The Meaning of Luke 13:33 Explained

Luke 13:33

KJV: Nevertheless I must walk to day, and to morrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem.

YLT: but it behoveth me to-day, and to-morrow, and the day following, to go on, because it is not possible for a prophet to perish out of Jerusalem.

Darby: but I must needs walk to-day and to-morrow and the day following, for it must not be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem.

ASV: Nevertheless I must go on my way to-day and to-morrow and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Nevertheless  I  must  walk  to day,  and  to morrow,  and  the [day] following:  for  it cannot be  that a prophet  perish  out of  Jerusalem. 

What does Luke 13:33 Mean?

Context Summary

Luke 13:31-35 - The Lament For Those Who "would Not"
Our Lord was at that time in Perea, in the jurisdiction of Herod, who probably desired to get rid of Him, lest His presence should introduce political complications. Our Lord saw through and exposed his stratagem. How awful to be read by the light of divine purity! He also kept His eye on heaven's dial-plate, and knew that He was immortal till His work was done.
Jerusalem was clearly indicated as the scene of His death; and the city was already so deeply dyed with martyr blood that it would hardly have been congruous for Him to suffer anywhere else. Note that pathetic wail of disappointed love. God's brooding love desires to interpose between us and the hovering peril; but we have the awful power to neglect or reject the covering wings of the Shechinah. See Ruth 2:12 and Psalms 91:4.
In Luke 14:1-6 we have a specimen of Christ's table-talk, which He continues through the Luke 14:24. Though He knew that He was being watched, nothing could stanch His power and love. If men care for their beasts, how much more will Christ care for men! [source]

Chapter Summary: Luke 13

1  Jesus preaches repentance upon the punishment of the Galilaeans and others
6  The fruitless fig tree may not stand
10  He heals the crooked woman;
18  shows the powerful working of the word, by the parable of the grain of mustard seed,
20  and of leaven;
22  exhorts to enter in at the strait gate;
31  and reproves Herod and Jerusalem

Greek Commentary for Luke 13:33

The day following [τηι εχομενηι]
See note on Acts 20:15. The same as the third day in Luke 13:32. A proverb. [source]
It cannot be [ουκ ενδεχεται]
It is not accepted, it is inadmissible. A severely ironical indictment of Jerusalem. The shadow of the Cross reaches Perea where Jesus now is as he starts toward Jerusalem. [source]
It cannot be [οὐκ ἐνδέχεται]
The verb means to accept or admit; so that the sense is, “it is not admissible that.” The expression is ironical and hyperbolical, with reference to Jerusalem as having a monopoly of such martyrdoms. “It would be contrary to use and wont, and, in a manner, to theocratic decorum, if such a prophet as I should perish elsewhere than in Jerusalem” (Godet). [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Luke 13:33

Mark 1:38 Into the next towns [εις τας εχομενας κωμοπολεις]
It was a surprising decision for Jesus to leave the eager, excited throngs in Capernaum for the country town or village cities without walls or much importance. Only instance of the word in the N.T. Late Greek word. The use of εχομενας — echomenas for next is a classic use meaning clinging to, next to a thing. So in Luke 13:33; Acts 13:44; Acts 20:15; Hebrews 6:9. “D” here has εγγυς — eggus (near). [source]
Luke 2:49 Must [δεῖ]
Lit., it is necessary, or it behoves. A word often used by Jesus concerning his own appointed work, and expressing both the inevitable fulfilment of the divine counsels and the absolute constraint of the principle of duty upon himself. See Matthew 16:21; Matthew 26:54; Mark 8:31; Luke 4:43; Luke 9:22; Luke 13:33; Luke 24:7, Luke 24:26, Luke 24:46; John 3:14; John 4:4; John 12:34. [source]
Luke 17:1 Impossible [ἀνένδεκτον]
Inadmissible. Only here in New Testament. See on it cannot be, Luke 13:33. [source]
Luke 17:1 It is impossible [ανενδεκτον εστιν]
See ουκ ενδεχεται — ouk endechetai in Luke 13:33. Alpha privative (αν — an -) and ενδεκτος — endektos verbal adjective, from ενδεχομαι — endechomai The word occurs only in late Greek and only here in the N.T. The meaning is inadmissible, unallowable. [source]
Acts 13:44 The next Sabbath [τωι ερχομενωι σαββατωι]
Locative case, on the coming (ερχομενωι — erchomenōi present middle participle of ερχομαι — erchomai) Sabbath. So the best MSS., though some have εχομενωι — echomeni (present middle participle of εχω — echō in sense of near, bordering, following as in Luke 13:33). [source]
Hebrews 6:9 That accompany salvation [ἐχόμενα σωτηρίας]
Ἔχεσθαι with a genitive is a common Greek idiom meaning to hold one's self to a person or thing; hence to be closely joined to it. So in a local sense, Mark 1:38; in a temporal sense, Luke 13:33, next. He is persuaded that they will give heed to all things which attend the work of salvation and will enjoy all that attaches to a saved condition. [source]

What do the individual words in Luke 13:33 mean?

But it behooves Me today and tomorrow the [day] following to proceed for not it is possible [for] a prophet to perish outside of Jerusalem
πλὴν δεῖ με σήμερον καὶ αὔριον τῇ ἐχομένῃ πορεύεσθαι ὅτι οὐκ ἐνδέχεται προφήτην ἀπολέσθαι ἔξω Ἰερουσαλήμ

δεῖ  it  behooves 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: δεῖ  
Sense: it is necessary, there is need of, it behooves, is right and proper.
με  Me 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Accusative 1st Person Singular
Root: ἐγώ  
Sense: I, me, my.
σήμερον  today 
Parse: Adverb
Root: σήμερον  
Sense: this (very) day).
αὔριον  tomorrow 
Parse: Adverb
Root: αὔριον  
Sense: tomorrow.
τῇ  the  [day] 
Parse: Article, Dative Feminine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
ἐχομένῃ  following 
Parse: Verb, Present Participle Middle or Passive, Dative Feminine Singular
Root: ἔχω  
Sense: to have, i.e. to hold.
πορεύεσθαι  to  proceed 
Parse: Verb, Present Infinitive Middle or Passive
Root: πορεύομαι  
Sense: to lead over, carry over, transfer.
ἐνδέχεται  it  is  possible  [for] 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Middle or Passive, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ἐνδέχομαι  
Sense: to receive, admit, approve, allow.
προφήτην  a  prophet 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Masculine Singular
Root: προφήτης  
Sense: in Greek writings, an interpreter of oracles or of other hidden things.
ἀπολέσθαι  to  perish 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Infinitive Middle
Root: ἀπόλλυμι  
Sense: to destroy.
ἔξω  outside  of 
Parse: Preposition
Root: ἔξω  
Sense: without, out of doors.
Ἰερουσαλήμ  Jerusalem 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Feminine Singular
Root: Ἰερουσαλήμ  
Sense: denotes either the city itself or the inhabitants.