But his citizens hated him, and sent an envoy after him, saying, ‘We don’t want this man to reign over us.’
Parallel translations
- KJV But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us.
- BSB But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We do not want this man to rule over us.’
- NKJV But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We will not have this man to reign over us.’
- NASB But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’
- NLT But his people hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We do not want him to be our king.’
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 nobleman's citizens hate him and send word that they reject his rule. This pictures those who refuse to have Christ reign over them.
Overview
The rebellious citizens represent people, including Jesus's own contemporaries in Jerusalem, who resent and reject his kingship. Their hostility runs alongside the servants' stewardship as a parallel theme of the parable. Rejecting the King carries grave consequences, as the parable's ending will make plain.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- 1 Sam 8:7Yahweh said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in all that they tell you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me as the king over them.
- Acts 7:51–52“You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit! As your fathers did, so you do.
- Acts 3:14–15But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you,
- Ps 2:1–3Why do the nations rage, and the peoples plot a vain thing?
- Luke 19:27But bring those enemies of mine who didn’t want me to reign over them here, and kill them before me.’”
- John 1:11He came to his own, and those who were his own didn’t receive him.
- John 15:18If the world hates you, you know that it has hated me before it hated you.
- John 15:23–24He who hates me, hates my Father also.
- Zech 11:8I cut off the three shepherds in one month; for my soul was weary of them, and their soul also loathed me.
- Acts 4:27–28“For truly, in this city against your holy servant, Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together
- Isa 49:7Yahweh, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, says to him whom man despises, to him whom the nation abhors, to a servant of rulers: “Kings shall see and rise up; princes, and they shall worship; because of Yahweh who is faithful, even the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”
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 19:14 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.