Luke 11:46 kjv
And he said, Woe unto you also, ye lawyers! for ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers.
Luke 11:46 nkjv
And He said, "Woe to you also, lawyers! For you load men with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers.
Luke 11:46 niv
Jesus replied, "And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them.
Luke 11:46 esv
And he said, "Woe to you lawyers also! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers.
Luke 11:46 nlt
"Yes," said Jesus, "what sorrow also awaits you experts in religious law! For you crush people with unbearable religious demands, and you never lift a finger to ease the burden.
Luke 11 46 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Matt 23:4 | They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. | Direct parallel, legalistic burdens and hypocrisy. |
| Matt 23:23-28 | Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!... | Broader context of woes against religious hypocrisy. |
| Matt 11:28-30 | Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle... | Jesus's light yoke contrasted with human burdens. |
| Acts 15:10 | Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? | Peter speaks against imposing heavy, unnecessary burdens (Mosaic Law aspects) on new believers. |
| Gal 5:1 | It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. | Freedom from legalism and reliance on human effort. |
| Isa 10:1-2 | Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights... | Prophetic woe against oppressive legislation and injustice. |
| Eze 34:2-4 | Woe to you shepherds of Israel who only take care of yourselves!... You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick... | Divine condemnation of shepherds who oppress instead of care. |
| Mic 6:8 | He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. | God's true requirements vs. man-made burdens. |
| Zech 7:9-10 | This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow... | God's desire for justice and compassion. |
| Rom 2:13 | For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. | Importance of doing, not just knowing or teaching, the law. |
| Jas 1:22 | Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. | Emphasis on practical application rather than theoretical knowledge. |
| Mark 7:6-9 | He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites... You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.” | Jesus's strong condemnation of human traditions overriding God's commands. |
| Tit 1:14 | and not devote themselves to Jewish myths or to the merely human commands of those who reject the truth. | Warning against adherence to man-made regulations. |
| 1 Tim 1:7 | They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not understand what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm. | Critique of false teachers desiring authority without true understanding. |
| 1 John 5:3 | In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome. | God's commands are not burdensome, unlike human ones. |
| Isa 58:6-7 | Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice... and break every yoke and set the oppressed free? | True spiritual practice involves freeing the oppressed, not burdening them. |
| Jer 2:8 | The priests did not ask, ‘Where is the LORD?’ The experts in the law did not know me; the rulers rebelled against me... | Religious leaders who fail to truly know or acknowledge God. |
| Mal 2:7 | For the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, because he is the messenger of the LORD Almighty. | Priests/teachers are meant to guide truthfully, not oppressively. |
| Luke 6:24-26 | But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort... | Examples of Jesus's pronouncements of "woe". |
| 2 Cor 3:6 | He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. | The law's limitations when divorced from the Spirit, which true religion provides. |
| John 7:19 | Has not Moses given you the law? Yet not one of you keeps the law. | Irony of the legal experts not perfectly upholding their own standards. |
Luke 11 verses
Luke 11 46 Meaning
Luke 11:46 contains Jesus' strong rebuke of the "experts in the law," identifying their oppressive and hypocritical practices. He pronounces a "woe" upon them, signifying both a lament and a solemn declaration of judgment. Their primary offense is loading people with exceedingly burdensome man-made traditions and regulations, which they claim are requirements for righteousness, while they themselves offer no relief or practical assistance. This highlights a fundamental disregard for people's spiritual and physical well-being, focusing instead on power, legalistic minutiae, and outward appearances, thereby stifling true faith and compassion.
Luke 11 46 Context
Luke chapter 11 records several key teachings and confrontations by Jesus. The immediate context of verse 46 is a series of "woes" (condemnations) that Jesus pronounces upon the Pharisees and, specifically here, the experts in the law. This segment follows an interaction where Jesus has been criticized for casting out demons by the power of Beelzebul and then provides a sign. When Jesus denounces the Pharisees for their external piety (Luke 11:37-41) and internal corruption (Luke 11:42-44), an "expert in the law" responds by objecting that Jesus is insulting them as well (Luke 11:45). It is this objection that prompts Jesus' direct and severe condemnation of the "nomikoi." Historically and culturally, the "experts in the law" (often scribes) were influential religious authorities. They dedicated their lives to studying, interpreting, and applying the Mosaic Law, alongside the extensive body of oral tradition that had developed over centuries. This oral law was revered, sometimes even more than the written law, as a "fence" around the Torah, ensuring adherence. However, by Jesus' time, these traditions had often become overly burdensome and diverted attention from the true spirit of God's commands, prioritizing ritualistic conformity over love, justice, and mercy. Jesus' polemic directly challenges the religious authority structure and exposes the spiritual emptiness of legalism that lacked genuine compassion.
Luke 11 46 Word analysis
- And He said: Connects this pronouncement to Jesus's ongoing discourse, emphasizing that this is His authoritative statement.
- "Woe" (Greek: Ouai): Not merely an expression of sorrow but a grave pronouncement of judgment or condemnation. It's a prophetic declaration anticipating calamity or spiritual ruin, common in Old Testament prophetic warnings against sin.
- "to you also": (Greek: kai hymin) Signifies that this condemnation extends beyond the Pharisees, including all who shared similar attitudes and practices among the religious leaders, confirming the "expert in the law"'s own implicit involvement in the earlier critiques.
- "you experts in the law" (Greek: tois nomikois): Refers specifically to those who were specialists in the Mosaic Law, interpreters, and teachers, often associated with scribes or lawyers. They were intellectual authorities on religious practice and legal minutiae.
- "For you load" (Greek: hoti phortizete): "For" indicates the reason for the "woe." "Load" means to burden or oppress, depicting the act of placing an excessive, heavy weight upon others.
- "people with burdens" (Greek: tous anthrōpous phortia): Refers to the ordinary Jewish people. The "burdens" were not God's actual commandments but the numerous, detailed, man-made traditions, interpretations, and strict applications imposed by the legal experts that extended far beyond the clear demands of the written Law.
- "hard to bear" (Greek: dysbastakta): A compound word meaning "difficult to carry," "unbearable," or "intolerable." This vividly describes the impracticality and sheer weight of the regulations imposed, rendering true obedience virtually impossible and spiritually draining for the common person.
- "and you yourselves" (Greek: kai autoi): Highlights their extreme hypocrisy and self-exemption. They are held to a different standard, effectively exempting themselves from the rigid demands they enforce on others.
- "do not lift a finger" (Greek: heni tōn daktylōn hymōn ou prospsauete): An idiom signifying an absolute lack of effort or assistance. They refuse to offer the slightest practical help, guidance, or even compassion to ease the burdens they have created or lighten the load for those struggling under them. This illustrates their indifference and spiritual callousness.
- "to lighten them": Refers to the very burdens they impose. They offer no relief, no spiritual encouragement, and no grace to those overwhelmed by their rigid system.
Luke 11 46 Bonus section
The "burdens hard to bear" directly contrasts with Jesus’ invitation in Matthew 11:28-30 to take His "easy yoke" and "light burden," highlighting the stark difference between a relationship with God centered on grace and love versus a system burdened by legalism. The experts in the law derived significant power and social status from their mastery and teaching of the oral traditions. By creating more and more rules, they effectively ensured their indispensable role as interpreters and adjudicators, fostering dependence on their authority rather than on God's word itself. Jesus' pronouncement is not merely an accusation; it's an unveiling of a deep spiritual malaise where the very guardians of God's law had become its perverters and the people's enslavers.
Luke 11 46 Commentary
Luke 11:46 sharply critiques a form of religiosity that substitutes genuine piety with legalistic oppression and self-serving authority. The "experts in the law" epitomized this spiritual abuse by elevating human traditions to divine command, thereby creating an intricate, cumbersome system of rules that became a crushing weight on the common people. This went against the very heart of God's law, which aims for life, love, and liberty. Their hypocrisy was manifest in their detachment: they demanded strict adherence from others, yet demonstrated no personal effort to uphold these standards themselves or provide any compassionate assistance. Jesus’ "woe" is a declaration of divine judgment against those who exploit religious authority, transforming spiritual guidance into spiritual bondage, neglecting justice, mercy, and faithfulness in favor of power and external show. This serves as an eternal warning against any religious system or leadership that prioritizes human regulations and control over the grace and liberating truth of God.