Therefore the Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each one of you free his ox or his donkey from the stall on the Sabbath, and lead him away to water?
Parallel Translations
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Therefore the Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each one of you free his ox or his donkey from the stall on the Sabbath, and lead him away to water?
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Then answered him the Lorde and sayd: Ypocrite doth not eache one of you on the saboth daye lowse his oxe or his asse from the stall and leade him to the water?
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Then answered him the Lord, and said, Hypocrite, doth not eche one of you on the Sabbath day loose his oxe or his asse from the stall, and leade him away to the water?
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Cross-references (14)
Passages linked to Luke 13:15 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Luke 14:5 He answered them, “Which of you, if your son or an ox fell into a well, wouldn’t immediately pull him out on a Sabbath day?”
- John 7:21-24 Jesus answered them, “I did one work and you all marvel because of it. Moses has given you circumcision (not that it is of Moses, but of the fathers), and on the Sabbath you circumcise a boy. If a boy receives circumcision on the Sabbath, that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me, because I made a man completely healthy on the Sabbath? Don’t judge according to appearance, but judge righteous judgment.”
- Luke 6:42 Or how can you tell your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the speck of chaff that is in your eye,’ when you yourself don’t see the beam that is in your own eye? You hypocrite! First remove the beam from your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck of chaff that is in your brother’s eye.
- Acts 13:9-10 But Saul, who is also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, fastened his eyes on him, and said, “You son of the devil, full of all deceit and all cunning, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?
- Job 34:30 that the godless man may not reign, that there be no one to ensnare the people.
- Isaiah 29:20 For the ruthless is brought to nothing, and the scoffer ceases, and all those who are alert to do evil are cut off—
- Matthew 7:5 You hypocrite! First remove the beam out of your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck out of your brother’s eye.
- Matthew 15:7 You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying,
- Matthew 15:14 Leave them alone. They are blind guides of the blind. If the blind guide the blind, both will fall into a pit.”
- Matthew 23:13 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows’ houses, and as a pretense you make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.
- Matthew 23:28 Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
- Luke 12:1 Meanwhile, when a multitude of many thousands had gathered together, so much so that they trampled on each other, he began to tell his disciples first of all, “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
- Acts 8:20-23 But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart isn’t right before God. Repent therefore of this, your wickedness, and ask God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are in the poison of bitterness and in the bondage of iniquity.”
- Proverbs 11:9 With his mouth the godless man destroys his neighbor, but the righteous will be delivered through knowledge.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (12 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 15 The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou…
15 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?
Ver. 15. Thou hypocrite] The Syriac rendereth it Assumens vultum, thou that settest a good face upon it, thou that impersonate a better man than thou art; thou picture of piety, &c.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Our Saviour here calleth this ruler of the synagogue…
Our Saviour here calleth this ruler of the synagogue hypocrite, for his impudence in so severe a reflection on him for doing on the sabbath day a work of that nature which he himself did, and thought himself blameless in the doing of, and his friends ordinarily did, upon whom for so working he did not reflect, thereby teaching us one note of a hypocrite, viz. to reflect upon others for things which we do ourselves. This ruler of the synagogue aud his party indeed did not heal on the sabbath day. But what kind of work was healing? Was it not a work of mercy? What servile labour was there in it? It is only said Christ called this poor creature, and she came, not she was brought to him. What did Christ do? He only laid his hands upon her, and pronounced her loosed from her infirmity. Now the Jews would ordinarily upon the sabbath day loose a beast from the stall to go and drink at a pit, or lead it thither; was not this a greater labour? How came this to be lawful, and not that act of mercy which Christ did show to this poor creature? Their act was capable of no other excuse, than that it was an act of mercy, and a good man will show mercy to his beast: it could be no act of piety, nor of necessity; for a beast may live one day without water, or at least might have had water set by it the night before. Nay, our Lord’s work of mercy was much more noble. Theirs was to a beast; his to one of mankind, to a woman, and she a Jewish woman, a daughter of Abraham, a father upon whom they much valued themselves, and their whole nation, Mat 3:9; Joh 8:39. Their beast might not be sick; she was under an infirmity, and that no ordinary infirmity, she was in the hands of the enemy of mankind, bound by Satan; nor was her affliction of a few days’ continuance, she had been so bound eighteen years.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain The Lord then answered him and said,.... Though he…
The Lord then answered him and said,.... Though he did not direct his speech to him, he knew that he struck at him, and suggested that he was a violator of the sabbath, as well as the people: and therefore in defence of himself, and of what he had done, and to expose the hypocrisy of this man, made answer as follows,
thou hypocrite; the Vulgate Latin, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions read in the plural, "hypocrites"; as do the Complutensian edition, and four ancient copies of Beza's, and the Alexandrian copy; but the Syriac and Persic versions read in the singular, "hypocrite"; as this man was, who covered his malice and envy at Christ, with a show of zeal for the sabbath day; and yet did that upon it, which must be allowed by themselves, and others, to be a much greater violation of the sabbath, than this cure could ever be thought to be:
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doth not each one of you, on the sabbath day, loose his ox, or his ass, from the stall, or rack, where he is fastened with a rope;
and lead him away to watering? to some place of water, where he may drink, after having filled himself at the rack: and that this was agreeably to their own canons and practice, that beasts may be led out on a sabbath day, is certain; for they deliver various rules concerning leading them out, with what they might, and with what they might not be brought out; and particularly, among others, mention asses and heifers (q); and they speak (r) of leading them to water, not only to drink of it, but to wash their chains in it, which, it seems, received pollution, and needed washing, and might be done on a sabbath day; yea, they allow, that not only a beast may be led out to watering, but a man might fill a vessel of water, and pour it out into a trough for it, provided he did not directly set it before it: the rule is this (s).
"a man may not fill water (a vessel of it), and put it on a sabbath day before his beast, but he may fill it, and pour it out, and it may drink of it.''
And particularly on a feast day, their rule is (t), that
"they do not water nor slay beasts of the desert, but they water and slay domestic ones. Domestic ones are such as lie in the city (i.e. as Maimonides says (u), within the sabbatical border, 2000 cubits from the city), and those of the desert are such as lie in pastures.''
And therefore very justly does our Lord observe to the ruler of the synagogue their own practices towards a beast, in defence of his works of mercy to men.
(q) Misn. Sahbat, c. 5. sect. 1, 2, 3, 4. & 18. 2. T. Bab. Sabbat, fol. 51. 2. & Piske Tosephot in ib. art. 226, 227, 228, 233. (r) Bartenora in Misn. Sabbat, c. 5. sect. 1. (s) T. Bab. Erubin, fol. 20. 2. (t) Misn. Betza, c. 5. sect. 7. (u) In ib.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Thou hypocrite - For the real motive of his…
Thou hypocrite - For the real motive of his speaking was envy, not (as he pretended) pure zeal for the glory of God.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Thou hypocrite! - You condemn “me” for an action,…
Thou hypocrite! - You condemn “me” for an action, and yet you perform one exactly similar. You condemn “me” for doing to a woman what you do to a beast. To her I have done good on the Sabbath; you provide for your cattle, and yet blame me for working a miracle to relieve a sufferer on that day.
Stall - A place where cattle are kept to be fed, and sheltered from the weather.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain the Lord--(See on Luk 10:1).
the Lord--(See on Luk 10:1).
hypocrite!--How "the faithful and true Witness" tears off the masks which men wear!
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his ox, &c.--(See on Mat 12:9-13; and Luk 6:9).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 15. Hypocrite—He belongs to that class whom Jesus has…
15. Hypocrite—He belongs to that class whom Jesus has stamped with that terrible name. This man might well have withered, had he known and felt the awfulness of that epithet, pronounced from such lips. It is applied to this man as his share of the name, as applied by our Lord to the whole class of his teachers and masters. Early in his ministry our Lord gave out that there was such a standing class. See Mat_6:2; Mat_6:5; Mat_6:16. Later he began to tell who and which they generally were, (Luk_15:7; Luk_16:3; Luk_22:18.) Later to denounce woes upon them, (Luk_23:14-15,) and finally to assign them their portion, (Luk_24:51.) This cavilling at healing on the Sabbath day was one of the stereotype tests of the hypocrite. See note on Mat_12:1-9.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 15. Thou hypocrite] Rather (with the best uncials), Hypocrites!
15. Thou hypocrite] Rather (with the best uncials), Hypocrites!
(א, A, B), classing the man with the whole sect to which he belonged, and whose shibboleths he used. They were hypocrites (i.e. they were acting a part) because they were disguising secret enmity under a pretence of sabbatical zeal.
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on the sabbath loose his ox] Our Lord varied from time to time the arguments with which He abolished the fanatical formalism of the Pharisees respecting the Sabbath. Sometimes He appealed to His own inherent authority (Joh_5:17-47); sometimes to Scripture precedents (Luk_6:3-5); or to common sense and eternal principles (Luk_6:9). Here, as in Luk_14:5, He uses an argumentum ad hominem, refuting their traditional rules by the selfish insincerity with which they applied them. They allowed men to unloose and lead to water their cattle on the sabbath, and thus to break their own Sabbatic rules to save themselves the trouble of providing water overnight, or, at the best, to abridge a few hours’ thirst; was then this suffering woman not to be touched, not to be spoken to, to end 18 years of suffering?
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (15, 16) Doth not each one of you .…
(15, 16) Doth not each one of you . . .?—The principle is the same as that in Mat_12:11 (where see Note), but the case is put in even a stronger form. There the illustration is drawn from what might seem an exceptional act for an exceptional emergency; here from the regular practice of men, where their own interests were concerned. If they pleaded that it was not for their own interests, but those of humanity to the brutes committed to their charge, the answer was obvious that the daughter of Abraham was “better” than the ox or ass.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite,…
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? The older authorities here read "hypocrites," and thus join the cavilling synagogue ruler with the whole sect of men who taught an elaborate ritual in place of a high, pure life. The Lord, in a few master-touches, exposes the hollowness of such sabbath-keeping. Every possible indulgence was to be shown in cases where their own interests were involved; no mercy or indulgence was to be thought of, though, where the sick poor only were concerned. He vividly draws a contrast between the animal and the human being. The ox and the ass, though, were personal property; the afflicted daughter of Abraham was but a woman, friendless and poor.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 The Lord answered him
The Lord answered him
"The Lord responded to the synagogue ruler"
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Hypocrites
Jesus speaks directly to the synagogue ruler, but the plural form includes the other religious rulers also. This can be stated explicitly. AT: "You and your fellow religious leaders are hypocrites" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
Does not each of you untie his ox or his donkey from the stall and lead it to drink on the Sabbath?
Jesus uses a question to get them to think about something they already knew. AT: "Every one of you unties his ox or his donkey from the stall and leads it to drink on the Sabbath." (See: Rhetorical Question)
ox ... donkey
These are animals that people care for by giving them water.
on the Sabbath
"on a Sabbath." Some languages would say "a Sabbath" because we do not know which particular Sabbath day it was.
daughter of Abraham
This is an idiom that means, "descendant of Abraham" (See: Idiom)
whom Satan bound
Jesus compares people tying animals to the way Satan restricted the woman with this disease. AT: "whom Satan kept crippled by her illness" or "whom Satan bound with this disease" (See: Metaphor)
eighteen long years
"18 long years." The word "long" here emphasizes that eighteen years was a very long time for the woman to suffer. Other languages may have other ways of emphasizing this. (See: Numbers)
should her bonds not be untied ... day?
Jesus uses a question to tell the synagogue rulers that they are wrong. Jesus speaks about the women's disease as if it were ropes that bound her. This can be translated as an active statement. AT: "it is right to release her from the bonds of this illness ... day." (See: Rhetorical Question and Active or Passive)
translationWords
lord
hypocrite
donkey
cow
Sabbath
Abraham
Satan
bind
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 13:15-16 You hypocrites! The religious leaders would take care…
13:15-16 You hypocrites! The religious leaders would take care of their own animals on the Sabbath (to protect their investment) but then refuse to meet the needs of a fellow human being. In an ironic wordplay, the same word is translated untie (13:15) and released (13:16). The religious leaders would free their animals but not a daughter of Abraham—one of God’s chosen people and a recipient of his favor. • in bondage by Satan: Jesus’ exorcisms and healings manifested the Kingdom of God and the defeat of Satan (see 11:20).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.