Luke 19:31

Greek (Tischendorf 8th ed.)

English Translation

If anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying it?' say to him: 'The Lord needs it.'"

World English Bible · Public Domain

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διατί

diatí

G1302

“through”

Particle, Interrogative

Appears 24× in the Greek New Testament
First appears at Matthew 9:11

Full Thayer's Definition

Origin: from G1223 and G5101

TDNT: None

1. through, by, with, because of, for the sake of

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 →

15: words
15: distinct lemmas
Gospels: section

Notable vocabulary

The rarest word here is διατί through G1302 — appearing just 24 times in the whole Greek New Testament.

Shared distinctive vocabulary

διατί through G1302 occurs in 23 verses of the Greek New Testament. Also found in:

Cross-references

Topical passages linked to Luke 19:31 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — connected by theme and wording, ordered by reader-vote popularity; previews shown in the World English Bible.

Psalms 24:1 The earth is Yahweh's, with its fullness; The world, and those who dwell therein.
Psalms 50:10–12 For every animal of the forest is mine, And the cattle on a thousand hills.
Mark 11:3–6 If anyone asks you, 'Why are you doing this?' say, 'The Lord needs him;' and immediately he will send him back here."
Matthew 21:2–3 saying to them, "Go into the village that is opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them, and bring them to me.
Acts 10:36 The word which he sent to the children of Israel, preaching good news of peace by Jesus Christ--he is Lord of all--

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

Commentary

Notes on Luke 19:31 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 →

Tyndale Open Study Notes

Tyndale Open Resources

19:31 The Lord needs it: Subjects of a king were expected to make resources available for his use (see 1 Sam 8:16). The donkey’s colt had never been ridden, so it was pure and suitable for a king.

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

Expositor's Greek Testament

ed. W. Robertson Nicoll

Luk 19:31-34 . The sending of two disciples for the colt is related as in Mt. and Mk., but with a little more of Greek in the style. The remark about the owners sending it (Mt.) or Jesus returning it (Mk.) is omitted. On the other hand, Lk. alone states that the two disciples found matters as the Master had said (Luk 19:32 ). In Luk 19:33 οἱ κύριοι suggests a plurality of owners.

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

the Lord hath need, &c.--He both knew all and had the key of the human heart. (See on Luk 19:5.) Perhaps the owner was a disciple.

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

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(31) Because the Lord hath need of him.—See Note on Mat_21:3 as to the meaning of the word “Lord” as thus used.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

John Gill's Exposition

And they that were sent went their way,.... The two disciples that were sent by Christ, were obedient to him, and went, as he directed them, and did as he ordered them;

and found, even as he had said unto them. The Vulgate Latin and Ethiopic versions, and so some copies, add, "the colt standing"; that is, in the place, and manner which he had described to them; See Gill on Mar 9:4.

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

31 And if any man ask you, Why do ye loose him? thus shall ye say unto him, Because the Lord hath need of him.

Ver. 31. {See Trapp on "Mat 21:1"} {See Trapp on "Mat 21:2"} {See Trapp on "Mat 21:3"}

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

31. The Lord—The owners’ yielding to the authority of the Lord does not necessarily imply that they were his disciples; for, attended by the applauding multitudes, he was acknowledged Lord of the present hour. Even the Pharisees saluted him as master, Luk_19:39; with the multitudes he is king, Luk_19:38. These multitudes are called disciples in the larger sense of believers.

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

The Pulpit Commentary

And if any man ask you, Why do ye loose him? thus shall ye say unto him, Because the Lord hath need of him. Had he not right here? surely the cattle on a thousand hills were his I St. Matthew not only mentions the colt, but also the ass. This little detail is unnoticed by St. Luke. Probably the colt, though not broken in, would go the more quietly accompanied by its mother. But the reason of St. Matthew"s special mention of the ass as well as of the colt was the reference to Gen_49:11, in which Justin Martyr, in a curious chapter of the "Dialogue with Trypho," finds a direct reference to the ass and the foal (see Justin Martyr, "Dialogue with Trypho," c. 53.).

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

International Critical Commentary

31. οὕτως ἐρεῖτε ὅτι. Vulg. and AV. make ὅτι the answer to Διὰ τί; So also Mey. and Hahn. But in Mat 21:3 we have ὅτι and no διὰ τί; In both places the ὅτι is recitative. Comp. 7:16, 22:70.

Ὁ κύριος. This rather implies that the owner has some knowledge of Jesus. Lk. omits the assurance that the owner will send the colt. That the whole had been previously arranged by Jesus is Possible, for He gives no intimation that it was not so. But the impression produced by the narratives is that the knowledge is supernatural, which on so momentous an occasion would be in harmony with His purpose. Comp. Joh 14:29, Joh 16:32, Joh 21:8, and see on Luk 22:10, Luk 22:13, Luk 22:34. As Godet points out, this prophetic knowledge must not be confounded with omniscience.

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

The Lord. See on Mt 21:3.

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 15 words (15 distinct Greek lemmas). Its most distinctive word is diatí (“through”). A historical commentator’s framing appears above. Read the whole chapter for the surrounding context.

Discussion questions

How does “through” (diatí) shape what this verse is saying?
How does Matthew 9:11, which shares the word «through», read alongside 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 Expositor's Greek Testament read this verse. Where do they agree or differ?

Things to notice

These translations choose different wording for 16 words in this verse.
15 distinct Greek lemmas span 15 words in this verse.