Luke 4:25

ESV But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land,

NIV I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land.

NASB But I say to you in truth, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up for three years and six months, when a severe famine came over all the land;

CSB But I say to you, there were certainly many widows in Israel in Elijah’s days, when the sky was shut up for three years and six months while a great famine came over all the land.

NLT Certainly there were many needy widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the heavens were closed for three and a half years, and a severe famine devastated the land.

KJV But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land;

NKJV But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land;

What does Luke 4:25 mean?

When Jesus arrives in His childhood hometown, the people struggle to believe He's anything more than another common Nazarene (Luke 4:22; Matthew 13:55; Mark 6:1–4). Jesus points out that this is a common problem for mankind (Luke 4:24). His former neighbors are stubbornly skeptical, but not hostile—yet.

Here, Jesus begins to point out that Israel has not always listened to God's messengers. When that happens, God sometimes sends those messengers to Gentiles (Luke 4:26–27). In Jesus' era, there was a heightened sense of angst against non-Jews. This was mostly thanks to the Roman occupation of Jerusalem and Judea. As soon as Jesus implies that God is willing to speak to Gentiles just as much as the Jews, the crowd will attack Him in a rage (Luke 4:28–30). Paul, speaking in Jerusalem, would suffer a similar reaction when speaking well of Gentiles (Acts 22:21–22).

The example Jesus uses here is recorded in 1 Kings chapter 17. As explained in the next verse (Luke 4:26), during a severe drought, the prophet Elijah was sent outside of Israel to perform miracles (1 Kings 17:14–16; 22–24).

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Context Summary
Luke 4:14–30 records the earliest days of Jesus' public ministry. He begins teaching in synagogues before returning to His hometown of Nazareth. There, He reads a prophecy from Isaiah and claims that He has fulfilled it. When those familiar with Him imply that Jesus has no place making such claims, Jesus implies that God will send signs to Gentiles if Israel refuses to believe. This results in an uproar, though Jesus makes what seems to be a miraculous escape.

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Chapter Summary
Jesus is taken into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit. While fasting there, He is tempted by Satan. These temptations share an element of ignoring God in favor of what seems easier or quicker. Jesus resists all of these, citing Scripture as He does. When Jesus returns, He preaches and heals to great publicity in Judea and Galilee. While His hometown responds with stubborn skepticism, others are eager to hear His teaching and experience His miraculous power.

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