Luke 20:34
What does Luke 20:34 mean?
A plain-English look at Luke 20:34 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Luke 20:34 means
Jesus began to dismantle the Sadducees' flawed reasoning by distinguishing between earthly life and resurrected life. He stated, "The sons of this world marry, and are given in marriage." This affirms that marriage is an institution belonging to the present age, a part of the temporal order of human existence. He implies that their error stemmed from projecting earthly conditions and relationships onto the eternal state. This simple statement begins to correct their fundamental misunderstanding, setting the stage for His explanation of the unique nature of the resurrected body and spiritual reality.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000And Jesus said unto them, The sons of this world marry, and are given in marriage:
KJV
King James Version · 1611And Jesus answering said unto them, The children of this world marry, and are given in marriage:
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901And Jesus said unto them, The sons of this world marry, and are given in marriage:
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949And Jesus said to them, The sons of this world are married and have wives;
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862And Jesus answering said to them, `The sons of this age do marry and are given in marriage,
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752And Jesus said to them: The children of this world marry and are given in marriage:
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890And Jesus said to them, The sons of this world marry and are given in marriage,
Context
This verse marks Jesus' immediate and foundational response to the Sadducees' question about marriage in the resurrection. He begins by clearly delineating the characteristics of "this world" and its customs, specifically marriage. This distinction is crucial, as it corrects the Sadducees' false premise and prepares the way for His explanation of the different nature of life in the resurrected state, which directly follows.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Hebrews 13:4
Let marriage be had in honor among all, and let the bed be undefiled: for fornicators and adulterers God will judge.
- Ephesians 5:31
For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh.
- Luke 17:27
They ate, they drank, they married, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.
- 1 Corinthians 7:2
But, because of fornications, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband.
- Luke 16:8
And his lord commended the unrighteous steward because he had done wisely: for the sons of this world are for their own generation wiser than the sons of the light.
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