^7:24When⁸⁶ John’s messengers had gone, Jesus⁸⁷ began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness⁸⁸ to see? A reed shaken by the wind?⁸⁹^7:25What⁹⁰ did you go out to see? A man dressed in fancy⁹¹ clothes?⁹² Look, those who wear fancy clothes and live in luxury⁹³ are in kings’ courts!⁹⁴^7:26What did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more⁹⁵ than a prophet. ^7:27This is the one about whom it is written, ‘Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,⁹⁶ who will prepare your way before you.’⁹⁷^7:28I tell you, among those born of women no one is greater⁹⁸ than John.⁹⁹ Yet the one who is least¹⁰⁰ in the kingdom of God¹⁰¹ is greater than he is.” ^7:29(Now¹⁰² all the people who heard this, even the tax collectors,¹⁰³ acknowledged¹⁰⁴ God’s justice, because they had been baptized¹⁰⁵ with John’s baptism. ^7:30However, the Pharisees¹⁰⁶ and the experts in religious law¹⁰⁷ rejected God’s purpose¹⁰⁸ for themselves, because they had not been baptized¹⁰⁹ by John.¹¹⁰)¹¹¹

Read in Logos

Footnotes

86 Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
87 Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
88 Or “desert.”
89 There is a debate as to whether one should read this figuratively (“to see someone who is easily blown over?”) or literally (Grk “to see the wilderness vegetation?… No, to see a prophet”). Either view makes good sense, but the following examples suggest the question should be read literally and understood to point to the fact that a prophet drew them to the desert.
90 Grk “But what.” Here ἀλλά (alla, a strong contrastive in Greek) produces a somewhat awkward sense in English, and has not been translated. The same situation occurs at the beginning of v. 26.
91 Or “soft”; see L&N 79.100.
92 The reference to fancy clothes makes the point that John was not rich or powerful, in that he did not come from the wealthy classes.
93 See L&N 88.253, “to revel, to carouse, to live a life of luxury.”
94 Or “palaces.”
95 John the Baptist is “more” because he introduces the one (Jesus) who brings the new era. The term is neuter, but may be understood as masculine in this context ( περισσότερος b.).
96 Grk “before your face” (an idiom).
97 The quotation is primarily from Mal 3:1 with pronouns from Exod 23:20. Here is the forerunner who points the way to the arrival of God’s salvation. His job is to prepare and guide the people, as the cloud did for Israel in the desert.
98 In the Greek text greater is at the beginning of the clause in the emphatic position. John the Baptist was the greatest man of the old era.
99 The earliest and best read simply Ἰωάννου (Iōannou, “John”) here (𝔓75 א B L W Ξ f1 579 ). Others turn this into “John the Baptist” (K 33 565 al it), “the prophet John the Baptist” (A [D] Θ f13 𝔐 lat), or “the prophet John” (Ψ 700 [892 1241] ). “It appears that προφήτης was inserted by pedantic copyists who wished thereby to exclude Christ from the comparison, while others added τοῦ βαπτιστοῦ, assimilating the text to Mt 11:11” ( ).
100 After John comes a shift of eras. The new era is so great that the lowest member of it (the one who is least in the kingdom of God) is greater than the greatest one of the previous era.
101 The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus’ proclamation. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20–21. It is not strictly future, though its full manifestation is yet to come. That is why membership in it starts right after John the Baptist.
102 Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the parenthetical nature of the comment by the author.
103 See the note on tax collectors in .
104 Or “vindicated God”; Grk “justified God.” This could be expanded to “vindicated and responded to God.” The point is that God’s goodness and grace as evidenced in the invitation to John was justified and responded to by the group one might least expect, tax collector and sinners. They had more spiritual sensitivity than others. The contrastive response is clear from v. 30.
105 The participle βαπτισθέντες (baptisthentes) has been translated as a causal adverbial participle.
106 See the note on Pharisees in .
107 That is, the experts in the interpretation of the Mosaic law (see also Luke 5:17, although the Greek term is not identical there, and Luke 10:25, where it is the same).
108 Or “plan.”
109 The participle βαπτισθέντες (baptisthentes) has been translated as a causal adverbial participle; it could also be translated as means (“for themselves, by not having been baptized”). This is similar to the translation found in the .
110 Grk “by him”; the referent (John the Baptist) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
111 Luke 7:29–30 forms something of an aside by the author. To indicate this, they have been placed in parentheses.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

When John’s messengers had gone, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who are dressed in splendid clothing and live in luxury are in kings’ courts. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written,

“ ‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face,

who will prepare your way before you.’

I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” (When all the people heard this, and the tax collectors too, they declared God just, having been baptized with the baptism of John, but the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.)

NIVNew International Version (2011)

After John’s messengers left, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swayed by the wind? If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear expensive clothes and indulge in luxury are in palaces. But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written:

“ ‘I will send my messenger ahead of you,

who will prepare your way before you.’

I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”

(All the people, even the tax collectors, when they heard Jesus’ words, acknowledged that God’s way was right, because they had been baptized by John. But the Pharisees and the experts in the law rejected God’s purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John.)

CSBChristian Standard Bible

After John’s messengers left, he began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swaying in the wind? What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothes? See, those who are splendidly dressed and live in luxury are in royal palaces. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written:

See, I am sending my messenger

ahead of you;

he will prepare your way before you.

I tell you, among those born of women no one is greater than John, but the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”

(And when all the people, including the tax collectors, heard this, they acknowledged God’s way of righteousness, because they had been baptized with John’s baptism. But since the Pharisees and experts in the law had not been baptized by him, they rejected the plan of God for themselves.)

NLTNew Living Translation

After John’s disciples left, Jesus began talking about him to the crowds. “What kind of man did you go into the wilderness to see? Was he a weak reed, swayed by every breath of wind? Or were you expecting to see a man dressed in expensive clothes? No, people who wear beautiful clothes and live in luxury are found in palaces. Were you looking for a prophet? Yes, and he is more than a prophet. John is the man to whom the Scriptures refer when they say,

‘Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,

and he will prepare your way before you.’

I tell you, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John. Yet even the least person in the Kingdom of God is greater than he is!”

When they heard this, all the people—even the tax collectors—agreed that God’s way was right, for they had been baptized by John. But the Pharisees and experts in religious law rejected God’s plan for them, for they had refused John’s baptism.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

And when the messengers of John had departed, he began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who are in splendid clothing and luxury are in the royal palaces. But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and even more than a prophet! It is this man about whom it is written:

‘Behold, I am sending my messenger before your face,

who will prepare your way before you.’

I tell you, there is no one greater among those born of women than John, but the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he. (And all the people, when they heard this—even the tax collectors—affirmed the righteousness of God, because they had been baptized with the baptism of John, but the Pharisees and the legal experts rejected the purpose of God for themselves, because they had not been baptized by him.)

KJV 1900King James Version

And when the messengers of John were departed, he began to speak unto the people concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness for to see? A reed shaken with the wind? But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they which are gorgeously apparelled, and live delicately, are in kings’ courts. But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet. This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he. And all the people that heard him, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John. But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him.

Public Domain