Luke 11:42 kjv
But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
Luke 11:42 nkjv
"But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.
Luke 11:42 niv
"Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.
Luke 11:42 esv
"But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.
Luke 11:42 nlt
"What sorrow awaits you Pharisees! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore justice and the love of God. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things.
Luke 11 42 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference Point |
|---|---|---|
| Mt 23:23 | "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith... | Parallel passage, identical critique of misplaced priorities. |
| Dt 6:5 | "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might." | Foundational command of the love of God, neglected by Pharisees. |
| Lev 19:18 | "...you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD." | Commandment underpinning justice and love for others. |
| Mic 6:8 | "He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" | Prophetic emphasis on justice and mercy over ritual. |
| Hos 6:6 | "For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings." | Prophetic critique of external ritual without internal devotion. |
| 1 Sam 15:22 | "Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams." | Obedience and righteous heart preferred over outward rituals. |
| Is 1:16-17 | "Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean... cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause." | Call to justice and righteousness over empty religious practice. |
| Am 5:24 | "But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream." | Prophetic call for societal justice. |
| Zec 7:9-10 | "Thus says the LORD of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another... and oppress not the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor..." | God's command for justice and compassion. |
| Mt 5:20 | "For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." | Jesus requires deeper righteousness than mere external observance. |
| Mk 7:6-9 | "This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me... You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men." | Critique of hypocritical worship and valuing tradition over God's commands. |
| 1 Jn 4:20-21 | "If anyone says, 'I love God,' and hates his brother, he is a liar... he who loves God must also love his brother." | Direct link between love for God and love for neighbor/justice. |
| Rom 13:8-10 | "Owe no one anything, except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments... are summed up in this word: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'" | Love fulfills the core of the Law. |
| Gal 5:6 | "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love." | Internal change and love, not external rituals, matter for salvation. |
| Jas 2:14-17 | "What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works?... So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead." | True faith produces works of righteousness and justice. |
| Tit 1:16 | "They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work." | Warning against professing faith without accompanying righteous deeds. |
| Prov 21:3 | "To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice." | Old Testament wisdom affirming justice over mere ritual. |
| 1 Jn 3:18 | "Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth." | Emphasizes practical demonstration of love through actions. |
| Col 2:16-17, 20-23 | "Let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink... These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ... strictness in devotion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value in checking the indulgence of the flesh." | Warning against legalism and asceticism that misses spiritual reality. |
| Mt 6:1-6 | "Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven... for they have received their reward in full." | Critique of outward religious performance for human praise rather than true piety. |
| Lk 18:9-14 | Parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, where the outwardly religious Pharisee is condemned for his pride and self-righteousness, while the repentant tax collector is justified. | Illustrates God's valuing of humility and true brokenness over self-proclaimed righteousness. |
Luke 11 verses
Luke 11 42 Meaning
This verse is part of Jesus' series of "woes" against the Pharisees, serving as a scathing rebuke for their spiritual hypocrisy. It highlights their meticulous observance of minor religious regulations, such as tithing even the smallest herbs, while neglecting the weightier, foundational principles of God's Law: justice and the love of God. Jesus affirms that outward observances are not wrong in themselves but become worthless, or even offensive, when they overshadow the truly essential matters of the heart and righteous conduct towards God and neighbor.
Luke 11 42 Context
Luke 11 records a pivotal moment in Jesus' public ministry where He increasingly confronts the religious leaders. Following a controversial encounter regarding the Beelzebul accusation (11:14-23) and teaching on spiritual fruitfulness (11:29-36), a Pharisee invites Jesus to dinner. Jesus' refusal to ritually wash His hands before the meal provokes internal astonishment from the Pharisee, leading Jesus to unleash a series of "woes" (Lk 11:37-52). These woes systematically expose the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and experts in the Law, criticizing their inward corruption hidden beneath an outward facade of piety. Verse 42 specifically addresses their misplaced priorities concerning tithing versus core moral and spiritual duties, establishing a sharp contrast between ritualistic observance and true obedience to God's heart.
Luke 11 42 Word analysis
- Woe (Greek: οὐαί, ouai): A strong interjection expressing grief, pain, denunciation, or a prophetic declaration of judgment. It signifies distress, not merely a lament, but a solemn warning of divine displeasure or consequences for a specified group, here the Pharisees, due to their actions.
- Pharisees (Greek: Φαρισαῖοι, Pharisaioi): A prominent Jewish religious and political party in the Second Temple period, known for their meticulous observance of the Mosaic Law and the oral tradition, seeking to maintain Jewish religious identity amidst Hellenistic influence. Jesus often challenged them for prioritizing outward conformity and tradition over the spirit of the Law and true inner transformation.
- You tithe (Greek: ἀποδεκατόω, apodekatoō): To give a tenth part; to pay tithes. Under the Mosaic Law (e.g., Lev 27:30, Dt 14:22), Israelites were commanded to give a tenth of their agricultural produce to the LORD.
- Mint and rue and every herb (Greek: ἡδύοσμον καὶ πήγανον καὶ πᾶν λάχανον, hēdyosmon kai pēganon kai pan lachanón): These refer to very small, common garden herbs. While tithing was for agricultural produce, the Law did not explicitly specify tithing such tiny items. The Pharisees extended the tithe beyond the scriptural requirement, meticulously tithing even these insignificant garden plants to demonstrate their extreme scrupulousness and devotion to the Law.
- Neglect (Greek: παρέρχομαι, parerchomai, meaning "to pass by, disregard, neglect, omit"): This verb implies an act of overlooking or treating as secondary. It is not about completely abandoning but failing to give due attention or importance.
- Justice (Greek: κρίσιν, krisin, meaning "judgment, justice, righteousness"): Refers to fair dealing, righteous governance, and equitable treatment of others, especially the vulnerable. It implies adhering to God's standard of right and wrong in interactions.
- Love of God (Greek: ἀγάπην τοῦ Θεοῦ, agapēn tou Theou): In Luke's account, this phrase emphasizes devotion to God as commanded in the Shema (Dt 6:5) and/or a God-centered love which should translate into action. In Matthew's parallel, "mercy" and "faith" are used. Luke's "love of God" encompasses not just personal devotion but also living out that love by acting justly and showing compassion to others, embodying God's character.
- These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others (Greek: ταῦτα ἔδει ποιῆσαι, κἀκεῖνα μὴ ἀφιέναι, tauta edei poiēsai, kakeina mē aphienai): This phrase highlights Jesus' teaching on spiritual priorities. "These" (justice and love of God) are paramount ("ought to have done" - moral necessity, strong obligation). "The others" (the meticulous tithing) are not condemned outright but are explicitly stated as not to be neglected ("without neglecting"). This shows Jesus is not abolishing the Law's requirements but prioritizing the spirit and core principles of the Law over rigid adherence to minor rituals. The external act is not wrong, but its worth is diminished if the internal essence is absent or superseded.
Luke 11 42 Bonus section
This verse stands as a powerful teaching against legalism, where adherence to external rules, rituals, or traditions supplants genuine inner devotion and ethical conduct rooted in love. Jesus' challenge here goes beyond the Pharisees; it serves as a perpetual reminder for all believers to regularly examine their spiritual practices, ensuring they do not prioritize appearance or minor duties over the core commands of loving God and loving neighbor. The true test of faith lies not in how meticulously one follows every custom, but in the heart's posture towards God and the practical outworking of that love in acts of justice, mercy, and faithfulness in the world. It’s a call to balance: ritual without relationship is empty, but relationship often expresses itself in intentional disciplines. However, disciplines must serve the deeper reality of love for God and others, never replace it.
Luke 11 42 Commentary
Jesus' indictment of the Pharisees in Luke 11:42 sharply exposes spiritual hypocrisy rooted in misplaced priorities. He critiques not the act of tithing itself, which was part of the Law, but the selective zeal with which they pursued the visible, less significant aspects of religious duty while bypassing the "weightier matters." Their meticulous tithing of garden herbs—an extreme extension of the Law—was a public display of piety designed to impress others. Yet, inwardly, they were neglecting fundamental biblical mandates like justice, which calls for fairness, integrity, and defending the oppressed, and the love of God, the supreme command from which all other commands flow. Jesus declares that these spiritual and ethical foundations are of primary importance and must be actively pursued. The emphasis on "without neglecting the others" indicates that external acts are not abolished but are secondary and gain true meaning only when coupled with, and flow from, the deeper internal commitments of love and righteousness. True faith requires both internal heart change and outward expressions, but the heart must always guide the hand.