Luke 22:38

38 The disciples said, "Look! Here are two swords, Lord!" "That is enough!" he replied.

Luke 22:38 Meaning and Commentary

Luke 22:38

And they said, Lord, behold here are two swords
That is, the disciples said so, as the Persic version expresses it; for they understood Christ's words literally; and two swords being among them, and which they might bring with them from Galilee, to defend themselves from thieves, and robbers, which infested the roads between that country and Jerusalem; and one of these, as appears afterwards, belonged to Peter; they mention them with a desire of knowing they were sufficient, or whether they must provide themselves with more:

and he said unto them, it is enough;
or, "they are sufficient", as the Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions render it; which must be understood either ironically; yes, two swords, to be sure, are sufficient for eleven men, and against many and powerful enemies: or his meaning is, they were sufficient to answer his purpose, and be an emblem of what he designed by the sword: or this was a short way of speaking, suggesting their stupidity and ignorance: it is enough, it is very well, I perceive you do not understand my meaning, and I shall say no more at present.

Luke 22:38 In-Context

36 "But now," Jesus said, "whoever has a purse or a bag must take it; and whoever does not have a sword must sell his coat and buy one.
37 For I tell you that the scripture which says, "He shared the fate of criminals,' must come true about me, because what was written about me is coming true."
38 The disciples said, "Look! Here are two swords, Lord!" "That is enough!" he replied.
39 Jesus left the city and went, as he usually did, to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples went with him.
40 When he arrived at the place, he said to them, "Pray that you will not fall into temptation."

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. That is enough; [or] Enough of this.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.