And they could not answer Him regarding these things.
Parallel translations
- WEB They couldn’t answer him regarding these things.
- KJV And they could not answer him again to these things.
- BSB And they were unable to answer these questions.
- NASB And they could offer no reply to this.
- NLT Again they could not answer.
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 have no answer to give. Jesus' reasoning leaves their legalistic objections without defense.
Overview
Their continued silence confirms that they cannot refute the logic of mercy. Jesus has exposed the inconsistency between their rules and their own behavior. The episode underscores that compassion, not rigid tradition, expresses the will of God.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Luke 20:40They didn’t dare to ask him any more questions.
- Luke 20:26They weren’t able to trap him in his words before the people. They marveled at his answer, and were silent.
- Luke 13:17As he said these things, all his adversaries were disappointed, and all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him.
- Luke 21:15for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to withstand or to contradict.
- Acts 6:10They weren’t able to withstand the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke.
- 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
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 14:6 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.