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The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at this glutton and drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’
Luke 7:34 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man, and a drunkard; a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’
  • KJV The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners!
  • NKJV The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’
  • NASB The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a heavy drinker, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’
  • NLT The Son of Man, on the other hand, feasts and drinks, and you say, ‘He’s a glutton and a drunkard, and a friend of tax collectors and other sinners!’

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

The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they called Him a glutton, drunkard, and friend of sinners. They rejected Jesus' ministry as readily as John's.

Overview

Jesus' joyful fellowship with sinners, the opposite of John's asceticism, drew the opposite slander. The contradictory complaints expose that the critics will accept no messenger from God. Yet the very charge, 'friend of sinners,' unwittingly proclaims the glory of the gospel: Jesus came to seek and save the lost.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 9

  • Luke 15:2So the Pharisees and scribes began to grumble: “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
  • Luke 7:36Then one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to eat with him, and He entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table.
  • Matt 9:11When the Pharisees saw this, they asked His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
  • Luke 19:7And all who saw this began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinful man!”
  • Luke 14:1One Sabbath, Jesus went to eat in the home of a leading Pharisee, and those in attendance were watching Him closely.
  • John 12:2So they hosted a dinner for Jesus there. Martha served, and Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with Him.
  • Luke 11:37As Jesus was speaking, a Pharisee invited Him to dine with him; so He went in and reclined at the table.
  • John 2:2and Jesus and His disciples had also been invited to the wedding.
  • Luke 5:29Then Levi hosted a great banquet for Jesus at his house. A large crowd of tax collectors was there, along with others who were eating with them.

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 7:34YouTube · 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 7:34 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.