And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country.
Parallel translations
- WEB He said, “Most certainly I tell you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown.
- BSB Then He added, “Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in his hometown.
- NKJV Then He said, “Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country.
- NASB But He said, “Truly I say to you, no prophet is welcome in his hometown.
- NLT But I tell you the truth, no prophet is accepted in his own hometown.
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 states that no prophet is accepted in his hometown. Those closest by background often reject God's messenger.
Overview
With 'most certainly I tell you,' Jesus solemnly notes the familiar pattern that prophets are rejected by their own people. Nazareth's unbelief fits the long history of Israel spurning those God sent. The saying prepares for the examples of Elijah and Elisha that follow, and ultimately for the cross.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Matt 13:57And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house.
- John 4:44For Jesus himself testified, that a prophet hath no honour in his own country.
- Mark 6:4–5But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.
- Acts 22:3I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day.
- Acts 22:18–22And saw him saying unto me, Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem: for they will not receive thy testimony concerning me.
- John 4:41And many more believed because of his own word;
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 4:24 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.