Luke 13:34

34 "¹O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, ²just * as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not have it!

Luke 13:34 Meaning and Commentary

Luke 13:34

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets
These words, with what follow, as they stand in ( Matthew 23:37-39 ) were delivered by Christ, when he was in the temple at Jerusalem; but here they were spoken by him when in Galilee, in Herod's jurisdiction; so that it appears, that the same words were spoken by Christ at different times, in different places, and to different persons: unless it can be thought, that Luke transcribed them from Matthew, and inserts them here, on occasion of Christ's having mentioned the perishing of a prophet in Jerusalem; where many had been killed and put to death, in one way or another, and particularly in the following:

and stonest them that are sent unto thee;
as Zechariah, ( 2 Chronicles 24:20-22 )

how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen
doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not?
and therefore ought not to have been condemned as a false prophet by their sanhedrim, as he suggests he should be, and as he afterwards was; (See Gill on Matthew 23:37).

Luke 13:34 In-Context

32 And He said to them, "Go and tell that fox, 'Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I reach My goal.'

33 "Nevertheless I must journey on today and tomorrow and the next day; for it cannot be that a prophet would perish outside of Jerusalem.

34 "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, just as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not have it!

35 "Behold, your house is left to you desolate; and I say to you, you will not see Me until the time comes when you say, 'BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD !' "

Cross References

• 1. Luke 13:34, 35: {Matthew 23:37-39;} Luke 19:41
• 2. Matthew 23:37