Luke 13:15 kjv

The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering?

Luke 13:15 nkjv

The Lord then answered him and said, "Hypocrite! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it?

Luke 13:15 niv

The Lord answered him, "You hypocrites! Doesn't each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water?

Luke 13:15 esv

Then the Lord answered him, "You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger and lead it away to water it?

Luke 13:15 nlt

But the Lord replied, "You hypocrites! Each of you works on the Sabbath day! Don't you untie your ox or your donkey from its stall on the Sabbath and lead it out for water?

Luke 13 verses

Luke 13 15 Meaning

Luke 13:15 records Jesus' sharp and direct response to the synagogue ruler who expressed indignation at His healing of a crippled woman on the Sabbath. Jesus exposed the religious leaders' hypocrisy by highlighting their universally accepted practice of tending to their own livestock—untying and watering their ox or donkey—on the Sabbath without drawing any criticism. His powerful statement contrasts their willingness to prioritize animal welfare, which often carried economic benefits, with their rigid objection to an act of divine compassion and miraculous healing for a suffering human being on the same holy day. This challenges a legalistic interpretation of the Law, emphasizing that human welfare and divine mercy should always supersede inflexible religious rules.

Luke 13 15 Context

The immediate context for Luke 13:15 is Jesus' spontaneous healing of a woman suffering for eighteen years from a crippling spirit in a synagogue on the Sabbath (Luke 13:10-14). Upon witnessing this miraculous liberation, the synagogue ruler, filled with indignation, chose not to rebuke Jesus directly but instead told the crowd that there were six other days for healing, subtly criticizing Jesus for breaking Sabbath rules. Jesus' response in verse 15 is a direct, sharp counter-argument that exposes the ruler's flawed priorities and spiritual blindness.

From a broader historical and cultural perspective, the Sabbath was a central pillar of Jewish identity and religious observance, enshrined in the Ten Commandments. Over centuries, various rabbinic traditions and interpretations, known as oral law or halakha, developed around its observance, detailing permissible and impermissible activities. While intended to promote rest and holiness, these traditions often became so stringent that they obscured the Sabbath's original intent: to bless humanity and provide a foretaste of God's restful kingdom. Jesus consistently challenged these man-made additions, particularly when they superseded acts of compassion or blocked God's work. The "work" of healing was frequently a point of contention with the religious authorities, who saw it as a violation, while Jesus emphasized the Sabbath as a day for doing good and extending mercy. His strong rebuke of "hypocrites" signals a profound theological and moral conflict between legalistic religious structures and the compassionate heart of God's Law.

Luke 13 15 Word analysis

• "Lord" (κύριος - Kyrios): This title here signifies Jesus' authoritative position. He speaks not as one under the ruler's judgment, but as the master, possessing ultimate insight and divine wisdom that transcends human legalisms.
• "answered" (ἀποκριθεὶς - apokritheis): Implies a definitive, thought-out reply, countering the ruler's veiled criticism with a direct and irrefutable argument.
• "You hypocrites!" (Ὑποκριταί - Hypokritai): A severe accusation meaning "actors" or "pretenders." Jesus used this term often to denounce those whose outward religious observance masked inner inconsistencies, self-interest, or lack of genuine righteousness. Here, it targets the ruler's inconsistency in upholding rules for humans but overlooking them for animals for self-gain.
• "Does not each one of you...": This rhetorical question draws on universally accepted and practiced norms among the Jewish people. It challenges the ruler directly by pointing to his and others' own behavior, making the contradiction undeniable.
• "on the Sabbath" (σαββάτῳ - sabbatō): Crucial term, setting the stage for the dispute. It emphasizes the perceived "violation" by Jesus versus the unobserved "permissibility" of the very actions Jesus cites.
• "untie" (λύει - lyei): To loose or release. This action implies a departure from rest, an effort made on the Sabbath to attend to practical needs. The very term creates a subtle linguistic parallel with the woman being "loosed" from her affliction (Luke 13:16).
• "his ox or his donkey" (βοῦν ἢ ὄνον - boun e onon): Common domestic draft animals, significant as property and means of livelihood. The care of these animals, especially regarding their survival (needing water), was widely accepted as necessary, even on the Sabbath, despite it involving "work."
• "from the manger" (φάτνης - phatnes): A feeding trough or stable, indicating where animals are confined. Untying them involves deliberate action to lead them elsewhere.
• "and lead it away to water it" (ἀπαγὼν ποτίσαι - apagōn potisai): Describes the act of guiding the animal to drink, which often involves a short journey and labor. This common, seemingly minor act, was considered permissible, yet a major act of compassion like healing was condemned.
• Words-group analysis:
  • "You hypocrites! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath untie...": Jesus directly confronts the spiritual deceit of the religious leaders. He challenges them to apply their own standards consistently. The core of their hypocrisy lies in their double standard: valuing animal welfare (connected to property and livelihood) more than human well-being and God's compassionate nature on His holy day.
  • "...untie his ox or his donkey from the manger and lead it away to water it?": This phrase presents a clear, relatable scenario. It highlights the everyday reality where religious leaders, while rigidly adhering to Sabbath regulations for certain activities, implicitly made exceptions for practical necessities involving their property. This foundational human desire for mercy towards animals (and for economic practicality) provides the unassailable logical basis for Jesus' argument regarding human beings.

Luke 13 15 Bonus section

• Jesus’ "a fortiori" argument, often rendered as "how much more" (e.g., Matt 6:30; Luke 12:28), is a powerful and common rabbinic teaching method. By using this form, Jesus turns the very tools of His opponents against them, demonstrating their own inconsistent application of logic rooted in mercy. If the "lesser" (an animal's need for water) justifies a Sabbath action, how much more does the "greater" (a human being's liberation from severe suffering) justify such an act?
• The underlying motive of the synagogue ruler and similar leaders was often a zealous concern for the purity of Sabbath observance as a sign of covenant faithfulness, yet in their zeal, they missed the divine intent behind the Law. Jesus' use of "hypocrites" exposes a likely hidden agenda or unconscious bias: self-interest (protection of property) sometimes motivated their exceptions, whereas pure compassion (for a marginalized woman) did not.
• Jesus, as the Lord of the Sabbath, inherently redefines what true Sabbath keeping entails. It's not about idleness for its own sake, but rest for the good of humanity and an opportunity to acknowledge God's continuous work of good and healing in the world, in which His followers are called to participate.

Luke 13 15 Commentary

Luke 13:15 showcases Jesus' mastery in challenging misplaced religious zeal. The synagogue ruler’s indignation highlights a fundamental misunderstanding of God's Law: an obsession with outward regulations that overlooked the deeper principles of compassion and love. Jesus' counter-argument is an a fortiori reasoning (from lesser to greater). He exposes the glaring inconsistency of those who deem it permissible to tend to their animals—even to loosen and lead them to water—on the Sabbath (an action clearly involving some form of 'work') yet condemn His act of delivering a human being, a "daughter of Abraham," from 18 years of bondage. This underscores that the spirit of the Sabbath, and indeed all God's Law, is rooted in mercy, not restrictive legalism. Jesus demonstrates that acts of compassion and doing good are not violations of the Sabbath, but rather its truest fulfillment, prioritizing the restoration and dignity of human life above rigid adherence to traditions. This verse powerfully champions God’s heart for suffering humanity and reveals Jesus as the authoritative interpreter and fulfiller of the Law.