But and if we say, Of men; all the people will stone us: for they be persuaded that John was a prophet.
Parallel translations
- WEB But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us, for they are persuaded that John was a prophet.”
- BSB But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us, for they are convinced that John was a prophet.”
- NKJV But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us, for they are persuaded that John was a prophet.”
- NASB But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us to death, since they are convinced that John was a prophet.”
- NLT But if we say it was merely human, the people will stone us because they are convinced John was a prophet.”
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 also fear that denying John's prophetic call would provoke the people to stone them. Public opinion, not truth, governs their reply.
Overview
The leaders recognize that the people firmly regarded John as a prophet, so they dare not contradict that conviction. Their fear of the crowd, set beside their refusal to confess the truth, lays bare their hypocrisy. They are bound by political calculation rather than by reverence for God.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Matt 21:26But if we shall say, Of men; we fear the people; for all hold John as a prophet.
- Matt 11:9But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet.
- Acts 5:26Then went the captain with the officers, and brought them without violence: for they feared the people, lest they should have been stoned.
- Matt 26:5But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar among the people.
- Mark 12:12And they sought to lay hold on him, but feared the people: for they knew that he had spoken the parable against them: and they left him, and went their way.
- Luke 7:26–29But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet.
- Luke 1:76And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;
- Matt 14:5And when he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet.
- John 10:41And many resorted unto him, and said, John did no miracle: but all things that John spake of this man were true.
- Matt 21:46But when they sought to lay hands on him, they feared the multitude, because they took him for a prophet.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 20:6 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
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