Luke 20:28
Greek (Tischendorf 8th ed.) Luke 20:28 appears in the Greek New Testament. The text above is from the Tischendorf 8th edition. Each word links to its Strong’s number and a concise gloss. Click any word for its full Thayer’s Greek Lexicon entry.
They asked him, "Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man's brother dies having a wife, and he is childless, his brother should take the wife, and raise up children for his brother.
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Compare translations 3
The same verse in 3 English versions, stacked beneath the original-language interlinear above. Click any original word for its lexicon entry.
Each is an independent rendering of the whole verse — the interlinear is not word-aligned to these translations.
Highlighted words mark where these versions differ — a whole-verse word diff, not a word-by-word alignment.
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World English Bible Public Domain
They asked him, "Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man's brother dies having a wife, and he is childless, his brother should take the wife, and raise up children for his brother.
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King James Version Public Domain
Saying, Master, Moses wrote unto us, If any man's brother die, having a wife, and he die without children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.
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unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us, if someone’s brother dies, having a wife, and he is childless, that his brother should take his wife and raise up seed for his brother.
unfoldingWord Literal Text — © unfoldingWord, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Word-aligned USFM3 via Door43 (git.door43.org/unfoldingWord/en_ult).
Show all 19 translations
Every available English version of this verse, each an independent rendering of the whole verse.
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World English Bible Public Domain
They asked him, "Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man's brother dies having a wife, and he is childless, his brother should take the wife, and raise up children for his brother.
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Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
“Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man is to marry his brother’s widow and raise up offspring for him.
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Majority Standard Bible Public Domain
“Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man is to marry his brother’s widow and raise up offspring for him.
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King James Version Public Domain
Saying, Master, Moses wrote unto us, If any man's brother die, having a wife, and he die without children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.
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American Standard Version (1901) Public Domain
and they asked him, saying, Teacher, Moses wrote unto us, that if a man's brother die, having a wife, and he be childless, his brother should take the wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.
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Revised Version (1885) Public Domain
saying, Master, Moses wrote unto us, that if a man’s brother die, having a wife, and he be childless, his brother should take the wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.
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Geneva Bible (1599) Public Domain
Saying, Master, Moses wrote vnto vs, If any mans brother die hauing a wife, and hee die without children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise vp seede vnto his brother.
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Douay-Rheims (1899) Public Domain
Saying: Master, Moses wrote unto us, If any man's brother die, having a wife, and he leave no children, that his brother should take her to wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.
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Young's Literal Translation Public Domain
saying, `Teacher, Moses wrote to us, If any one's brother may die, having a wife, and he may die childless -- that his brother may take the wife, and may raise up seed to his brother.
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Literal Standard Version CC BY-SA 4.0
saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote to us if anyone’s brother may die, having a wife, and he may die childless—that his brother may take the wife, and may raise up seed to his brother.
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Unlocked Literal Bible CC BY-SA 4.0
they asked him, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man's brother dies, having a wife, and being childless, the man should take the brother's wife, and have a child for his brother.
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unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us, if someone’s brother dies, having a wife, and he is childless, that his brother should take his wife and raise up seed for his brother.
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Darby Bible Public Domain
demanded of him saying, Teacher, Moses wrote to us, If any one's brother, who has a wife, die, and he die childless, his brother shall take the wife and raise up seed to his brother.
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World Messianic Bible Public Domain
They asked him, “Rabbi, Moses wrote to us that if a man’s brother dies having a wife, and he is childless, his brother should take the wife and raise up children for his brother.
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Webster's Bible Public Domain
Saying, Master, Moses wrote to us, If any man's brother should die, having a wife, and he should die without children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed to his brother.
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Free Bible Version CC BY-SA 4.0
“Teacher,” they began, “Moses gave us a law that if a married man dies leaving a wife without children, then his brother should marry the widow and have children for his dead brother.
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Bible in Basic English Public Domain
Master, Moses said that if a man's brother comes to his end, having a wife, but no children, his brother is to take the wife, and get a family for his brother.
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Text-Critical English NT CC BY 4.0
“Teacher, Moses wrote for us: ‘If a man's brother dies, leaving a wife but no children, that man must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.’
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Tyndale New Testament (1534) Public Domain
sayinge: Master Moses wrote vnto vs if eny mannes brother dye havinge a wyfe and the same dye with out yssue: that then his brother shuld take his wyfe and reyse vp seede vnto his brother.
Literal Standard Version (2020), Covenant Press — licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API (eBible.org). Unlocked Literal Bible (unfoldingWord) — licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API (eBible.org). unfoldingWord Literal Text — © unfoldingWord, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Word-aligned USFM3 via Door43 (git.door43.org/unfoldingWord/en_ult). Free Bible Version, Dr. Jonathan Gallagher — licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API (eBible.org).
Word by word
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- Appears 2× in the Greek New Testament
- First appears here
- Part of Speech
- Adjective
- Case
- Nominative
- Number
- Singular
- Gender
- Masculine
Full Thayer's Definition
- λέγοντες légō G3004 “to say” Verb, Present, Active, Participle, Nominative, Plural, Masculine
- διδάσκαλε didáskalos G1320 “teacher” Noun, Vocative, Singular, Masculine
- Μωϋσῆς Mōseús G3475 “Moses” Noun, Nominative, Singular, Masculine
- ἔγραψεν gráphō G1125 “to write” Verb, Aorist, Active, Indicative, 3rd person, Singular
- ἡμῖν hēmeîs G2249 “we” Personal pronoun, 1st person, Dative, Plural
- ἐάν eán G1437 “if” Conditional
- τινος tìs G5100 “a certain” Indefinite pronoun, Genitive, Singular, Masculine
- ἀδελφὸς adelphós G80 “brother” Noun, Nominative, Singular, Masculine
- ἀποθάνῃ apothnḗskō G599 “to die” Verb, Aorist, Active, Subjunctive, 3rd person, Singular
- ἔχων échō G2192 “to have” Verb, Present, Active, Participle, Nominative, Singular, Masculine
- γυναῖκα gynḗ G1135 “woman” Noun, Accusative, Singular, Feminine
- καὶ kaí G2532 “and” Conjunction
- οὗτος hoûtos G3778 “this” Demonstrative pronoun, Nominative, Singular, Masculine
- ἄτεκνος áteknos G815 “childless” Adjective, Nominative, Singular, Masculine
- ᾖ eimí G1510 “to be” Verb, Present, Active, Subjunctive, 3rd person, Singular
- ἵνα hína G2443 “that” Conjunction
- λάβῃ lambánō G2983 “to take” Verb, Aorist, Active, Subjunctive, 3rd person, Singular
- ὁ ho G3588 “the” Article, Nominative, Singular, Masculine
- ἀδελφὸς adelphós G80 “brother” Noun, Nominative, Singular, Masculine
- αὐτοῦ autós G846 “he” Personal pronoun, Genitive, Singular, Masculine
- τὴν ho G3588 “the” Article, Accusative, Singular, Feminine
- γυναῖκα gynḗ G1135 “woman” Noun, Accusative, Singular, Feminine
- καὶ kaí G2532 “and” Conjunction
- ἐξαναστήσῃ exanístēmi G1817 “to rise up” Verb, Aorist, Active, Subjunctive, 3rd person, Singular
- σπέρμα spérma G4690 “seed” Noun, Accusative, Singular, Neuter
- τῷ ho G3588 “the” Article, Dative, Singular, Masculine
- ἀδελφῷ adelphós G80 “brother” Noun, Dative, Singular, Masculine
- αὐτοῦ autós G846 “he” Personal pronoun, Genitive, Singular, Masculine
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 →
- 28
- words
- 21
- distinct lemmas
- Gospels
- section
Notable vocabulary
The rarest word here is ἄτεκνος childless G815 — 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:
- ἄτεκνος childless G815
Shared distinctive vocabulary
ἄτεκνος childless G815 occurs in 2 verses of the Greek New Testament. Also found in:
Cross-references
5Topical passages linked to Luke 20:28 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — connected by theme and wording, ordered by reader-vote popularity; previews shown in the World English Bible.
- Deuteronomy 25:5–10 If brothers dwell together, and one of them die, and have no son, the wife of the dead shall not be married outside to a stranger: her husband's brother shall go in to her, and take her to him as wife, and perform the duty of a husband's brother to her.
- Genesis 38:8 Judah said to Onan, "Go in to your brother's wife, and perform the duty of a husband's brother to her, and raise up seed to your brother."
- Genesis 38:11 Then Judah said to Tamar, his daughter-in-law, "Remain a widow in your father's house, until Shelah, my son, is grown up;" for he said, "Lest he also die, like his brothers." Tamar went and lived in her father's house.
- Genesis 38:26 Judah acknowledged them, and said, "She is more righteous than I, because I didn't give her to Shelah, my son." He knew her again no more.
- Ruth 1:11–12 Naomi said, Turn again, my daughters: why will you go with me? have I yet sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands?
Cross-references courtesy of OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0).
Where the printed editions differ
1 variantPlaces in this verse where the major printed Greek editions disagree on the wording in a way that affects the translation — a comparison of editions, not a manuscript-by-manuscript collation. The editions are the modern critical texts (Nestlé-Aland 28/27, SBL, Westcott-Hort, Tregelles, Tyndale House) and the traditional texts behind the KJV (the Textus Receptus and the Byzantine/Majority text). It is not a claim about which reading is original.
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Different wording
ᾖ,
“shall be,”
In NA28NA27TynSBLWHTreg Not in TRByzἀποθάνῃ (apothanē) 'shall die' occurs in traditional manuscripts (TR+Byz) instead of ᾖ, (ē) 'shall be,' in older manuscripts (NA28+NA27+Tyn+SBL+WH+Treg)
Textual data: Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament (STEPBible TAGNT) · CC BY 4.0.
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 28 words (21 distinct Greek lemmas). Its most distinctive word is áteknos (“childless”). A historical commentator’s framing appears above. Read the whole chapter for the surrounding context.
Discussion questions
- The word áteknos carries the sense “childless.” How does it shape the verse?
- This is the first place “childless” appears in Scripture (first appears here). What does its debut here establish?
- How does Luke 20:29, which shares the word «childless», read alongside this verse?
- What does the repetition of “brother” (3× in this one verse) do in this verse?
- The translations on this page render this verse differently — a whole-verse word diff, not a word-by-word alignment. What might account for the different wordings?
- Compare how Tyndale Open Study Notes and Expositor's Greek Testament 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 14 words in this verse.
- “brother” occurs 3× in this single verse.
- 21 distinct Greek lemmas span 28 words in this verse.
Commentary
Notes on Luke 20:28 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
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
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
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
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
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.
John Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Bengel's Gnomon
Johann Albrecht Bengel
Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges
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
Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.