent, so Jesus heals the man and sends him away. Their silence concedes that mercy is lawful, even as He acts in compassion.

Overview

Their inability to answer reveals they cannot defend forbidding such mercy. Jesus proceeds to heal, showing that compassion fulfills rather than breaks the Sabbath. The quiet, decisive act demonstrates His authority and care for the suffering.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 2

  • Matt 21:25–27The baptism of John, where was it from? From heaven or from men?” They reasoned with themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’
  • Matt 22:46No one was able to answer him a word, neither did any man dare ask him any more questions from that day forward.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

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 14:4YouTube · 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 14:4 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.