Luke 11 6

Luke 11:6 kjv

For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him?

Luke 11:6 nkjv

for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him';

Luke 11:6 niv

a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.'

Luke 11:6 esv

for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him';

Luke 11:6 nlt

'A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.'

Luke 11 verses

Luke 11 6 Meaning

Luke 11:6 describes the immediate and pressing need of a householder who unexpectedly receives a friend who has just completed a journey. This guest is tired and hungry, and according to the customs of hospitality, must be provided for. The verse reveals the host's dilemma: "for a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him." This urgent personal crisis of an unprovided guest becomes the pivotal motivation for the host's persistent, even audacious, midnight request to his neighbor, serving as a vital component in Jesus' Parable of the Persistent Friend, which illustrates the necessity and efficacy of earnest prayer.

Luke 11 6 Context

Luke 11:6 is embedded within Jesus’ teaching on prayer, following the disciples' request, "Lord, teach us to pray" (Lk 11:1). Jesus first provides what is known as the Lord’s Prayer (Lk 11:2-4), outlining essential elements of prayer (God's glory, His kingdom, daily provision, forgiveness, deliverance). Immediately afterward, He tells the Parable of the Persistent Friend (Lk 11:5-8). Verse 6 states the dilemma that initiates the friend's audacious request: a traveler arrives unexpectedly at midnight, when hospitality, a cornerstone of ancient Near Eastern culture, demanded immediate provision. Homes were typically small, often with extended families sleeping communally in a single room, so disturbing a household in the middle of the night was highly disruptive. However, the obligation to provide for a weary, hungry traveler was paramount, transcending personal convenience or even social propriety, emphasizing the critical nature of the need. The host's desperate situation highlights the nature of true prayer, which stems from a deeply felt and urgent need, requiring persistence and a kind of holy "shamelessness" (anaideia, Lk 11:8).

Luke 11 6 Word analysis

• for a friend (φίλος, philos): This signifies a loved one, a close acquaintance, not just a casual associate. The bond of friendship intensifies the host's obligation to provide hospitality.
• of mine (μου, mou): A possessive pronoun emphasizing the personal connection and therefore the host's immediate and non-negotiable responsibility towards this individual.
• has come (ἐλήλυθεν, elēlythen): A perfect tense verb, indicating that the friend's arrival is a completed action with present, enduring consequences. He is here now and is not leaving immediately, creating an urgent, existing need. The unexpectedness of the midnight arrival heightens the crisis.
• to me (πρός με, pros me): Emphasizes the direct, personal reception and the resulting personal responsibility of the host.
• from a journey (ἐξ ὁδοῦ, ex hodou): Literally "out of the road." This highlights the traveler's weary and hungry state, establishing the legitimate and immediate necessity for sustenance. Travelers were highly vulnerable and their provision was a sacred duty.
• and I have nothing (οὐκ ἔχω τι, ouk echō ti): Expresses an absolute and complete lack. The host has absolutely no food, rendering him utterly incapable of fulfilling his hospitality duty. This portrays a state of desperation and utter dependency.
• to set before him (παραθήσω ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ, parathēsō enōpion autou): To place food before someone, signifying the act of serving and providing a meal. This is the core act of hospitality expected, highlighting the social and moral obligation the host feels but cannot meet.

Words-Group Analysis:

• "for a friend of mine has come to me from a journey": This phrase encapsulates the unexpected arrival of someone with immediate, compelling needs (hunger, exhaustion from travel) to whom the host has a profound cultural and personal obligation to provide. It sets the stage for a predicament that demands immediate, if unconventional, action.
• "and I have nothing to set before him": This expresses the critical and absolute dilemma of the host. He is completely unable to meet his fundamental duty of hospitality due to a total lack of resources. This stark deficiency forces him to seek help from another, illustrating profound dependence and creating the urgency for a bold, midnight request. This desperation becomes a mirror for our own deep spiritual needs, which should drive us to persistently ask God.

Luke 11 6 Bonus section

The seemingly trivial request for three loaves of bread highlights the simple but essential nature of the need for daily sustenance, a parallel to our "daily bread" petition in the Lord's Prayer. The cultural shame associated with failing to provide hospitality was so immense that it drove the host to an act of great social awkwardness—waking his sleeping neighbor at midnight. This indicates that for genuine and unavoidable needs, particularly those with a social or moral imperative, persistence is not only permissible but necessary. The a fortiori (how much more) argument implied here is profound: if an unwilling human is persuaded by importunity due to a societal obligation, how much more will our loving God respond to our sincere, persistent prayers rooted in genuine spiritual or physical need. This specific verse emphasizes the necessity which births the boldness in prayer.

Luke 11 6 Commentary

Luke 11:6 is the crucial articulation of the predicament that drives the parable’s protagonist. The verse presents an ordinary, yet critical, cultural crisis: an unexpected guest arrives late at night, exhausted and hungry, and the host, out of his own supplies, is unable to fulfill the sacred duty of hospitality. This failure would bring profound shame and dishonor upon the household in the ancient Near East. Thus, the host is placed in an inescapable dilemma, creating a truly urgent and undeniable need. It is this specific need and the societal obligation that propels him to make an otherwise unreasonable request—waking a sleeping neighbor at midnight for three loaves of bread. Jesus uses this vivid, relatable scenario to explain why and how one should pray. The host's persistence is not born of manipulation or a desire to inconvenience, but out of desperate, unavoidable necessity. This urgency, born from the reality of an unmet need, illustrates the kind of fervent and "shameless" persistence (anaideia in Lk 11:8) that Jesus encourages in prayer. It implies that true prayer is often fueled by a profound awareness of one’s own need and God's abundant ability to provide. The human unwillingness of the neighbor serves to highlight God's infinitely greater eagerness to give, particularly the Holy Spirit.