Luke 12:23

Greek (Tischendorf 8th ed.)

English Translation

Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing.

World English Bible · Public Domain

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ἐνδύματος

éndyma

G1742

“garment”

Noun, Genitive, Singular, Neuter

Appears 8× in the Greek New Testament
First appears at Matthew 3:4

Full Thayer's Definition

Origin: from G1746

TDNT: None

1. garment, raiment, cloak, an outer garment

About this verse

These counts appear in no published source. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged text and Lemma’s own curated glosses. What Lemma adds →

11: words
8: distinct lemmas
Gospels: section

Notable vocabulary

The rarest word here is ἐνδύματος garment G1742 — appearing just 8 times in the whole Greek New Testament.

Shared distinctive vocabulary

ἐνδύματος garment G1742 occurs in 8 verses of the Greek New Testament. Also found in:

Repetition

A word recurs within this verse:

ἡ the G3588 ×4

Cross-references

Topical passages linked to Luke 12:23 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — connected by theme and wording, ordered by reader-vote popularity; previews shown in the World English Bible.

Job 2:6 Yahweh said to Satan, "Behold, he is in your hand. Only spare his life."
Proverbs 13:8 The ransom of a man's life is his riches, But the poor hear no threats.
Job 2:4 Satan answered Yahweh, and said, "Skin for skin. Yes, all that a man has will he give for his life.
Acts 27:18–19 As we labored exceedingly with the storm, the next day they began to throw things overboard.
Job 1:12 Yahweh said to Satan, "Behold, all that he has is in your power. Only on himself don't put forth your hand." So Satan went forth from the presence of Yahweh.
Genesis 19:17 It came to pass, when they had taken them out, that he said, "Escape for your life! Don't look behind you, neither stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountain, lest you be consumed!"
Acts 27:38 When they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, throwing out the wheat into the sea.

Cross-references courtesy of OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0).

Commentary

Notes on Luke 12:23 from classic Christian and Jewish commentators (each source and its license shown beneath its notes). The classic Christian expositions comment on the surrounding passage and are grouped to its opening verse, so a note may address several verses; the Jewish commentaries on the Tanakh (Rashi and others) are per-verse, so they appear only where the commentator wrote on this verse.

Lemma curates 59 commentaries, every one of them public domain or Creative Commons licensed, each selected and text-cleaned for this edition rather than reprinted as found. About our sources →

Whedon's Commentary on the Bible

Daniel D. Whedon

IV. To the disciples he thereupon counsels absolute unwordliness, Luk_12:23-24.

For the correspondent passages in Matthew consult the marginal references.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Expositor's Greek Testament

ed. W. Robertson Nicoll

Luk 12:23 . ψυχὴ and σῶμα are to be taken in the physical sense, the suggestion being that God has given us these the greater things, and therefore may be expected to give us food for the one and raiment for the other, the smaller things.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne

23. The life is more than meat, &c.] and the spirit is more than either the body, or the natural life.

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.

John Gill's Exposition

The life is more than meat,.... What in Matthew is put by way of question, is here strongly affirmed; and these words contain a reason or argument to dissuade from an anxious, distressing thought and care about the necessaries, conveniencies, and comforts of life: and all the Oriental versions read, "for", or "seeing the life is more than meat"; that is, it is more excellent and valuable in its own nature, being that for the support of which meat is provided; and seeing God is the author and giver of life, it need not be doubted but he will give meat for the maintenance and continuance of it, so long as is his pleasure it should subsist.

And the body is more than raiment; it is of more worth than the richest clothing that can be had; the finest piece of embroidery is not comparable to the curious workmanship of the body, Psa 139:15 and he that has so curiously wrought that, will not fail to provide suitable and proper clothing for it; and therefore there ought to be no anxiety on this account; See Gill on Mat 6:5.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Trapp's Complete Commentary

John Trapp

23 The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment.

Ver. 23. See Mat 6:25-27

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.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges

23. ἡ ψυχὴ πλεῖόν ἐστιν τῆς τροφῆς.… And the spirit is more than either the body, or the natural life.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

International Critical Commentary

23. πλεῖόν ἐστιν τῆς τροφῆς. “Is something greater than the food” (comp. 11:31, 32). Therefore He who gave the greater will not fail to provide the less.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Lesson kit

Teaching starters — assembled from the data on this page, not authored interpretation. Every prompt links to the verse data it draws on. Edit before teaching.

Luke, in the Gospels, opens this verse with 11 words (8 distinct Greek lemmas). Its most distinctive word is éndyma (“garment”). A historical commentator’s framing appears above. Read the whole chapter for the surrounding context.

Discussion questions

How does “garment” (éndyma) shape what this verse is saying?
How does Matthew 3:4, which shares the word «garment», read alongside this verse?
What does the repetition of “the” (4× in this one verse) do in this verse?
These translations render this verse differently. What is at stake in choosing one wording over another?
Compare how Whedon's Commentary on the Bible and Expositor's Greek Testament read this verse. Where do they agree or differ?

Things to notice

These translations choose different wording for 4 words in this verse.
“the” occurs 4× in this single verse.
8 distinct Greek lemmas span 11 words in this verse.