He said to them, “You will surely say this proverb to Me, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.’ ”
Parallel translations
- WEB He said to them, “Doubtless you will tell me this parable, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we have heard done at Capernaum, do also here in your hometown.’”
- KJV And he said unto them, Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country.
- BSB Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to Me: ‘Physician, heal yourself! Do here in Your hometown what we have heard that You did in Capernaum.’”
- NASB And He said to them, “No doubt you will quote this proverb to Me: ‘Physician, heal yourself! All the miracles that we heard were done in Capernaum, do here in Your hometown as well.’ ”
- NLT Then he said, “You will undoubtedly quote me this proverb: ‘Physician, heal yourself’—meaning, ‘Do miracles here in your hometown like those you did in Capernaum.’
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 anticipates their demand that He perform in His hometown the miracles done at Capernaum. He exposes their unbelieving desire for signs.
Overview
Jesus voices the proverb in their hearts—'Physician, heal yourself'—knowing they want proof on their own terms. They seek the wonders reported elsewhere rather than receiving His word in faith. Jesus discerns that their interest is in spectacle, not repentance.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- John 4:46–53Jesus came therefore again to Cana of Galilee, where he made the water into wine. There was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum.
- Matt 11:23–24You, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, you will go down to Hades. For if the mighty works had been done in Sodom which were done in you, it would have remained until today.
- Mark 2:1–12When he entered again into Capernaum after some days, it was heard that he was in the house.
- Mark 6:1He went out from there. He came into his own country, and his disciples followed him.
- Matt 4:13Leaving Nazareth, he came and lived in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali,
- John 2:3–4When the wine ran out, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no wine.”
- Rom 2:21–22You therefore who teach another, don’t you teach yourself? You who preach that a man shouldn’t steal, do you steal?
- Luke 4:16He came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. He entered, as was his custom, into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.
- 2 Cor 5:16Therefore we know no one after the flesh from now on. Even though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now we know him so no more.
- Rom 11:34–35“For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?”
- Mark 1:21–28They went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath day he entered into the synagogue and taught.
- Luke 6:42Or how can you tell your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the speck of chaff that is in your eye,’ when you yourself don’t see the beam that is in your own eye? You hypocrite! First remove the beam from your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck of chaff that is in your brother’s eye.
- Matt 4:23Jesus went about in all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the Good News of the Kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness among the people.
- John 4:28So the woman left her water pot, and went away into the city, and said to the people,
- Matt 13:54Coming into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom, and these mighty works?
- John 7:3–4His brothers therefore said to him, “Depart from here, and go into Judea, that your disciples also may see your works which you do.
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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 4:23 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.