Luke 11:50
in Luke 11As a result, this generation will be charged with the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the foundation of the world,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
that the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation;
KJV
That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation;
⋯
This verse in Luke 11
Commentary
15 notes on this verse(Apol. 1. de fuga sua.) Now if they kill, the death of the slain will cry out the louder against them; if they pursue, they send forth memorials of their iniquity, for flight makes the pursuit of the sufferers to redound to the great disgrace of the pursuers. For no one flees from the merciful and gentle, but rather from the cruel and evil-minded man. And therefore it follows, That the blood of all the prophets who have been slain from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
For if the flesh were not in a position to be saved, the Word of God would in no wise have become flesh. And if the blood of the righteous were not to be inquired after, the Lord would certainly not have had blood [in His composition]. But inasmuch as blood cries out from the beginning [of the world], God said to Cain, when he had slain his brother, "The voice of thy brother's blood crieth to Me." And as their blood will be inquired after, He said to those with Noah, "For your blood of your souls will I require, [even] from the hand of all beasts;" and again, "Whosoever will shed man's blood, it shall be shed for his blood." In like manner, too, did the Lord say to those who should afterwards shed His blood, "All righteous blood shall be required which is shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zacharias the son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation." He thus points out the recapitulation that should take place in His own person of the effusion of blood from the beginning, of all the righteous men and of the prophets, and that by means of Himself there should be a requisition of their blood. Now this [blood] could not be required unless it also had the capability of being saved; nor would the Lord have summed up these things in Himself, unless He had Himself been made flesh and blood after the way of the original formation [of man], saving in His own person at the end that which had in the beginning perished in Adam.
He said, "That all the blood of the just may come on you," because they killed the Avenger of the righteous ones' deaths. The vengeance for their deaths is sought from their hands. One who kills the judge is indeed a friend of murderers, because …
(Hom. 74. in Matt.) But if He means that the Jews are about to suffer worse things, this will not be undeserved, for they have dared to do worse than all. And they have been corrected by none of their past calamities, but when they saw others sin, and punished, they were not made better, but did likewise; yet it will not be that one shall suffer punishment for the sins of others.
The Medieval Church2 voices
Second, with regard to the aggravation of vengeance, he says: That the blood of all the Prophets may be required. It is required indeed through vengeance; whence in the Psalm: "For requiring their blood, he remembered," etc.; and Genesis nine: "From the hand of man …
That the blood of all the prophets that was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation. The question arises how the blood of all the prophets and the righteous may be required of one generation of the Jews, since …
9 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church2 voices
It is asked, How comes it that the blood of all the prophets and just men is required of the single generation of the Jews; whereas many of the saints, both before the Incarnation and after, have been slain by other nations? But it is the manner of the Scriptures frequently to reckon two generations of men, one of the good, and the other of the evil.
The Lord also reveals that the Jews are descendants of Cain and heirs of his malice, when He says that all "blood shed from Abel to Zechariah shall be required of this generation." You, He says, killed the prophets, your brothers, just as he killed …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
That the blood of all the prophets,....
Prayer is one of the great laws of natural religion. That man is a brute, is a monster, that never prays, that never gives glory to his Maker, nor feels his favour, nor owns his dependence upon him. One great design therefore of Christianity is to assist us in prayer, to enforce the duty upon us, to instruct us in it, and encourage us to expect advantage by it.
The Nineteenth Century5 voices
That the blood - That the particle ινα may be translated so that, pointing out the event only, not the design or intention, Bishop Pearce has well shown in his note on this place, where he refers to a like use of the word in Luk 9:45; Luk 14:10; Joh 10:17; Rom 5:20; Rom 11:11; 1Co 1:15, 1Co 1:31, etc.
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Luke (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1858)
The passage before us is an example of our Lord Jesus Christ's faithful dealing with the souls of men. We see Him without fear or favor rebuking the sins of the Jewish expounders of God's law. That false charity which calls it "unkind" to say that any one is in error, finds no encouragement in the language used by our Lord. He calls things by their right names. He knew that acute diseases need severe remedies.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
said the wisdom, &c.--a remarkable variation of the words in Mt 23:34, "Behold I SEND." As there seems plainly an allusion to ancient warnings of what God would do with so incorrigible a people, so here Christ, stepping majestically into the place of God, so to speak, says, "Now I am going to carry all that out." Could this be other than the Lord of Israel in the flesh?
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
In the first French Revolution the same awful principle was exemplified, and Christendom has not done with it yet. prophets--in the New Testament sense (Mt 23:34; see 1Co 12:28).
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Luke (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1858)
proposed
The passage before us is an example of our Lord Jesus Christ's faithful dealing with the souls of men. We see Him without fear or favor rebuking the sins of the Jewish expounders of God's law. That false charity which calls it "unkind" to say that any one is in error, finds no encouragement in the language used by our Lord. He calls things by their right names. He knew that acute diseases need severe remedies. He would have us know that the truest friend to our souls, is not the man who is always "speaking smooth things," and agreeing with everything we say, but the man who tells us the most truth. We learn, firstly, from our Lord's words — how great is the sin of professing to teach others, what we do not practice ourselves. He says to the lawyers, "Woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them!" They required others to observe wearisome ceremonies in religion — which they themselves neglected. They had the impudence to lay yokes upon the consciences of other men — and yet to grant exemptions from these yokes for themselves. In a word, they had one set of measures and weights for their hearers — and another set for their own souls. The stern reproof which our Lord here administers, should come home with special power to certain classes in the church. It is a word in season to all Bible teachers. It is a word to all fathers and mothers. Above all, it is a word to all clergymen and ministers of religion. Let all such mark well our Lord's language in this passage. Let them beware of telling others to aim at a standard — which they do not aim at themselves. Such conduct, to say the least, is gross inconsistency. Perfection, no doubt, is unattainable in this world.
How the passage was read
On Luke 11:37-54On Luke 11:37-54
The dinner-table woes: cups, herbs, and proportion
The setting is a Pharisee's dinner table, and the host “marvelled that he had not first washed before dinner”: netilat yadayim, the ritual hand-pouring before bread (explained in this site's Mark 7 note). Jesus answers with the tradition's own vocabulary of vessels: “Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter.” The purity law genuinely distinguished a vessel's outside from its inside; the Mishnah's tractate on vessels opens a chapter with exactly that: “All vessels have different laws for their outer and inner sides” (Kelim 25:1). Jesus turns the technical distinction into a mirror: the inside of the person is the part that counts.
Luke's tithing woe is sharper than Matthew's, and knowing the law shows why: “ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs.” The Mishnah exempts rue from tithes (Sheviit 9:1 lists it first among the exempt plants). The Pharisees of the woe are tithing beyond what even their own tradition required, while “judgment and the love of God” go passed over. As in Matthew 23:23, Jesus affirms the scruple (“these ought ye to have done”) and indicts the inversion of weight.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Sources: Mishnah Kelim 25:1 (a vessel's outside and inside) · Mishnah Sheviit 9:1 (rue exempt from tithes)
The words behind it
16 Greek wordsEvery 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.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ἵνα | ina | so that | G2443 → | 668 times |
| ἐκζητηθῇ | ekzetethea | may be charged | G1567 → | |
| τὸ | to | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| αἷμα | haima | blood | G129 → | 97 times |
| πάντων | panton | of all | G3956 → | 1235 times |
| τῶν | ton | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| προφητῶν | propheton | prophets | G4396 → | 144 times |
| τὸ | to | which | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ἐκκεχυμένον | ekkechumenon | poured out | G1632 → | 27 times |
| ἀπὸ | apo | from | G575 → | 640 times |
| καταβολῆς | kataboles | [the] foundation | G2602 → | |
| κόσμου | kosmou | of [the] world | G2889 → | 185 times |
| ἀπὸ | apo | against | G575 → | 640 times |
| τῆς | tes | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| γενεᾶς | geneas | generation | G1074 → | 43 times |
| ταύτης, | tautes | this, | G3778 → | 1381 times |
ἵναso that
inaG2443 →668 times
ἐκζητηθῇmay be charged
ekzetetheaG1567 →
τὸthe
toG3588 →19766 times
αἷμαblood
haimaG129 →97 times
πάντωνof all
pantonG3956 →1235 times
τῶνthe
tonG3588 →19766 times
προφητῶνprophets
prophetonG4396 →144 times
τὸwhich
toG3588 →19766 times
ἐκκεχυμένονpoured out
ekkechumenonG1632 →27 times
ἀπὸfrom
apoG575 →640 times
καταβολῆς[the] foundation
katabolesG2602 →
κόσμουof [the] world
kosmouG2889 →185 times
ἀπὸagainst
apoG575 →640 times
τῆς<the>
tesG3588 →19766 times
γενεᾶςgeneration
geneasG1074 →43 times
ταύτης,this,
tautesG3778 →1381 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach 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
Numbers 35:33Do not pollute the land where you live, for bloodshed pollutes the land, and no atonement can be made for the land on which the blood is shed, except by the blood of the…
it leads to
- Psalms 106:38
They shed innocent blood— the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was polluted with blood.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Luke 11:50–51
As a result, this generation will be charged with the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the foundation of the world,
- Isaiah 26:21
For behold, the LORD is coming out of His dwelling to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity. The earth will reveal her bloodshed and will no longer conceal her slain.
- Psalms 106:38
Through
Psalms 9:12For the Avenger of bloodshed remembers; He does not ignore the cry of the afflicted.
it leads to
- Psalms 34:6
This poor man called out, and the LORD heard him; He saved him from all his troubles.
- Exodus 3:7
The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the affliction of My people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their oppressors, and I am aware of their sufferings.
- Revelation 16:6
For they have spilled the blood of saints and prophets, and You have given them blood to drink, as they deserve.”
- Revelation 6:9–10
And when the Lamb opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony they had upheld.
- Genesis 9:5
And surely I will require the life of any man or beast by whose hand your lifeblood is shed. I will demand an accounting from anyone who takes the life of his fellow man:
- Psalms 34:6
Where this verse is studied
About Luke
This page draws on 13 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Athanasius of Alexandria, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Bede, On the Gospel of Luke; Bede, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Bonaventure, Commentary on Luke, Chapter 11; Ephrem the Syrian, COMMENTARY ON TATIAN'S DIATESSARON 18.9; Irenaeus, Irenaeus Against Heresies Book 5; 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 Chrysostom, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Luke.