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Luke 17:28

in Luke 17

It was the same in the days of Lot: People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

Likewise even as it came to pass in the days of Lot; they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;

KJV

Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;

This verse in Luke 17

Commentary

17 notes on this verse

A commentator

Tertullian

To His Wife Book I · Written before 220.

Let us marry daily, and in the midst of our marrying let us be overtaken, like Sodom and Gomorrah, by that day of fear! For there it was not only, of course, that they were dealing in marriage and merchandise; but when He says, "They were marrying and buying," He sets a brand upon the very leading vices of the flesh and of the world, which call men off the most from divine disciplines-the one through the pleasure of rioting, the other though the greed of acquiring.

This site's exposition

in the days of Noah

on Luke 17:26-30

Jesus draws two pictures from Genesis, and in the first, people were eating and drinking, marrying and being given in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark. In the days of Lot, people were buying and selling, planting and building, until fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. Both lists name ordinary business, so the day the Son of Man is revealed will find the world absorbed in its daily work.

This site's exposition

buying and selling, planting and building

Lot's days add trade, farming and building to the list. Albert Barnes notes that the people went about the affairs of this life as if nothing were about to happen. Tertullian used the verse to warn against being caught up in marrying and trade.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers2 voices

A commentator

Cyril of Alexandria

COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 117 · Written before 444.

proposed

To show that he will appear unexpectedly and with no one knowing it, the Lord says that the end of the world will come and be as it was in the days of Noah and Lot. He says, "They were eating and drinking, and were taking wives and being made the wives of men. They were selling and buying and building," but the coming of the waters destroyed the one, while the others were the prey and food of fire and brimstone. What does this signify? It signifies that he requires us to be always watchful and ready to make our defense before the tribunal of God.

A commentator

Clement of Alexandria

The Stromata Book 3 · Written before 215.

proposed

There are some who say outright that marriage is fornication and teach that it was introduced by the devil. They proudly say that they are imitating the Lord who neither married nor had any possession in this world, boasting that they understand the gospel better than anyone else. The Scripture says to them: "God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble." Further, they do not know the reason why the Lord did not marry. In the first place he had his own bride, the Church; and in the next place he was no ordinary man that he should also be in need of some helpmeet after the flesh. Nor was it necessary for him to beget children since he abides eternally and was born the only Son of God. It is the Lord himself who says: "That which God has joined together, let no man put asunder." And again: "As it was in the days of Noah, they were marrying, and giving in marriage, building and planting, and as it was in the days of Lot, so shall be the coming of the Son of man." And to show that he is not referring to the heathen he adds: "When the Son of man is come, shall he find faith on the earth?" And again: "Woe to those who are with child and are giving suck in those days," a saying, I admit, to be understood allegorically. The reason why he did not determine "the times which the Father has appointed by his own power" was that the world might continue from generation to generation.

The Medieval Church3 voices

A commentator

Bonaventure

Commentary on Luke, Chapter 17 · Written in the 13th century.

proposed

Likewise, as it happened, etc. After the similitude taken from the flooding deluge, he introduces a similitude from the consuming fire; concerning which similitude three things are introduced, namely the demerit, the punishment, and the example of the Sodomites themselves. First, as regards the demerit, …

A commentator

Bede

Catena Aurea by Aquinas · Written before 735.

proposed

Now mystically, Lot, which is interpreted 'turning aside,' is the people of the elect, who, while in Sodom, i. e. among the wicked, live as strangers, to the utmost of their power turning aside from all their wicked ways. But when Lot went out, Sodom is destroyed, for at the end of the world, the angels shall go forth and sever the wicked from among the just, and cast them into a furnace of fire. (Matt. 13:49.) The fire and brimstone, however, which He relates to have rained from heaven, does not signify the flame itself of everlasting punishment, but the sudden coming of that day.

A commentator

Bede

On the Gospel of Luke · Written before 735.

proposed

Similarly as it was in the days of Lot, they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. The Lord, omitting that great and abominable crime of the Sodomites, mentions only those sins which could have been considered light or none at all, …
9 more voices on this verse

The Medieval Church3 voices

A commentator

Bede

Catena Aurea by Aquinas · Written before 735.

proposed

Passing by the unutterable wickedness of the Sodomites, He mentions only those which may be thought trifling offences, or none at all; that you may understand how fearfully unlawful pleasures are punished, when lawful pleasures taken to excess receive for their reward fire and brimstone.

A commentator

Theophylact of Ohrid

Catena Aurea by Aquinas · Written before 1107.

proposed

For when Antichrist has come, then shall men become wanton, given up to abominable vices, as the Apostle says, Lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. (2 Tim. 3:4.) For if Antichrist is the dwelling-place of every sin, what else will he then implant in the miserable race of men, but what belongs to himself. And this our Lord implies by the instances of the deluge and the people of Sodom.

A commentator

Theophylact of Ohrid

Commentary on Luke · Written before 1107.

proposed

And here the Lord points to the suddenness and unexpectedness of His coming. For just as in the days of Noah the flood came suddenly and destroyed everyone, so also will His coming be. By these examples, that is, the example of the people before …

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

9 Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? 10 So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do. That the giving of offences is a great sin, and that which we should every one of us avoid and carefully watch against,

quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-run:30w-of-67

Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot,.... When he lived in Sodom, and before, and at the time of the destruction of that city with other neighbouring ones: they did eat, they drank; See Gill on Luk 17:27, and Eze 16:

The Nineteenth Century4 voices

They did eat ... - They were busy in the affairs of this life, as if nothing were about to happen. The same day ... - See Gen 19:23-25. “It rained.” The word here used “might” have been rendered “he” rained. In Genesis it is said that the “Lord” did it. Fire and brimstone - God destroyed Sodom on account of its great wickedness. He took vengeance on it for its sins; and the example of Sodom is set before people to deter them from committing great transgressions, and as a “full proof” that God will punish the guilty.

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

Though the antediluvian world and the cities of the plain were awfully wicked, it is not their wickedness, but their worldliness, their unbelief and indifference to the future, their unpreparedness, that is here held up as a warning. Note.--These recorded events of Old Testament history--denied or explained away nowadays by not a few--are referred to here as facts.
The subject of these verses is one of particular solemnity. It is the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. That great event, and the things immediately connected with it — are here described by our Lord's own lips. We should observe, for one thing, in these verses — what a fearful picture our Lord gives of the state of the professing Church at His second coming. We are told that as it was in the days of Noah, and in the days of Lot — so shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.
The subject of these verses is one of particular solemnity. It is the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. That great event, and the things immediately connected with it — are here described by our Lord's own lips. We should observe, for one thing, in these verses — what a fearful picture our Lord gives of the state of the professing Church at His second coming. We are told that as it was in the days of Noah, and in the days of Lot — so shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. We are not left to conjecture the character of those days. We are told distinctly, that men were entirely taken up with eating, drinking, marrying, buying, selling, planting, building — and would attend to nothing else. The flood came at last in Noah's day, and drowned all except those who were in the ark! The fire fell from Heaven at last in Lot's day — and destroyed all except Lot, his wife, and his daughters. And our Lord declares most plainly, that similar things will happen when He comes again at the end of the world. "When they shall say, Peace and safety — then sudden destruction comes upon them!" (1 Thessalonians 5:3.) It is hard to imagine a passage of Scripture which more completely overthrows the common notions that prevail among men about Christ's return. The world will not be converted when Jesus comes again. The earth will not be full of the knowledge of the Lord. The reign of peace will not have been established. The millennium will not have begun. These glorious things will come to pass after the second coming, but not before. If words have any meaning, the verses before us show that the earth will be full of wickedness and worldliness in the day of Christ's appearing. The unbelievers and the unconverted will be found to be very many. The believers and the godly, as in the days of Noah and Lot, will be found to be very few.

The words behind it

13 Greek words

Every Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • ὁμοίωςLikewise

    homoiosG3668 →30 times

  • καθὼςeven as

    kathosG2531 →182 times

  • ἐγένετοit came to pass

    egenetoG1096 →667 times

  • ἐνin

    enG1722 →2738 times

  • ταῖςthe

    taisG3588 →19766 times

  • ἡμέραιςdays

    hemeraisG2250 →389 times

  • Λώτ·of Lot;

    lotG3091 →4 times

  • ἤσθιον,they were eating,

    esthionG2068 →65 times

  • ἔπινον,they were drinking,

    epinonG4095 →72 times

  • ἠγόραζον,they were buying,

    egorazonG59 →30 times

  • ἐπώλουν,they were selling,

    epolounG4453 →22 times

  • ἐφύτευον,they were planting,

    ephuteuonG5452 →11 times

  • ᾠκοδόμουν.they were building.

    okodomounG3618 →40 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

5 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Genesis 13:13

    But the men of Sodom were wicked, sinning greatly against the LORD.

    it leads to

    • 2 Peter 2:10

      Such punishment is specially reserved for those who indulge the corrupt desires of the flesh and despise authority. Bold and self-willed, they are unafraid to slander glorious beings.

    • 2 Peter 2:6–8

      if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction, reducing them to ashes as an example of what is coming on the ungodly;

    • Jude 1:7

      In like manner, Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, who indulged in sexual immorality and pursued strange flesh, are on display as an example of those who sustain the punishment of eternal…

    • Isaiah 3:8–9

      For Jerusalem has stumbled and Judah has fallen because they spoke and acted against the LORD, defying His glorious presence.

    • Romans 1:27

      Likewise, the men abandoned natural relations with women and burned with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.

Where this verse is studied

About Luke

The Return of the Prodigal Son, Gustave Doré. Public domain.
The Return of the Prodigal Son, Gustave Doré. Public domain.
This page draws on 14 works. Open the list of works

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Alexander Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture, Luke; Bede, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Bede, On the Gospel of Luke; Bonaventure, Commentary on Luke, Chapter 17; Clement of Alexandria, The Stromata Book 3; Cyril of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 117; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Luke (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Tertullian, To His Wife Book I; Theophylact of Ohrid, Catena Aurea by Aquinas and Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Luke.