^20:1Now one¹ day, as Jesus² was teaching the people in the temple courts³ and proclaiming⁴ the gospel, the chief priests and the experts in the law⁵ with the elders came up⁶^20:2and said to him,⁷ “Tell us: By what authority⁸ are you doing these things?⁹ Or who it is who gave you this authority?” ^20:3He answered them,¹⁰ “I will also ask you a question, and you tell me: ^20:4John’s baptism¹¹—was it from heaven or from people?”¹²^20:5So¹³ they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ ^20:6But if we say, ‘From people,’ all the people will stone us, because they are convinced that John was a prophet.” ^20:7So¹⁴ they replied that they did not know¹⁵ where it came from. ^20:8Then¹⁶ Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you¹⁷ by whose authority¹⁸ I do these things.”

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Footnotes

1 Grk “Now it happened that one.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated. Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
2 Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3 Grk “the temple.”
4 Or “preaching.”
5 Or “and the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in .
6 The chief priests and the experts in the law with the elders came up. The description is similar to Luke 19:47. The leaders are really watching Jesus at this point.
7 Grk “and said, saying to him.” This is redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation.
8 On this phrase, see ποῖος 2.a.γ.
9 The leadership is looking back to acts like the temple cleansing (19:45–48). How could a Galilean preacher do these things?
10 Grk “answering, he said to them.” This is redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation.
11 John, like Jesus, was not a part of the official rabbinic order. So the question “John’s baptism—was it from heaven or from men?” draws an analogy between John the Baptist and Jesus. See Luke 3:1–20; 7:24–27. The phrase John’s baptism refers to the baptism practiced by John.
12 The plural Greek term ἀνθρώπων (anthrōpōn) is used here (and in v. 6) in a generic sense, referring to both men and women (cf. , , “of human origin”; , “from human beings”; , “merely human”). The question is whether John’s ministry was of divine or human origin.
13 Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of Jesus’ question.
14 Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the dilemma Jesus’ opponents faced.
15 Very few questions could have so completely revealed the wicked intentions of the religious leaders. Jesus’ question revealed the motivation of the religious leaders and exposed them for what they really were—hypocrites. They indicted themselves when they cited only two options and chose neither of them. The point of Luke 20:1–8 is that no matter what Jesus said in response to their question they were not going to believe it and would in the end use it against him.
16 Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
17 Neither will I tell you. Though Jesus gave no answer, the analogy he used to their own question makes his view clear. His authority came from heaven.
18 On this phrase, see ποῖος 2.a.γ. This is exactly the same phrase as in v. 2.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

One day, as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders came up and said to him, “Tell us by what authority you do these things, or who it is that gave you this authority.” He answered them, “I also will ask you a question. Now tell me, was the baptism of John from heaven or from man?” And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From man,’ all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was a prophet.” So they answered that they did not know where it came from. And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

NIVNew International Version (2011)

One day as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple courts and proclaiming the good news, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, together with the elders, came up to him. “Tell us by what authority you are doing these things,” they said. “Who gave you this authority?”

He replied, “I will also ask you a question. Tell me: John’s baptism—was it from heaven, or of human origin?”

They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Why didn’t you believe him?’ But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ all the people will stone us, because they are persuaded that John was a prophet.”

So they answered, “We don’t know where it was from.”

Jesus said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

CSBChristian Standard Bible

One day as he was teaching the people in the temple and proclaiming the good news, the chief priests and the scribes, with the elders, came and said to him, “Tell us, by what authority are you doing these things? Who is it who gave you this authority?”

He answered them, “I will also ask you a question. Tell me, was the baptism of John from heaven or of human origin?”

They discussed it among themselves: “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why didn’t you believe him?’ But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ all the people will stone us, because they are convinced that John was a prophet.” So they answered that they did not know its origin.

And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

NLTNew Living Translation

One day as Jesus was teaching the people and preaching the Good News in the Temple, the leading priests, the teachers of religious law, and the elders came up to him. They demanded, “By what authority are you doing all these things? Who gave you the right?”

“Let me ask you a question first,” he replied. “Did John’s authority to baptize come from heaven, or was it merely human?”

They talked it over among themselves. “If we say it was from heaven, he will ask why we didn’t believe John. But if we say it was merely human, the people will stone us because they are convinced John was a prophet.” So they finally replied that they didn’t know.

And Jesus responded, “Then I won’t tell you by what authority I do these things.”

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

And it happened that on one of the days while he was teaching the people in the temple courts and proclaiming the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes approached together with the elders and said, saying to him, “Tell us, by what authority you are doing these things, or who is the one who gave you this authority? And he answered and said to them, “I also will ask you a question, and you tell me: The baptism of John—was it from heaven or from men? And they discussed this with one another, saying, “If we say ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us to death, because they are convinced that John was a prophet.” And they replied that they did not know where it was from. And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

KJV 1900King James Version

And it came to pass, that on one of those days, as he taught the people in the temple, and preached the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes came upon him with the elders, And spake unto him, saying, Tell us, by what authority doest thou these things? or who is he that gave thee this authority? And he answered and said unto them, I will also ask you one thing; and answer me: The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then believed ye him not? But and if we say, Of men; all the people will stone us: for they be persuaded that John was a prophet. And they answered, that they could not tell whence it was. And Jesus said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.

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