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because his only daughter, who was about twelve, was dying. As Jesus went with him, the crowds pressed around Him,
Luke 8:42 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB for he had an only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she was dying. But as he went, the multitudes pressed against him.
  • KJV For he had one only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she lay a dying. But as he went the people thronged him.
  • NKJV for he had an only daughter about twelve years of age, and she was dying. But as He went, the multitudes thronged Him.
  • NASB for he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, and she was dying. But as He went, the crowds were pressing against Him.
  • NLT His only daughter, who was about twelve years old, was dying. As Jesus went with him, he was surrounded by the crowds.

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

Jairus's only daughter, about twelve, is dying, and the crowd presses around Jesus as He goes. The urgency heightens as another need interrupts.

Overview

Luke notes the girl is Jairus's only child and near death, deepening the pathos of the scene. As Jesus moves toward the home, crowds throng Him. The delay that follows will test Jairus's faith while revealing Jesus' compassion for another sufferer.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 13

  • Luke 8:45“Who touched Me?” Jesus asked. But they all denied it. “Master,” said Peter, “the people are crowding and pressing against You.”
  • Luke 7:12As He approached the town gate, He saw a dead man being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her.
  • Job 4:20They are smashed to pieces from dawn to dusk; unnoticed, they perish forever.
  • Ezek 24:16“Son of man, behold, I am about to take away the desire of your eyes with a fatal blow. But you must not mourn or weep or let your tears flow.
  • Ezek 24:25And you, son of man, know that on the day I take away their stronghold, their pride and joy—the desire of their eyes which uplifted their souls—and their sons and daughters as well,
  • Mark 5:24So Jesus went with him, and a large crowd followed and pressed around Him.
  • Rom 5:12Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, so also death was passed on to all men, because all sinned.
  • Job 1:18–19While he was still speaking, another messenger came and reported: “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house,
  • Eccl 6:12For who knows what is good for a man during the few days in which he passes through his fleeting life like a shadow? Who can tell a man what will come after him under the sun?
  • Gen 44:20–22And we answered, ‘We have an elderly father and a younger brother, the child of his old age. The boy’s brother is dead. He is the only one of his mother’s sons left, and his father loves him.’
  • Ps 90:5–8You whisk them away in their sleep; they are like the new grass of the morning—
  • Ps 103:15–16As for man, his days are like grass—he blooms like a flower of the field;
  • Zech 12:10Then I will pour out on the house of David and on the people of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and prayer, and they will look on Me, the One they have pierced. They will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for Him as one grieves for a firstborn son.

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 8:42YouTube · 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 8:42 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.