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The book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. He opened the book, and found the place where it was written,
Luke 4:17 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,
  • BSB the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. Unrolling it, He found the place where it was written:
  • NKJV And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:
  • NASB And the scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to Him. And He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:
  • NLT The scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where this was written:

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

Jesus is handed the scroll of Isaiah and finds the appointed passage. He deliberately turns to a key messianic text.

Overview

Given the Isaiah scroll, Jesus finds the passage that defines His ministry. Whether chosen by Him or by the lectionary, the text is providentially fitting. The moment sets up His announcement that this prophecy is now being fulfilled in Him.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 5

  • Isa 61:1–3The Lord Yahweh’s Spirit is on me; because Yahweh has anointed me to preach good news to the humble. He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to those who are bound;
  • Acts 13:15After the reading of the law and the prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, speak.”
  • Acts 7:42But God turned, and gave them up to serve the army of the sky, as it is written in the book of the prophets, ‘Did you offer to me slain animals and sacrifices forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?
  • Acts 13:27For those who dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they didn’t know him, nor the voices of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning him.
  • Luke 20:42David himself says in the book of Psalms, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand,

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 4:17YouTube · 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 4:17 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.