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Luke 6:25

in Luke 6

Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will hunger. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

Woe unto you, ye that are full now! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you, ye that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep.

KJV

Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep.

This verse in Luke 6

Commentary

18 notes on this verse

A commentator

Basil of Caesarea

Catena Aurea by Aquinas · Written before 379.

(Reg. fus. tract. 16-19.) Now it is plain that the rule of abstinence is necessary, because the Apostle mentions it among the fruits of the Spirit. (Gal. 5:23.) For the subjection of the body is by nothing so obtained as by abstinence, whereby, as it were a bridle, it becomes us to keep in check the fervour of youth. Abstinence then is the putting to death of sin, the extirpation of passions, the beginning of the spiritual life, blunting in itself the sting of temptations.

This site's exposition

woe to you who are rich

on Luke 6:24-26

Four woes answer the four blessings point for point, beginning with woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort. Those who are well fed now and who laugh now have taken present satisfaction as the whole reward.

This site's exposition

Woe to you who are well fed now

The woes answer the blessings line by line. Bede points to the man of Luke 16 who was well fed every day and later knew hunger, begging a drop of water. Matthew Henry describes the full as those who think they need no more.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers4 voices

A commentator

Tertullian

Against Marcion Book IV · Written before 220.

proposed

He inflicts a woe also on "the full, because they shall hunger; on those too which laugh now, because they shall mourn." To these will correspond these opposites which occur, as we have seen above, in the benedictions of the Creator: "Behold, my servants shall be full, but ye shall be hungry "-even because ye have been filled; "behold, my servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be ashamed" -even ye who shall mourn, who now are laughing.

A commentator

Basil of Caesarea

Catena Aurea by Aquinas · Written before 379.

proposed

(ut sup.) Whereas the Lord reproves those who laugh now, it is plain that there will never be a house of laughter to the faithful, especially since there is so great a multitude of those who die in sin for whom we must mourn. Excessive laughter is a sign of want of moderation, and the motion of an unrestrained spirit; but ever to express the feelings of our heart with a pleasantness of countenance is not unseemly.

A commentator

John Chrysostom

Catena Aurea by Aquinas · Written before 407.

proposed

(Hom. 6. in Matt.) But tell me, why art thou distracting and wasting thyself away with pleasures, who must stand before the awful judgment, and give account of all things done here?

A commentator

Ambrose of Milan

Catena Aurea by Aquinas · Written before 397.

proposed

And mark, that Matthew by rewards called the people to virtue and faith, but Luke also frightened them from their sins and iniquities by the denunciation of future punishment.

The Medieval Church1 voice

A commentator

Bede

On the Gospel of Luke · Written before 735.

proposed

Woe to you who are full now, for you shall hunger (Luke 6:25). The rich man clothed in purple was full when he feasted sumptuously every day, but he endured a dire woe when he was hungry and sought a drop of water from the …
10 more voices on this verse

The Medieval Church5 voices

A commentator

Bede

On the Gospel of Luke · Written before 735.

proposed

Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. And Solomon says: "Laughter will be mixed with pain, and the end of joy is sorrow" (Prov. 14). And again: "The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the …

A commentator

Bede

Catena Aurea by Aquinas · Written before 735.

proposed

Woe to you that are full, for ye shall be hungry. That rich man clothed in purple was full, feasting sumptuously every day, but endured in hunger that dreadful "woe," when from the finger of Lazarus, whom he had despised, he begged a drop of water.

A commentator

Bede

Catena Aurea by Aquinas · Written before 735.

proposed

In another way. If those are happy who always hunger after the works of righteousness, they on the other hand are counted to be unhappy, who, pleasing themselves in their own desires, suffer no hunger after the true good. It follows, Woe to you who laugh, &c.

A commentator

Bonaventure

Commentary on Luke, Chapter 6 · Written in the 13th century.

proposed

Against the gluttonous, he threatens the woe of perpetual hunger, when he adds: Woe to you who are filled! devoting yourselves, namely, to gluttony and drunkenness: Proverbs 23: "Who has woe? Whose father has woe? Who has quarrels and wounds without cause? Is it not …

A commentator

Gregory the Dialogist

Forty Gospel Homilies, Homily 2 · Written before 604.

proposed

Let us therefore call back before our eyes the sins we have committed; let us consider how terrible is the judge who comes to punish these things; let us form our mind for lamentation; let our life become bitter for a time in repentance, lest it feel eternal bitterness in punishment. For through weeping we are led to eternal joys, as Truth promises when it says: "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." But through joys one arrives at weeping, as this same Truth attests when it says: "Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep." If therefore we seek the joy of reward at our arrival, let us hold to the bitterness of repentance on the way.

The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

14 ), that, when they have abundance of these, are full, and think they have enough, they need no more, they desire no more, Rev. iii. Now ye are full, now ye are rich, 1 Cor. iv. They are full of themselves, without God and Christ.

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A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

Christ justifies his disciples in a work of necessity for themselves on that day, and that was plucking the ears of corn, when they were hungry on that day. This story here has a date, which we had not in the other evangelists; it was on the second sabbath after the first (

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Woe unto you that are full,....

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

The discourse of our Lord, which we have now begun, resembles, in many respects — His well-known Sermon on the Mount. The resemblance, in fact, is so striking that many have concluded that Luke and Matthew are reporting one and the same discourse — and that Luke is giving us, in an abridged form, what Matthew reports at length. There seems no sufficient ground for this conclusion. The occasions on which the two discourses were delivered, were entirely different. Our Lord's repetition of the same great lesson, in almost the same words, on two different occasions — is nothing extraordinary.
The discourse of our Lord, which we have now begun, resembles, in many respects — His well-known Sermon on the Mount. The resemblance, in fact, is so striking that many have concluded that Luke and Matthew are reporting one and the same discourse — and that Luke is giving us, in an abridged form, what Matthew reports at length. There seems no sufficient ground for this conclusion. The occasions on which the two discourses were delivered, were entirely different. Our Lord's repetition of the same great lesson, in almost the same words, on two different occasions — is nothing extraordinary. It is unreasonable to suppose that none of His mighty teachings were ever delivered more than once. In the present case, the repetition is very significant. It shows us the great and deep importance of the lessons which the two discourses contain. Let us first notice in these verses — who they are, whom the Lord Jesus pronounced BLESSED. The list is a remarkable and startling one. It singles out those who are "poor," and those who "hunger" — those who "weep," and those who are "hated" by man. These are the people to whom the great Head of the Church says, "Blessed are you!" We must take good heed that we do not misunderstand our Lord's meaning, when we read these expressions. We must not for a moment suppose that the mere fact of being poor, and hungry, and sorrowful, and hated by man — will entitle anyone to lay claim to an interest in Christ's blessing. The poverty here spoken of — is a poverty accompanied by grace. The need here spoken of — is a need entailed by faithful adherence to Jesus. The afflictions here spoken of — are the afflictions of the Gospel. The persecution here spoken of — is persecution for the Son of Man's sake.

The words behind it

15 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.

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

The walk

8 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

    James 4:9

    Grieve, mourn, and weep. Turn your laughter to mourning, and your joy to gloom.

    it leads to

    • Matthew 5:4

      Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

    • 2 Corinthians 7:10–11

      Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation without regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.

    • Proverbs 14:13

      Even in laughter the heart may ache, and joy may end in sorrow.

    • James 5:1–2

      Come now, you who are rich, weep and wail over the misery to come upon you.

    • Psalms 119:67

      Before I was afflicted, I went astray; but now I keep Your word.

  • Through

    Isaiah 65:13

    Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: “My servants will eat, but you will go hungry; My servants will drink, but you will go thirsty; My servants will rejoice, but you will be…

    it leads to

    • Malachi 3:18

      So you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.”

  • Through

    Amos 8:10

    I will turn your feasts into mourning and all your songs into lamentation. I will cause everyone to wear sackcloth and every head to be shaved. I will make it like a time of…

    it leads to

    • Jeremiah 6:26

      O daughter of my people, dress yourselves in sackcloth and roll in ashes. Mourn with bitter wailing, as you would for an only son, for suddenly the destroyer will come upon us.

    • Zechariah 12:10

      Then I will pour out on the house of David and on the people of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and prayer, and they will look on Me, the One they have pierced. They…

Where this verse is studied

About Luke

The Return of the Prodigal Son, Rembrandt, about 1668. Public domain.
The Return of the Prodigal Son, Rembrandt, about 1668. Public domain.
This page draws on 12 works. Open the list of works

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Ambrose of Milan, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Basil of Caesarea, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Bede, On the Gospel of Luke; Bede, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Bonaventure, Commentary on Luke, Chapter 6; Gregory the Dialogist, Forty Gospel Homilies, Homily 2; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Luke (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition); John Chrysostom, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Tertullian, Against Marcion Book IV.