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And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.
Luke 17:13 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB They lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”
  • BSB and raised their voices, shouting, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”
  • NKJV And they lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”
  • NASB and they raised their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”
  • NLT crying out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”

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

Ten lepers cry out together for Jesus' mercy, recognizing him as Master and their only hope of healing. It models humble, desperate prayer.

Overview

Lepers were ceremonially unclean and socially isolated, so they call out from a distance. Their plea acknowledges Jesus' authority and appeals not to merit but to mercy. This cry, "have mercy on us," anticipates the gospel pattern in which sinners approach Christ empty-handed, depending wholly on his compassion.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 6

  • Matt 15:22And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.
  • Luke 18:38–39And he cried, saying, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me.
  • Matt 20:30–31And, behold, two blind men sitting by the way side, when they heard that Jesus passed by, cried out, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou son of David.
  • Matt 9:27And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed him, crying, and saying, Thou son of David, have mercy on us.
  • Mark 9:22And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us.
  • Luke 5:5And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

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 17:13YouTube · 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 17:13 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.