Luke 17:23

23 And they will say to you, 'Behold, there!' 'Behold, here!' Do not go out or run after [them]!

Luke 17:23 Meaning and Commentary

Luke 17:23

And they shall say unto you, see here, or see there
That is, there is Christ; and in two of Beza's exemplars, the word Christ is added as in ( Matthew 24:23 ) from whence it seems to be transcribed: and the sense is, it shall be said by one or another; Christ is in such a place, or he is in such a place, and he will quickly appear, and deliver the people of the Jews out of all their distresses and calamities by the Romans,

Go not after them nor follow [them]:
the last clause, "nor follow them", is left out in the Syriac and Persic versions; the meaning is, give no credit to them; as if Christ was come again in person, and was in such a place, do not go along with them, where they direct, as into the desert, or into the secret chambers; for to follow them will be very dangerous, of bad consequence, as well as vain and fruitless; see ( Acts 5:36 Acts 5:37 ) .

Luke 17:23 In-Context

21 nor will they say, 'Behold, here [it is]!' or 'There!' For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst."
22 And he said to the disciples, "Days will come when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see [it].
23 And they will say to you, 'Behold, there!' 'Behold, here!' Do not go out or run after [them]!
24 For just as the lightning shines forth, flashing from [one place] under heaven to [another place] under heaven, so the Son of Man will be in his day.
25 But first it is necessary [for] him to suffer many [things], and to be rejected by this generation.

Footnotes 2

  • [a]. Some manuscripts have " 'Behold, there!' or 'Behold, here!'"
  • [b]. *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
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