Simon answered and said, “I assume the one for whom he canceled the greater debt.” And He said to him, “You have judged correctly.”
Parallel translations
- WEB Simon answered, “He, I suppose, to whom he forgave the most.” He said to him, “You have judged correctly.”
- KJV Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged.
- BSB “I suppose the one who was forgiven more,” Simon replied. “You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.
- NKJV Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.” And He said to him, “You have rightly judged.”
- NLT Simon answered, “I suppose the one for whom he canceled the larger debt.” “That’s right,” Jesus said.
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
Simon rightly answers that the one forgiven more will love more, and Jesus affirms his judgment. Simon unwittingly judges his own situation.
Overview
Simon correctly identifies the principle that greater forgiveness yields greater love, and Jesus confirms it. Yet in answering, Simon condemns his own lack of love. The exchange sets up Jesus' direct application, exposing the contrast between the grateful woman and the unloving Pharisee.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Ps 116:16–18Yahweh, truly I am your servant. I am your servant, the son of your servant. You have freed me from my chains.
- 2 Cor 5:14–15For the love of Christ constrains us; because we judge thus, that one died for all, therefore all died.
- Luke 7:47Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.”
- 1 Tim 1:13–16although I was before a blasphemer, a persecutor, and insolent. However, I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.
- Luke 10:38As they went on their way, he entered into a certain village, and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house.
- 1 Cor 15:9–10For I am the least of the apostles, who is not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the assembly of God.
- Mark 12:34When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from God’s Kingdom.” No one dared ask him any question after that.
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 7:43 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.