Limitless Word
And her parents were astonished: but he charged them that they should tell no man what was done.
Luke 8:56 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB Her parents were amazed, but he commanded them to tell no one what had been done.
  • BSB Her parents were astounded, but Jesus ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened.
  • NKJV And her parents were astonished, but He charged them to tell no one what had happened.
  • NASB Her parents were amazed; but He instructed them to tell no one what had happened.
  • NLT Her parents were overwhelmed, but Jesus insisted that they not tell anyone what had happened.

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

Her astonished parents are told to keep the matter quiet. Jesus restrains premature publicity about His miracles.

Overview

The parents are amazed, and Jesus charges them to tell no one. Such commands often served to prevent misunderstanding of His mission and a rush toward a merely political Messiah. The restraint shows Jesus' deliberate ordering of how His identity would be made known.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 4

  • Matt 8:4And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.
  • Matt 9:30And their eyes were opened; and Jesus straitly charged them, saying, See that no man know it.
  • Luke 5:14And he charged him to tell no man: but go, and shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing, according as Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.
  • Mark 5:42–43And straightway the damsel arose, and walked; for she was of the age of twelve years. And they were astonished with a great astonishment.

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 8:56YouTube · 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 8:56 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.