Luke 19:40

19:40 Compare Isa 55:12, in which nature is said to rejoice at the coming of God’s salvation, and Hab 2:11, in which the stones of the walls cry out against Babylon.

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

Luk 19:40. Οἱ λίθοι, the stones) When power hath once gone forth from God, it does not return without accomplishing its purpose. It is wont to find something which it may rouse to act, whatever be the objects which come in its way. There were stones in that place.—κεκράξονται) The LXX. translators use this tense of the verb.

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

Luk 19:40 . ἐὰν σιωπήσουσιν : ἐὰν with future indicative instead of subjunctive as in classic Greek, one of the divergent ways in which the N.T. expresses a future supposition with some probability ( vide Burton, M. and T. , §§ 250 256). οἱ λίθοι κράξουσιν , the stones will cry out; possibly there is a reference to Hab 2:11 , but the expression is proverbial (instances in Pricaeus, Wetstein, etc.) = the impossible will happen rather than the Messianic kingdom fail of recognition. Some, e.g. , Stier and Nösgen, find in the words a reference to the destruction of the temple and the witness it bore to Jesus = if I receive not witness from the Jewish people the scattered stones of the ruined temple will witness for me. An attractive idea, not refuted by Hahn’s objection that if it had been in view we should have had ὅταν οὗτοι σιωπ . instead of ἐὰν , etc. ἐὰν with future may express a future supposition with some probability.

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

the stones, &c.--Hitherto the Lord had discouraged all demonstrations in His favor; latterly He had begun an opposite course; on this one occasion He seems to yield His whole soul to the wide and deep acclaim with a mysterious satisfaction, regarding it as so necessary a part of the regal dignity in which as Messiah He for this last time entered the city, that if not offered by the vast multitude, it would have been wrung out of the stones rather than be withheld (Hab 2:11).

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

Verse 40. If these should hold their peace, the stones would - cry out.] Of such importance is my present conduct to you and to others, being expressly predicted by one of your own prophets, Zec 9:9, as pointing out the triumph of humility over pride, and of meekness over rage and malice, as signifying the salvation which I bring to the lost souls of men, that, if this multitude were silent, God would give even to the stones a voice, that the advent of the Messiah might be duly celebrated.

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

(40) If these should hold their peace.—Here, then, at the very moment when He foresaw most clearly His own approaching end, and the failure of all earthly hopes of the city over which He wept, our Lord accepted every word that disciples or multitude had uttered of Him as being in the fullest sense true.

The stones would immediately cry out.—The startling imagery had a precedent in the language of Habakkuk (Hab_2:11), “The stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it.”

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

40. the stones would immediately cry out] There seems to be an allusion to the passage “For the stone shall cry out of the wall,” which occurs amid denunciations of destruction on covetousness and cruelty in Hab_2:11.

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.

Saying, if thou hadst, known, even thou,.... As well as other cities; or who hast been so long a flourishing city, the metropolis of the nation, the seat of the ancient kings of Judah; yea, the city of the great God, the place of divine worship, whither the tribes came up, time after time, to serve the Lord; a city so highly honoured of God and man: or, who hast despised the messages of the servants of God, mocked and misused the prophets in time past, beat one, killed another, and stoned another: if such a city, after all this, had but known its true interest,

at least in this thy day; the day of thy visitation, the last day thou art to have, though it is so late:

the things which belong unto thy peace; meaning, not peace with God, and the things belonging, or conducing to that, which are not men's works of righteousness, nor tears of repentance, nor even faith itself, but the obedience and righteousness, the blood, sacrifice and death of Christ; nor spiritual peace, or internal peace of conscience, which comes in a Gospel way, through believing, in a course of obedience, and all from Christ, the peacemaker, and peace giver; nor eternal peace hereafter, which the grace of God gives a meetness for, and the righteousness of Christ a right unto; the knowledge of all which is not natural to men, or to be obtained of themselves, but is the gift of God's grace, and the operation of his Spirit: but supposing such a peace, and such things relating to it, were intended, nothing more can be inferred from hence, than that if the Jews had known these things, they had been happy; and since they had the means of knowing them, they were, of all men, inexcusable; and that Christ, as man, and one of their nation, and as a minister of the circumcision, had a passionate concern for their welfare: but not that these Jews, or any men, can of themselves, and without the unfrustrable grace of God working upon their hearts, and enlightening their understanding, know these things; or that Christ acted any insincere part in wishing for these things for them, as man, and a minister of the word, when he knew, as God, it was not consistent with the will of God that they should have them; since Christ, as man, sometimes earnestly prayed for that, which he, as God, knew could not be, as in the case of his own sufferings and death; nor is this irreconcilable to his dying intentionally only for those who are actually saved: but after all, these words are, only spoken of Jerusalem, and the inhabitants of that city, and not of all mankind, and regard only their temporal peace and welfare, whose destruction Christ knew was near at hand; and of which he afterwards speaks in the following verses:

but now they are hid from thine eyes; their eyes were blinded; they were given up to a judicial blindness, and hardness of heart; a spirit of slumber and stupidity had seized them; they could not discern the signs of the times and so disbelieved Jesus as the Messiah, and rejected him as such; whom, had they received only in a notional way, though they had not believed in him spiritually, to the saving of their souls, they would have been secured from outward calamities, and would have enjoyed peace and prosperity, and the things belonging to it our Lord speaks of. Christ alludes to the name of Jerusalem, which signifies the vision of peace; or they shall see peace; but her name and case now did not agree. His wish is the same the Psalmist encourages in Psa 122:6 which, in the Septuagint version, is rendered, "pray for the things" that belong "to the peace Jerusalem".

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

The stones would ...cry out - It is “proper” that they should celebrate my coming. Their acclamations “ought” not to be suppressed. So joyful is the event which they celebrate - the coming of the Messiah - that it is not fit that I should attempt to impose silence on them. The expression here seems to be “proverbial,” and is not to be taken literally. Proverbs are designed to express the truth “strongly,” but are not to be taken to signify as much as if they were to be interpreted literally. The sense is, that his coming was an event of so much importance that it “ought” to be celebrated in some way, and “would” be celebrated. It would be impossible to restrain the people, and improper to attempt it. The language here is strong proverbial language to denote that fact. We are not to suppose, therefore, that our Saviour meant to say that the stones were “conscious” of his coming, or that God would “make” them speak, but only that there was “great joy” among the people; that it was “proper” that they should express it in this manner, and that it was not fit that he should attempt to repress it.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

The stones. This is a proverb, as if he had said: God has resolved to glorify me this day, in order to fulfil the prophecies. Nothing can hinder the execution of his decrees; if men were silent, he would make even the stones to speak. (Calmet) --- At the crucifixion of our Redeemer, when his friends were silent through fear, the very stones and rocks spoke in his defence. Immediately after he expired, the earth was moved, the rocks split, and the monuments of the dead opened. (Ven. Bede) --- Nor is it any wonder if, contrary to nature, the rocks bespeak the praises of the Lord, since he was even praised by a multitude, much more insensible than the rocks themselves, in crucifying him only a few days after, whom they now salute with Hosannahs of joy. (St. Ambrose)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

40. If these should hold their peace—The proud Pharisees had sullenly left to these disciples the office of celebrating this advent, and now the grumblers would even have them silenced. But if at a crisis so intense, so awful, even these should hush, and no human voice should welcome the Prince, we might expect that God would literally shame the hard hearts and base spirits of men by making the very stones upon which they trod utter voices and cry out.

The wail of Jesus over Jerusalem, 41-44. This pathetic passage is furnished by Luke alone.

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

If these should hold their peace, the stones, which lie before you, would cry out - That is, God would raise up some still more unlikely instruments to declare his praise. For the power of God will not return empty.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

40. κράξουσιν. See note.

40. ἐὰν … σιωπήσουσιν. Such a construction as ἐὰν with the indicative would of course be impossible in classical Greek. It is only explicable by excluding the conditional particle from any influence over the verb—“if (under whatever circumstances) these shall keep silent.”

οἱ λίθοι κράξουσιν. This is the reading of אBL for κεκράξονται, which is used by earlier and classic writers as the ordinary future of κράζω, as it is also in the LXX[335] There seems to be an allusion to the passage, “For the stone shall cry out of the wall,” which occurs amid denunciations of destruction on covetousness and cruelty in Hab 2:11. It is also found in the Talmud.

[335] LXX. Septuagint.

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.

40.] The Pharisees murmur: our Lord’s reply. Peculiar to Luke.

40.] A proverbial expression—but probably not without reference to Hab 2:11.

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

40. Christ’s reply is of great sternness. It implies that their failure to appreciate the significance of the occasion is amazing in its fatuity. It is not likely that there is any reference to the crashing of the stones at the downfall of Jerusalem (Lange, Oosterzee). Perhaps ow οἱ λίθοι κράξουσιν was already a proverbial expression. Comp. λίθος ἐκ τοίχου βοήσεται (Hab 2:11): Parietes, medius fidius, ut mihi videntur, tibi gratias agere gestiunt (Cic. Marcel. iii.); and see other illustrations in Wetst. Nothing is gained by making οἱ λίθοι figurative “men of stony hearts” such an event “might rouse even the dullest to rejoice” (Neander). comp. 3:8.

ἐὰν … σιωπήσουσιν. This is the abundantly attested reading (א A B L R Δ). With the exceptional constr. comp, ἐὰν μή τις ὁδηγήσει (Act 8:31); ειὰν ὑμεῖς στήκετε (1Th 3:8); ἐὰν οἴδαμεν (1Jn 5:15); ἐὰν προσφέρεν? (Lev 1:14). In Joh 8:36 and Rom 14:8 the indic. is probably a false reading. Win. xli. 2 (b), p. 369; Lft. Epp. p. 46; Simcox, Lang. of N.T. p. 110; Deissmann, Neue Bibelstudien, p. 29.

There is no authority for inserting mox (Beza), “shortely” (Genev.), or “immediately” (AV.) with “cry out.”

The reading κεκράξονται (AR.) is a substitution of the form which is most common in LXX (Ps. 64:14; Job 35:9; Jer 11:11, Jer 11:12, 47:2, etc.). See Veitch, s.v. “The simple fut. perf. does not occur in N.T.” Burton., § 93.

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