When it was day, he departed and went into an uninhabited place, and the multitudes looked for him, and came to him, and held on to him, so that he wouldn’t go away from them.
Parallel translations
- KJV And when it was day, he departed and went into a desert place: and the people sought him, and came unto him, and stayed him, that he should not depart from them.
- BSB At daybreak, Jesus went out to a solitary place, and the crowds were looking for Him. They came to Him and tried to keep Him from leaving.
- NKJV Now when it was day, He departed and went into a deserted place. And the crowd sought Him and came to Him, and tried to keep Him from leaving them;
- NASB Now when day came, Jesus left and went to a secluded place; and the crowds were searching for Him, and they came to Him and tried to keep Him from leaving them.
- NLT Early the next morning Jesus went out to an isolated place. The crowds searched everywhere for him, and when they finally found him, they begged him not to leave them.
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 withdraws to a solitary place, and the crowds seek to keep him with them. He values communion with the Father over local popularity.
Overview
After a busy day of ministry, Jesus seeks solitude, a pattern of withdrawal and prayer Luke highlights repeatedly. The crowds, eager for his healing, try to detain him in Capernaum. Their desire is understandable but reveals a tendency to grasp Jesus for local benefit rather than receive his wider mission, which he gently resists.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Luke 6:12In these days, he went out to the mountain to pray, and he continued all night in prayer to God.
- Mark 1:35–38Early in the morning, while it was still dark, he rose up and went out, and departed into a deserted place, and prayed there.
- John 4:34Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to accomplish his work.
- John 6:24When the multitude therefore saw that Jesus wasn’t there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats, and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.
- Luke 8:37–38All the people of the surrounding country of the Gadarenes asked him to depart from them, for they were very much afraid. He entered into the boat, and returned.
- Luke 24:29They urged him, saying, “Stay with us, for it is almost evening, and the day is almost over.” He went in to stay with them.
- Mark 6:33–34They saw them going, and many recognized him and ran there on foot from all the cities. They arrived before them and came together to him.
- John 4:40So when the Samaritans came to him, they begged him to stay with them. He stayed there two days.
- Mark 1:45But he went out, and began to proclaim it much, and to spread about the matter, so that Jesus could no more openly enter into a city, but was outside in desert places: and they came to him from everywhere.
- Matt 14:13–14Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat, to a deserted place apart. When the multitudes heard it, they followed him on foot from the cities.
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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 4:42 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.