Luke 11:47-54

11:47 Woe to you! You build ¹  the tombs of the prophets whom your ancestors ²  killed. 11:48 So you testify that you approve of ³  the deeds of your ancestors, ⁴  because they killed the prophets ⁵  and you build their ⁶  tombs! ⁷  11:49 For this reason also the wisdom ⁸  of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,’ 11:50 so that this generation may be held accountable ⁹  for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning ¹⁰  of the world, ¹¹  11:51 from the blood of Abel ¹²  to the blood of Zechariah, ¹³  who was killed ¹⁴  between the altar and the sanctuary. ¹⁵  Yes, I tell you, it will be charged against ¹⁶  this generation. 11:52 Woe to you experts in religious law! You have taken away ¹⁷  the key to knowledge! You did not go in yourselves, and you hindered ¹⁸  those who were going in.”

11:53 When he went out from there, the experts in the law ¹⁹  and the Pharisees began to oppose him bitterly, ²⁰  and to ask him hostile questions ²¹  about many things, 11:54 plotting against ²²  him, to catch ²³  him in something he might say.

¹ sn The effect of what the experts in the law were doing was to deny the message of the prophets and thus honor their death by supporting those who had sought their removal. The charge that this is what previous generations did shows the problem is chronic. As T. W. Manson said, the charge here is “The only prophet you honor is a dead prophet!” (The Sayings of Jesus, 101).

² tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

³ tn Grk “you are witnesses and approve of.”

⁴ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

⁵ tn Grk “them”; the referent (the prophets) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁶ tn “Their,” i.e., the prophets.

⁷ tc The majority of mss list a specific object (“their tombs”), filling out the sentence (although there are two different words for “tombs” among the mss, as well as different word orders: αὐτῶν τὰ μνημεῖα (autwn ta mnhmeia; found in A C W Θ Ψ 33 Ï) and τοὺς τάφους αὐτῶν (tou" tafou" autwn; found in Ë^1,[13] 2542 pc). This suggests that early copyists had no term in front of them but felt the verb needed an object. But since a wide distribution of early Alexandrian and Western mss lack these words (Ì⁷⁵ א B D L 579 1241 it sa), it is likely that they were not part of the original text of Luke. Nevertheless, the words “their tombs” are inserted in the translation because of requirements of English style.

⁸ sn The expression the wisdom of God is a personification of an attribute of God that refers to his wise will.

⁹ tn Or “that this generation may be charged with”; or “the blood of all the prophets… may be required from this generation.” This is a warning of judgment. These people are responsible for the shedding of prophetic blood.

¹⁰ tn Or “foundation.” However, this does not suggest a time to the modern reader.

¹¹ tn The order of the clauses in this complicated sentence has been rearranged to simplify it for the modern reader.

¹² sn Gen 4:10 indicates that Abel’s blood cried out for justice.

¹³ sn It is not clear which Zechariah is meant here. It is probably the person mentioned in 2 Chr 24:20-25.

¹⁴ tn Or “who perished.”

¹⁵ tn Or “and the temple”; Grk “and the house,” but in this context a reference to the house of God as a place of sanctuary.

¹⁶ tn Or “required from.”

¹⁷ sn You have taken away the key to knowledge is another stinging rebuke. They had done the opposite of what they were trying to do.

¹⁸ tn Or “you tried to prevent.”

¹⁹ tn Or “the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 5:21.

²⁰ tn Or “terribly.”

²¹ tn For this term see L&N 33.183.

²² tn Grk “lying in ambush against,” but this is a figurative extension of that meaning.

²³ tn This term was often used in a hunting context (BDAG 455 s.v. θηρεύω; L&N 27.30). Later examples of this appear in Luke 20.