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Passage

Luke 13.4-5

Book: Luke · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV

2. And he answered and said unto them, Think ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they have suffered these things? 3. I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all in like manner perish.

4. Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and killed them, think ye that they were offenders above all the men that dwell in Jerusalem? 5. I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

  1. And he spake this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came seeking fruit thereon, and found none. 7. And he said unto the vinedresser, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why doth it also cumber the ground? (Luke 13:2-7, ASV)
WEB

2. Jesus answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered such things? 3. I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all perish in the same way.

4. Or those eighteen, on whom the tower in Siloam fell, and killed them; do you think that they were worse offenders than all the men who dwell in Jerusalem? 5. I tell you, no, but, unless you repent, you will all perish in the same way.”

  1. He spoke this parable. “A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it, and found none. 7. He said to the vine dresser, ‘Behold, these three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and found none. Cut it down. Why does it waste the soil?’ (Luke 13:2-7, WEB)
KJV

2. And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things? 3. I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

4. Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? sinners: or, debtors 5. I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

  1. He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. 7. Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground? (Luke 13:2-7, KJV)
YLT

2. and Jesus answering said to them, 'Think ye that these Galileans became sinners beyond all the Galileans, because they have suffered such things? 3. No, I say to you, but, if ye may not reform, all ye even so shall perish.

4. 'Or those eighteen, on whom the tower in Siloam fell, and killed them; think ye that these became debtors beyond all men who are dwelling in Jerusalem? 5. No, I say to you, but, if ye may not reform, all ye in like manner shall perish.'

  1. And he spake this simile: 'A certain one had a fig-tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit in it, and he did not find; 7. and he said unto the vine-dresser, Lo, three years I come seeking fruit in this fig-tree, and do not find, cut it off, why also the ground doth it render useless? (Luke 13:2-7, YLT)

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Setting

  • Speaker: Jesus
  • Audience: "some present at that very season" who had told him about the Galilaeans "whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices" (13:1), with the crowds of 12:54 still around him
  • Location: On the journey toward Jerusalem that begins in 9:51 (see 13:22). Luke names no place for this exchange. Siloam was in Jerusalem (compare the pool of Siloam, John 9:7).
  • Time period: Late in Jesus' ministry, around AD 30. Neither the Pilate incident nor the fall of the tower is recorded outside Luke.

Theological reading

"Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and killed them, think ye that they were offenders above all the men that dwell in Jerusalem? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish." Jesus has already answered the report about Pilate (13:2-3). He now raises a second case himself.

Two kinds of disaster. The Galilaeans died by a ruler's cruelty. The eighteen died when a tower fell. One is an evil done by a person, the other an accident. Jesus treats them together and gives the same answer to both.

He denies the inference. "Offenders" is opheiletai (Strong's G3781), literally "debtors," as the KJV margin notes. The assumption Jesus rejects is that the people a disaster falls on owed more than others. His answer is "Nay." The same refusal appears in John 9:2-3, where the disciples ask who sinned that a man was born blind, and Jesus answers, "Neither did this man sin, nor his parents." Jesus does not explain why these eighteen died. He forbids the hearers from explaining it by their guilt.

He turns the question around. "Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish." The hearers asked about others; Jesus answers about them. The point is not that the victims were innocent of all sin, but that the hearers are no safer. The parable that follows (13:6-9) adds a note of patience with a limit: the vinedresser asks for the barren fig tree, "let it alone this year also" (13:8). See Why Doesn't God Intervene Objection Defeater.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word.

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Concepts:

Lexicon:

Notes

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Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

  • ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
  • WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
  • KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
  • YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.