He said, “Most certainly I tell you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown.
Parallel translations
- KJV And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country.
- 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 13:57They were offended by him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country, and in his own house.”
- John 4:44For Jesus himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country.
- Mark 6:4–5Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country, and among his own relatives, and in his own house.”
- Acts 22:3“I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, instructed according to the strict tradition of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God, even as you all are today.
- Acts 22:18–22and saw him saying to me, ‘Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not receive testimony concerning me from you.’
- John 4:41Many more believed because of his 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.