The Meaning of Luke 14:35 Explained

Luke 14:35

KJV: It is neither fit for the land, nor yet for the dunghill; but men cast it out. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

YLT: neither for land nor for manure is it fit -- they cast it without. He who is having ears to hear -- let him hear.'

Darby: It is proper neither for land nor for dung; it is cast out. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

ASV: It is fit neither for the land nor for the dunghill: men cast it out. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

It is  neither  fit  for  the land,  nor yet  for  the dunghill;  [but] men cast  it  out.  He that hath  ears  to hear,  let him hear. 

What does Luke 14:35 Mean?

Context Summary

Luke 14:25-35 - The Cost Of Discipleship
Here we have our Lord's use of the winnowing-fan. Amid the teeming crowds He knew that there were many light and superficial souls who had not realized the cost involved in discipleship. Mark the thrice-repeated words-cannot be my disciple.
Our love must be greater than the ties of family affection, Luke 14:26; must be greater than our love for our own way, which must be nailed to the Cross, Luke 14:27; must be greater than our love of possessions and property, Luke 14:33. Christ has done more than any other teacher to cement the relationships of human love, but He always asks that they should be subordinated to the claims of God. Oh, for the love that Paul had! See Philippians 3:8.
What a comfort it is to realize that God counted the cost before He set about the task of redemption, whether of a world or of us as individuals. He knew all that it would cost, and surely He did not begin what He cannot complete! [source]

Chapter Summary: Luke 14

1  Jesus heals the dropsy on the Sabbath;
7  teaches humility;
12  to feast the poor;
15  under the parable of the great supper,
23  shows how worldly minded men shall be shut out of heaven
25  Those who will be his disciples, to bear their cross must make their accounts beforehand,
31  lest with shame they revolt from him afterward;
34  and become altogether unprofitable, like salt that has lost its flavor

Greek Commentary for Luke 14:35

Dunghill [κοπριαν]
Later word in the Koiné vernacular. Here only in the N.T., though in the lxx. [source]
Men cast it out [εχω βαλλουσιν αυτο]
Impersonal plural. This saying about salt is another of Christ‘s repeated sayings (Matthew 5:13; Mark 9:50). Another repeated saying is the one here about having ears to hear (Luke 8:8; Luke 14:35, Matthew 11:15; Matthew 13:43). [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Luke 14:35

Luke 14:35 Men cast it out [εχω βαλλουσιν αυτο]
Impersonal plural. This saying about salt is another of Christ‘s repeated sayings (Matthew 5:13; Mark 9:50). Another repeated saying is the one here about having ears to hear (Luke 8:8; Luke 14:35, Matthew 11:15; Matthew 13:43). [source]
Acts 27:12 Because the haven was not commodious to winter in [ανευτετου του λιμενος υπαρχοντος προς παραχειμασιαν]
Genitive absolute again present tense of υπαρχω — huparchō “The harbour being unfit (ανευτετου — aneuthetou this compound not yet found elsewhere, simplex in Luke 9:62; Luke 14:35; Hebrews 6:7) for wintering” (παραχειμασια — paracheimasia only here in N.T., but in Polybius and Diodorus, in an inscription a.d. 48, from παραχειμαζω — paracheimazō). [source]
Hebrews 6:7 Herbs [βοτάνην]
Grass, fodder. N.T.oMeet for them by whom it is dressed ( εὔθετον ἐκείνοις δι οὕς καὶ γεωργεῖται )For εὔθετον , lit. well placed, thence fit or appropriate, see Luke 9:62; Luke 14:35. Γεωργεῖν totill the ground, N.T.oRend. tilled. Dress is properly to trim. The natural result of the ground's receiving and absorbing the rains is fruitfulness, which redounds to the benefit of those who cultivate it. [source]
Hebrews 6:7 Grass, fodder. N.T.o Meet for them by whom it is dressed [εὔθετον ἐκείνοις δι οὕς καὶ γεωργεῖται]
For εὔθετον , lit. well placed, thence fit or appropriate, see Luke 9:62; Luke 14:35. Γεωργεῖν totill the ground, N.T.oRend. tilled. Dress is properly to trim. The natural result of the ground's receiving and absorbing the rains is fruitfulness, which redounds to the benefit of those who cultivate it. [source]
Revelation 2:7 He that hath an ear [ο εχων ους]
An individualizing note calling on each of the hearers (Revelation 1:3) to listen (Revelation 2:7, Revelation 2:11, Revelation 2:17, Revelation 2:28; Revelation 3:3, Revelation 3:6, Revelation 3:13, Revelation 3:22) and a reminiscence of the words of Jesus in the Synoptics (Matthew 11:15; Matthew 13:9, Matthew 13:43; Mark 4:9, Mark 4:23; Luke 8:8; Luke 14:35), but not in John‘s Gospel. [source]

What do the individual words in Luke 14:35 mean?

Neither for soil nor manure fit is it out they cast it The [one] having ears to hear let him hear
οὔτε εἰς γῆν οὔτε κοπρίαν εὔθετόν ἐστιν ἔξω βάλλουσιν αὐτό ἔχων ὦτα ἀκούειν ἀκουέτω

οὔτε  Neither 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: οὔτε  
Sense: neither, and not.
γῆν  soil 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: γῆ  
Sense: arable land.
οὔτε  nor 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: οὔτε  
Sense: neither, and not.
κοπρίαν  manure 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: κοπρία 
Sense: dung, manure.
εὔθετόν  fit 
Parse: Adjective, Nominative Neuter Singular
Root: εὔθετος  
Sense: well placed.
ἐστιν  is  it 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: εἰμί  
Sense: to be, to exist, to happen, to be present.
ἔξω  out 
Parse: Adverb
Root: ἔξω  
Sense: without, out of doors.
βάλλουσιν  they  cast 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 3rd Person Plural
Root: βάλλω 
Sense: to throw or let go of a thing without caring where it falls.
  The  [one] 
Parse: Article, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
ὦτα  ears 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Neuter Plural
Root: οὖς  
Sense: the ear.
ἀκούειν  to  hear 
Parse: Verb, Present Infinitive Active
Root: ἀκουστός 
Sense: to be endowed with the faculty of hearing, not deaf.
ἀκουέτω  let  him  hear 
Parse: Verb, Present Imperative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ἀκουστός 
Sense: to be endowed with the faculty of hearing, not deaf.