Limitless Word
But he answered them, “My mother and my brothers are these who hear the word of God, and do it.”
Luke 8:21 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV And he answered and said unto them, My mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of God, and do it.
  • BSB But He replied, “My mother and brothers are those who hear the word of God and carry it out.”
  • NKJV But He answered and said to them, “My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.”
  • NASB But He answered and said to them, “My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.”
  • NLT Jesus replied, “My mother and my brothers are all those who hear God’s word and obey it.”

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.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 18

  • Luke 11:27–28It came to pass, as he said these things, a certain woman out of the multitude lifted up her voice, and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts which nursed you!”
  • Jas 1:22But be doers of the word, and not only hearers, deluding your own selves.
  • John 13:17If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.
  • 3 Jn 1:11Beloved, don’t imitate that which is evil, but that which is good. He who does good is of God. He who does evil hasn’t seen God.
  • 1 Jn 2:29If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.
  • Heb 2:11–13For both he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one, for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brothers,
  • 2 Cor 6:18I will be to you a Father. You will be to me sons and daughters,’ says the Lord Almighty.”
  • John 15:14–15You are my friends, if you do whatever I command you.
  • John 6:28–29They said therefore to him, “What must we do, that we may work the works of God?”
  • Luke 8:15That in the good ground, these are such as in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, hold it tightly, and produces fruit with patience.
  • Matt 7:21–26Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
  • Matt 25:40“The King will answer them, ‘Most certainly I tell you, because you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
  • 1 Jn 3:22–23and whatever we ask, we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do the things that are pleasing in his sight.
  • Matt 17:5While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them. Behold, a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to him.”
  • John 20:17Jesus said to her, “Don’t hold me, for I haven’t yet ascended to my Father; but go to my brothers, and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
  • 2 Cor 5:16Therefore we know no one after the flesh from now on. Even though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now we know him so no more.
  • Matt 28:10Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Go tell my brothers that they should go into Galilee, and there they will see me.”
  • Matt 25:45“Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Most certainly I tell you, because you didn’t do it to one of the least of these, you didn’t do it to me.’

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

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 8:21YouTube · 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 8:21 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.