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And one of them struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his right ear.
Luke 22:50 · New American Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB A certain one of them struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear.
  • KJV And one of them smote the servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear.
  • BSB And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear.
  • NKJV And one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear.
  • NLT And one of them struck at the high priest’s slave, slashing off his right ear.

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

One disciple strikes the high priest's servant and cuts off his right ear. Misguided zeal leads to violence.

Overview

Acting before Jesus answers, a disciple wounds a member of the arresting party. The rash act demonstrates how human zeal can resist God's redemptive plan. It provides the occasion for Jesus to display mercy even toward those who came to seize Him.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 5

  • John 18:10–11Simon Peter therefore, having a sword, drew it, and struck the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus.
  • Mark 14:47But a certain one of those who stood by drew his sword, and struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear.
  • Matt 26:51–54Behold, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck the servant of the high priest, and struck off his ear.
  • Rom 12:19Don’t seek revenge yourselves, beloved, but give place to God’s wrath. For it is written, “Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay, says the Lord.”
  • 2 Cor 10:4for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty before God to the throwing down of strongholds,

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (4)

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 22:50YouTube · 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 22:50 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.