Luke 17:8
What does Luke 17:8 mean?
A plain-English look at Luke 17:8 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Luke 17:8 means
Continuing the parable, Jesus pictures the master instructing the servant to prepare the evening meal, gird for service, and attend to the master until he has eaten and drunk; only afterward may the servant eat. This is not cruelty but customary order. Jesus is not sanctioning harshness but teaching His followers to prioritize God’s will above their own comforts. In God’s household, the master’s table comes first. The image dismantles expectations of immediate reward and encourages perseverance in unseen tasks. It also assures that God does, in His time, refresh His servants—but their first concern is to fulfill His commands faithfully and without complaint.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000and will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink?
KJV
King James Version · 1611And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink?
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901and will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink?
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949Will he not say, Get a meal for me, and make yourself ready and see to my needs till I have had my food and drink; and after that you may have yours?
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862but will not <FI>rather<Fi> say to him, Prepare what I may sup, and having girded thyself about, minister to me, till I eat and drink, and after these things thou shalt eat and drink?
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752And will not rather say to him: Make ready my supper and gird thyself and serve me, whilst I eat and drink; and afterwards thou shalt eat and drink?
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890But will he not say to him, Prepare what I shall sup on, and gird thyself and serve me that I may eat and drink; and after that thou shalt eat and drink?
Context
This verse develops the household scene introduced in verse 7, reinforcing normal patterns of authority and duty. It prepares for verse 9’s rhetorical question about thanks, and verse 10’s explicit application to the disciples’ self-understanding. In the flow of the chapter, these words ensure that the earlier call to faith (verses 5–6) does not devolve into triumphalism. Instead, faith produces steady, humble service, which will soon be illustrated by Jesus’ own merciful actions toward the lepers (verses 11–19) and His teaching about the kingdom’s nature and future (verses 20–37).
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Genesis 43:16
And when Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, Bring the men into the house, and slay, and make ready; for the men shall dine with me at noon.
- Luke 12:37
Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them sit down to meat, and shall come and serve them.
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