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And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.”
Luke 17:5 · New King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.”
  • KJV And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.
  • BSB The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”
  • NASB The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”
  • NLT The apostles said to the Lord, “Show us how to increase our faith.”

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

The apostles, sensing the difficulty of such forgiveness, ask the Lord to increase their faith.

Overview

Confronted with the demanding call to repeated forgiveness, the apostles recognize their need for greater faith. Their request is humble and right. Jesus' reply will redirect them from the quantity of faith to its true object and power, found in God.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 8

  • Mark 9:24Immediately the father of the child cried out with tears, “I believe. Help my unbelief!”
  • Heb 12:2looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising its shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
  • Phil 4:13I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.
  • 2 Cor 12:8–10Concerning this thing, I begged the Lord three times that it might depart from me.
  • 2 Th 1:3We are bound to always give thanks to God for you, brothers, even as it is appropriate, because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of each and every one of you towards one another abounds;
  • Mark 6:30The apostles gathered themselves together to Jesus, and they told him all things, whatever they had done, and whatever they had taught.
  • Luke 7:13When the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said to her, “Don’t cry.”
  • 1 Pet 1:22–23Seeing you have purified your souls in your obedience to the truth through the Spirit in sincere brotherly affection, love one another from the heart fervently:

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 17:5YouTube · 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 17:5 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.