Luke 7:33

33 For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’

Luke 7:33 in Other Translations

King James Version (KJV)
33 For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine; and ye say, He hath a devil.
English Standard Version (ESV)
33 For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, 'He has a demon.'
New Living Translation (NLT)
33 For John the Baptist didn’t spend his time eating bread or drinking wine, and you say, ‘He’s possessed by a demon.’
The Message Bible (MSG)
33 John the Baptizer came fasting and you called him crazy.
American Standard Version (ASV)
33 For John the Baptist is come eating no bread nor drinking wine; and ye say, He hath a demon.
GOD'S WORD Translation (GW)
33 John the Baptizer has come neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, 'There's a demon in him!'
Holman Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
33 For John the Baptist did not come eating bread or drinking wine, and you say, 'He has a demon!'
New International Reader's Version (NIRV)
33 "That is how it has been with John the Baptist. When he came to you, he didn't eat bread or drink wine. And you say, 'He has a demon.'

Luke 7:33 Meaning and Commentary

Luke 7:33

For John the Baptist
Who is designed by the children that mourned in the above simile, with whom his character and conduct agree; he preached very mournful doctrine, delivered it in a very solemn and awful manner, and lived a very austere life, and fasted much, as did also his disciples. The word "Baptist" is here added by Luke, which Matthew has not, to distinguish him from others; and it may be, because he had just spoke of his baptism. The Persic version only reads, "the Baptist"; of him our Lord says, that he

came neither eating bread, nor drinking wine;
which were the common food and drink of men, but his diet were locusts and wild honey, and from this he often abstained; nor would he attend festivals and entertainments, or be free and sociable with men: "bread" and "wine" are here mentioned, which are not in Matthew:

and ye say, he hath a devil;
is mad, or melancholy; for madness and melancholy, or the hypochondriac disorder, was by them sometimes imputed to a diabolical possession, and influence, as the cause of it; and though these men pretended to great austerity of life, and frequent fastings, yet John was too abstemious for them, and they could not agree with his doctrine nor method of living; (See Gill on Matthew 12:18).

Luke 7:33 In-Context

31 Jesus went on to say, “To what, then, can I compare the people of this generation? What are they like?
32 They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to each other: “ ‘We played the pipe for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not cry.’
33 For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’
34 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’
35 But wisdom is proved right by all her children.”

Cross References 1

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