Luke 21:31

Greek (Tischendorf 8th ed.)

English Translation

Even so you also, when you see these things happening, know that the Kingdom of God is near.

World English Bible · Public Domain

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ἐγγύς

engýs

G1451

“near”

Adverb

Appears 30× in the Greek New Testament
First appears at Matthew 24:32

Full Thayer's Definition

Origin: "from a primary verb agcho (to squeeze or throttle; akin to the base of G43 )"

TDNT: 07:30,2

1. near, of place and position a. near b. those who are near access to God 1. Jews, as opposed to those who are alien from God and his blessings 2. The Rabbis used the term "to make nigh" as equivalent to "to make a proselyte" 2. of time a. of times imminent and soon to come pass

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
14: distinct lemmas
Gospels: section

Shared distinctive vocabulary

ἐγγύς near G1451 occurs in 30 verses of the Greek New Testament. Also found in:

Repetition

A word recurs within this verse:

ἡ the G3588 ×2

Cross-references

Topical passages linked to Luke 21:31 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — connected by theme and wording, ordered by reader-vote popularity; previews shown in the World English Bible.

James 5:9 Don't grumble, brothers, against one another, so that you won't be judged. Behold, the judge stands at the door.
Hebrews 10:37 "In a very little while, He who comes will come, and will not wait.
1 Peter 4:7 But the end of all things is near. Therefore be of sound mind, self-controlled, and sober in prayer.
Matthew 3:2 "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!"
Matthew 16:1–4 The Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing him, asked him to show them a sign from heaven.
Luke 12:51–57 Do you think that I have come to give peace in the earth? I tell you, no, but rather division.

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

Commentary

Notes on Luke 21:31 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

21:31 All these things refers to the events described in 21:25-30.

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 21:31. Ἡ βασιλεία, the kingdom) to which the old city must give place. [See ch. Luk 9:27. After the wicked vine-dressers (husbandmen to whom the vineyard was let) having been slain, the vineyard was let out to others: Mat 21:41; Mat 21:43.—V. g.]

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 21:31 . ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ , explaining the elliptical but not obscure words in Mt. and Mk.: “(it) is near,” i.e. , the coming of the Son of man. For Lk. that is one with the coming of the Kingdom, which again = redemption in Luk 21:28 .

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 31. The kingdom of God is nigh at hand.] After the destruction of the Jewish state, the doctrine of Christ crucified shall be preached every where, and every where prevail.

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

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(31) Know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.—St. Luke’s paraphrase fills up and explains what stands in St. Matthew and St. Mark more simply, “It is near, even at the doors.”

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 all the people came early in the morning,.... Not all the people in Jerusalem, every inhabitant of the city; this word "all", is often to be taken with a restriction, and here it designs a large number; the Persic version renders it, "vast multitudes": these, some out of curiosity, and others from a real love to him, and his ministry, rose betimes, and came early,

to him in the temple, to hear him; which is said, in commendation of Christ's hearers, and is worthy of imitation; as the former verse is a commendation of the preacher, in his constancy and diligence in his work, and following it with his prayers.

Next: Luke Chapter 22

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

John Wesley's Explanatory Notes

The kingdom of God is nigh - The destruction of the Jewish city, temple, and religion, to make way for the advancement of my kingdom.

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

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges

31. γινόμενα. ‘Coming.’

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.

Vincent's Word Studies in the New Testament

Marvin R. Vincent

Come to pass [γινομενα] . The present participle. Rev., more correctly, "coming to pass :" in process of fulfilment. Compare Mr 13:29.

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

Discussion questions

The word engýs carries the sense “near.” How does it shape the verse?
Matthew 24:32 shares the word «near» with this verse. How do the two illuminate each other?
“the” occurs 2× in this one verse. What is the effect of the repetition?
These translations render this verse differently; the difference is in the English rendering, not the original. What questions does that raise?
Reading how Tyndale Open Study Notes and Bengel's Gnomon read this verse, where do the two commentators agree and where do they part?

Things to notice

These translations choose different wording for 11 words in this verse.
“the” occurs 2× in this single verse.
14 distinct Greek lemmas span 15 words in this verse.