But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us to death, since they are convinced 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.”
- KJV But and if we say, Of men; all the people will stone us: for they be 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.”
- 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 say, ‘From men,’ we fear the multitude, for all hold John as a prophet.”
- Matt 11:9But why did you go out? To see a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and much more than a prophet.
- Acts 5:26Then the captain went with the officers, and brought them without violence, for they were afraid that the people might stone them.
- Matt 26:5But they said, “Not during the feast, lest a riot occur among the people.”
- Mark 12:12They tried to seize him, but they feared the multitude; for they perceived that he spoke the parable against them. They left him, and went away.
- Luke 7:26–29But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and much more than a prophet.
- Luke 1:76And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways,
- Matt 14:5When he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet.
- John 10:41Many came to him. They said, “John indeed did no sign, but everything that John said about this man is true.”
- Matt 21:46When they sought to seize him, they feared the multitudes, because they considered him to be 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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