The Meaning of Luke 18:20 Explained

Luke 18:20

KJV: Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother.

YLT: the commands thou hast known: Thou mayest not commit adultery, Thou mayest do no murder, Thou mayest not steal, Thou mayest not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother.'

Darby: Thou knowest the commandments: Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother.

ASV: Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor thy father and mother.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Thou knowest  the commandments,  Do  not  commit adultery,  Do  not  kill,  Do  not  steal,  Do  not  bear false witness,  Honour  thy  father  and  thy  mother. 

What does Luke 18:20 Mean?

Context Summary

Luke 18:18-30 - The One Thing Needful
The young ruler was a man of irreproachable character. He might have said of himself all that the Apostle Paul says in Philippians 3:4, etc. But he was restless and unsatisfied. He felt that Jesus had the key to a life deeper than he had experienced, and he longed to possess it. He was so much in earnest that he knelt in the crowded thoroughfare before the despised Nazarene, Mark 10:17.
He did not know himself. He thought he possessed that love which fulfills the Law, Romans 13:10. Our Lord desired to prove to him that he was deficient in that love, and therefore could not have the eternal life which is love. He did this by suggesting that the young ruler should renounce all and accompany Him in a self-giving for others that must end in a cross. But he shrank back. He dared not face a life of simple faith in God for the supply of temporal needs, and of absolute self-giving to a cross. For all who dare this, whatever is right and good is given back to be held and used under God's direction. [source]

Chapter Summary: Luke 18

1  Of the importunate widow
9  Of the Pharisee and the tax collector
15  Of Children brought to Jesus
18  A ruler would follow Jesus, but is hindered by his riches
28  The reward of those who leave all for his sake
31  He foretells his death;
35  and restores a blind man to sight

Greek Commentary for Luke 18:20

Why callest thou me good? []
See on Matthew 19:17. [source]
Do not commit adultery, etc []
Compare the different arrangement of the commandments by the three synoptists. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Luke 18:20

Romans 13:9 Thou shalt not commit adultery, etc. []
Omit thou shalt not bear false witness. The seventh commandment precedes the sixth, as in Mark 10:19; Luke 18:20; James 2:11. [source]
Romans 13:9 For this [το γαρ]
For the article (το — to) pointing to a sentence see note on Romans 8:26, here to the quotation. The order of the commandments here is like that in Luke 18:20; James 2:11 and in B for Deuteronomy 5, but different from that of the Hebrew in Ex 20; Deuteronomy 5. The use of ου — ou with the volitive future in prohibitions in place of μη — mē and the imperative or subjunctive is a regular Greek idiom. [source]
James 2:11 He that said [ο ειπων]
The unity of the law lies in the Lawgiver who spoke both prohibitions The order here is that of B in Exod 20 (Luke 18:20; Romans 13:9), but not in Matthew 5:21, Matthew 5:27 (with ει δε ου μοιχευεισ πονευεις δε — ou and future indicative). [source]

What do the individual words in Luke 18:20 mean?

The commandments You know Not shall you commit adultery shall you murder shall you steal shall you bear false witness you shall honor the father of you and the mother
τὰς ἐντολὰς οἶδας Μὴ μοιχεύσῃς φονεύσῃς κλέψῃς ψευδομαρτυρήσῃς Τίμα τὸν πατέρα σου καὶ τὴν μητέρα

ἐντολὰς  commandments 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Plural
Root: ἐντολή  
Sense: an order, command, charge, precept, injunction.
οἶδας  You  know 
Parse: Verb, Perfect Indicative Active, 2nd Person Singular
Root: οἶδα  
Sense: to see.
μοιχεύσῃς  shall  you  commit  adultery 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Subjunctive Active, 2nd Person Singular
Root: μοιχεύω  
Sense: to commit adultery.
φονεύσῃς  shall  you  murder 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Subjunctive Active, 2nd Person Singular
Root: φονεύω  
Sense: to kill, slay, murder.
κλέψῃς  shall  you  steal 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Subjunctive Active, 2nd Person Singular
Root: κλέπτω  
Sense: to steal.
ψευδομαρτυρήσῃς  shall  you  bear  false  witness 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Subjunctive Active, 2nd Person Singular
Root: ψευδομαρτυρέω  
Sense: to utter falsehoods in giving testimony, to testify falsely, to bear false witness.
Τίμα  you  shall  honor 
Parse: Verb, Present Imperative Active, 2nd Person Singular
Root: τιμάω  
Sense: to estimate, fix the value.
πατέρα  father 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Masculine Singular
Root: προπάτωρ 
Sense: generator or male ancestor.
σου  of  you 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive 2nd Person Singular
Root: σύ  
Sense: you.
μητέρα  mother 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: μήτηρ  
Sense: a mother.