Luke 12:36

Greek (Tischendorf 8th ed.)

English Translation

Be like men watching for their lord, when he returns from the marriage feast; that, when he comes and knocks, they may immediately open to him.

World English Bible · Public Domain

Highlights

1 first appearance in the Greek New Testament

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ἀναλύσῃ

analýō

G360

“to depart”

Verb, Aorist, Active, Subjunctive, 3rd person, Singular

Appears 2× in the Greek New Testament
First appears here

Full Thayer's Definition

Origin: from G303 and G3089

TDNT: 09:37,5

1. to unloose, undo again 2. to depart, break up, to depart from life, to return

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 →

20: words
18: distinct lemmas
Gospels: section

Notable vocabulary

The rarest word here is ἀναλύσῃ to depart G360 — appearing just 2 times in the whole Greek New Testament.

First appearance in Scripture

This word makes its first canonical appearance in the Greek New Testament here:

ἀναλύσῃ to depart G360

Shared distinctive vocabulary

ἀναλύσῃ to depart G360 occurs in 2 verses of the Greek New Testament. Also found in:

Philippians 1:23

Repetition

Words recur within this verse:

καὶ and G2532 ×2
τὸν the G3588 ×2

Cross-references

Topical passages linked to Luke 12:36 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — connected by theme and wording, ordered by reader-vote popularity; previews shown in the World English Bible.

Jude 1:20–21 But you, beloved, keep building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit.
James 5:7–8 Be patient therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient over it, until it receives the early and late rain.
Lamentations 3:25–26 Yahweh is good to those who wait for him, to the soul that seeks him.
Revelation 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, then I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and he with me.
Isaiah 64:4 For from of old men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither has the eye seen a God besides you, who works for him who waits for him.
Matthew 25:1–13 "Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten virgins, who took their lamps, and went out to meet the bridegroom.
Mark 13:34–37 "It is like a man, traveling to another country, having left his house, and given authority to his servants, and to each one his work, and also commanded the doorkeeper to keep watch.
Genesis 49:18 I have waited for your salvation, Yahweh.

Song of Solomon 5:5–6 I rose up to open for my beloved. My hands dripped with myrrh, My fingers with liquid myrrh, On the handles of the lock.
Matthew 22:1–14 Jesus answered and spoke again in parables to them, saying,
Matthew 24:42–44 Watch therefore, for you don't know in what hour your Lord comes.
Luke 2:25–30 Behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him.
2 Peter 1:13–15 I think it right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you;

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

Commentary

Notes on Luke 12:36 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 →

Commentary source

Tyndale Open Study Notes

Tyndale Open Resources

12:36 The master could return from the wedding feast at any time of day or night. Jesus’ followers must always be faithful and prepared for his return.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Bengel's Gnomon

Johann Albrecht Bengel

Luk 12:36. Ὑμεῖς, ye yourselves).—προσδεχομένοις, expecting [waiting for]) with longing desire and joy.—πότε) when He is about to return.—ἐκ τῶν γάμων, from the nuptials [wedding]) Therefore the nuptials are [going on] in heaven before the (second) Advent of our Lord.—εὐθέως, immediately) on hearing the first knock.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Expositor's Greek Testament

ed. W. Robertson Nicoll

Luk 12:36 . ἀναλύσῃ , when ( πότε = ὁπότε ) he shall return ; the figure is taken from sailors making the return voyage to the port whence they had sailed, Beza ( vide Phi 1:23 , 2Ti 4:6 ). ἐλθόντος καὶ κρούσαντος : the participles in the genitive absolute, though the subject to which they refer, αὐτῷ , is in the dative.

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

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown

return from the wedding--not come to it, as in the parable of the virgins. Both have their spiritual significance; but preparedness for Christ's coming is the prominent idea.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 36. That wait for their lord] See Clarke on Mt 25:1, c.

The wedding] How the Jewish weddings were celebrated, see in the notes on Mt 8:12; Mt 22:13.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne

36. when he will return from the wedding] The word here used (pote analusei) is very rare, occurring only in Php_1:23; 2Ti_4:6. Here there is a variation from the commoner metaphor of going to the wedding feast.

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

Blessed are those servants whom the Lord,.... The Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions read, "their Lord", the master of them, or the Lord Jesus Christ:

when he cometh shall find watching: for him, and not asleep. The Ethiopic version reads, "so doing, and watching"; girding up their loins, trimming their lamps, and waiting for their Lord's coming: such servants are happy, they will appear to be in the favour of their master, who will take notice of them and show some marks of respect to them; as Christ will to all his good and faithful servants, whenever he comes, whether at death, or at judgment; and who will be happy then, being found so doing, and found in him:

verily I say unto you that he shall gird himself; not that Christ shall really do this, or appear in the form of a servant; but that he shall readily, cheerfully, and at once introduce his servants into his joy, and make them partakers of all the glories of the other world:

and make them to sit down to meat; at his table in his kingdom; see Mat 8:11

and will come forth and serve them; with food, yea, will feed them himself, and lead them to fountains of living water, Rev 7:17 The Arabic version renders it, "he shall stand to minister unto them": the phrase is expressive of the posture of a servant; who, as Dr. Lightfoot observes, is "walking", and who goes round about the table, whilst others sit (t): some think there is allusion in the words to a custom used at some feasts, particularly at the feasts in honour of Saturn, in which servants changed clothes with their masters, and sat at their tables, and their masters served them (u).

(t) Jarchi in T. Bab. Bava Bathra, fol. 77. 2. (u) Vide Lipsii Saturnal. l. 1. c. 2. p. 6.

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

36 And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately.

Ver. 36. And knocketh] sc. By the hammer of his word and Spirit, or by the hand of death, summoning you thereto by some sickness, death’s harbinger.

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.

Whedon's Commentary on the Bible

Daniel D. Whedon

36. Knocketh, they may open—Not be fast asleep, with their lights gone out, or low in the socket.

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

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges

36. ἀνθρώποις. Slaves, Rev 18:13.

πότε ἀναλύσῃ ἐκ τῶν γάμων. The word here used is very rare, occurring only in Php 1:23; 2Ti 4:6. Here there is a variation from the commoner metaphor of going to the wedding-feast.

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.

Alford’s Greek Testament

Henry Alford

36.] καὶ ὑμεῖς—emphatic—distinguished from the ὀσφ. and λύχ. above:—ye yourselves, i.e. your whole conduct and demeanour.

κρούσαντος … αὐτῷ—a very common construction of the gen. abs.: see ch. 17:12; 22:10 .—and Winer, § 30. 11, rem., edn. 6, for classical examples.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

International Critical Commentary

36. προσδεχομένοις. Expectantibus (Vulg.) cum desiderio et gaudio (Bang.): comp. 2:25, 38, 23:51.

πότε ἄαλύσῃ ἐκ τῶν γάμων. If the rendering “when he shall return from,” etc., is correct, this is the only place in N.T. in which the verb has this meaning: Comp. 2 Mac. 8:25, 13:7, 15:28; 3 Mac. 5:21; Wisd. 2:1. The more usual sense is “break up (a feast, camp, etc.), depart”: comp. Php 1:23; Judith 13:1; 2 Mac. 9:1: and this may be the meaning here. See instances in Wetst. So Luther, wenn er aufbrechen wird. The wedding is not his own, but that of a friend which he has been attending. In Esther (2:18, 9:22) γάμοι is used of any banquet or festival: but the literal meaning is better here.1

For the plural of a single marriage feast comp. 14:8; Mat 22:2, Mat 25:10, and suee Win. 27:3, p. 219. For the constr. ἴνα έλθότος … ἀνοίξωσιν αὑτῷ see Win. 30:11, p. 259, and comp. 15:20.

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

Vincent's Word Studies in the New Testament

Marvin R. Vincent

Shall return [αναλυση] . The verb means, originally, to unloose : so of vessels, to unloose their moorings and go to sea. Of departing generally. This is its sense in the only other passage where it occurs, Phi 1:23, "having a desire to depart, or break up; the metaphor being drawn from breaking up an encampment." Compare departure [αναλυσεως] , 2Ti 4:6. The rendering return is a kind of inference from this : when he shall leave the wedding and return.

Wedding [των γαμων] . Properly, the marriage - feast. See on Mt 22:2.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword 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 20 words (18 distinct Greek lemmas). Its most distinctive word is analýō (“to depart”). A historical commentator’s framing appears above. Read the whole chapter for the surrounding context.

Discussion questions

The word analýō carries the sense “to depart.” How does it shape the verse?
This is the first place “to depart” appears in Scripture (first appears here). What does its debut here establish?
How does Philippians 1:23, which shares the word «to depart», read alongside this verse?
What does the repetition of “and” (2× in this one verse) do in this verse?
These translations render this verse differently; the difference is in the English rendering, not the original. What questions does that raise?
Compare how Tyndale Open Study Notes and Bengel's Gnomon read this verse. Where do they agree or differ?

Things to notice

1 word makes its first canonical appearance in Scripture here.
These translations choose different wording for 17 words in this verse.
“and” occurs 2× in this single verse.
18 distinct Greek lemmas span 20 words in this verse.