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46 “Why[a] do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’[b] and don’t do what I tell you?[c]

47 “Everyone who comes to me and listens to my words and puts them into practice[d]—I will show you what he is like: 48 He is like a man[e] building a house, who dug down deep,[f] and laid the foundation on bedrock. When[g] a flood came, the river[h] burst against that house but[i] could not shake it, because it had been well built.[j] 49 But the person who hears and does not put my words into practice[k] is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When[l] the river burst against that house,[m] it collapsed immediately, and was utterly destroyed!”[n]

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 6:46 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
  2. Luke 6:46 tn The double use of the vocative is normally used in situations of high emotion or emphasis. Even an emphatic confession without action means little.
  3. Luke 6:46 sn Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and don’t do what I tell you? Respect is not a matter of mere words, but is reflected in obedient action. This short saying, which is much simpler than its more developed conceptual parallel in Matt 7:21-23, serves in this form to simply warn and issue a call to hear and obey, as the last parable also does in vv. 47-49.
  4. Luke 6:47 tn Grk “and does them.”
  5. Luke 6:48 tn Here and in v. 49 the Greek text reads ἄνθρωπος (anthrōpos), while the parallel account in Matt 7:24-27 uses ἀνήρ (anēr) in vv. 24 and 26.
  6. Luke 6:48 tn There are actually two different Greek verbs used here: “who dug (ἔσκαψεν, eskapsen) and dug deep (ἐβάθυνεν, ebathunen).” Jesus is placing emphasis on the effort to which the man went to prepare his foundation.
  7. Luke 6:48 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
  8. Luke 6:48 sn The picture here is of a river overflowing its banks and causing flooding and chaos.
  9. Luke 6:48 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in the context.
  10. Luke 6:48 tc Most mss, especially later ones (A C D Θ Ψ ƒ1,13 M latt), read “because he built [it] on the rock” rather than “because it had been well built” (P75vid א B L W Ξ 33 579 892 1241 2542 sa). The reading of the later mss seems to be a harmonization to Matt 7:25, rendering it most likely secondary.
  11. Luke 6:49 tn Grk “does not do [them].”
  12. Luke 6:49 tn Grk “against which”; because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative clause was converted to a temporal clause in the translation and a new sentence started here.
  13. Luke 6:49 tn Grk “it”; the referent (that house) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  14. Luke 6:49 tn Grk “and its crash was great.”sn The extra phrase at the end of this description (and was utterly destroyed) portrays the great disappointment that the destruction of the house caused as it crashed and was swept away.

46 “And why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I tell you?[a]

The Sermon on the Plain: Two Houses and Two Foundations

47 “Everyone who comes to me and listens to my words and does them—I will show you what he is like: 48 he is like a man building a house, who dug and went down deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when[b] a flood came, the river burst against that house and was not able to shake it, because it had been built well. 49 But the one who hears my words[c] and does not do them[d] is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation, which the river burst against, and immediately it collapsed—and the collapse of that house was great!”

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 6:46 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  2. Luke 6:48 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the temporal genitive absolute participle (“came”)
  3. Luke 6:49 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  4. Luke 6:49 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation