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When he heard the noise of a crowd going past, he asked what was happening.
Luke 18:36 · New Living Translation
Parallel translations
  • WEB Hearing a multitude going by, he asked what this meant.
  • KJV And hearing the multitude pass by, he asked what it meant.
  • BSB When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening.
  • NKJV And hearing a multitude passing by, he asked what it meant.
  • NASB But when he heard a crowd going by, he began inquiring what this was.

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

Hearing the crowd pass, the blind man asks what is happening. His need makes him attentive to opportunity.

Overview

Unable to see, the beggar relies on hearing and inquiry to learn what the commotion means. His eagerness to find out shows a heart alert to possible help. This small detail sets up his decisive cry of faith once he learns Jesus is near.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 2

  • Luke 15:26He called one of the servants to him, and asked what was going on.
  • Matt 21:10–11When he had come into Jerusalem, all the city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?”

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 18:36YouTube · 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 18:36 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.