Luke 20:33
What does Luke 20:33 mean?
A plain-English look at Luke 20:33 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Luke 20:33 means
Having laid out their elaborate hypothetical, the Sadducees finally posed their trap question: "In the resurrection therefore whose wife of them shall she be? for the seven had her to wife." They believed this question exposed a logical flaw in the doctrine of the resurrection. If resurrection means a simple continuation of earthly life and relationships, then a woman married to seven brothers in succession would create an insurmountable problem regarding her marital status in the afterlife. Their argument assumed that resurrected life would be identical to earthly life, a fundamental misunderstanding that Jesus would soon correct.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000In the resurrection therefore whose wife of them shall she be? for the seven had her to wife.
KJV
King James Version · 1611Therefore in the resurrection whose wife of them is she? for seven had her to wife.
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901In the resurrection therefore whose wife of them shall she be? for the seven had her to wife.
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949When they come back from the dead, whose wife will she be? for all the seven had her.
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862in the rising again, then, of which of them doth she become wife? --for the seven had her as wife.'
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752In the resurrection therefore, whose wife of them shall she be? For all the seven had her to wife.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890In the resurrection therefore of which of them does she become wife, for the seven had her as wife?
Context
This verse contains the Sadducees' climatic question, which directly follows the completion of their hypothetical story. This inquiry is the core of their challenge to the resurrection doctrine, as they believe it highlights an unresolvable conflict. Jesus' immediate response to this specific question, beginning in the next verse, will directly address their misunderstanding about the nature of resurrected life and God's power.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Matthew 22:24
saying, Teacher, Moses said, If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.
- Mark 12:19
Teacher, Moses wrote unto us, If a man’s brother die, and leave a wife behind him, and leave no child, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.
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