Luke 11:47 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed.

NIV: "Woe to you, because you build tombs for the prophets, and it was your ancestors who killed them.

NASB: Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets, and it was your fathers who killed them.

CSB: "Woe to you! You build tombs for the prophets, and your fathers killed them.

NLT: What sorrow awaits you! For you build monuments for the prophets your own ancestors killed long ago.

KJV: Woe unto you! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.

NKJV: Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.

Having told the lawyers that they burden the people with regulations God did not ordain and the people cannot fulfill (Luke 11:46), Jesus goes into an extended argument. He says the lawyers are as guilty of killing prophets as those in the Old Testament who physically committed the crime. The amount of time Jesus spends on this idea reflects its importance to Him (Luke 11:48–52).

The term "tombs of the prophets" is typically interpreted metaphorically, but it need not be. There is a complex called the Tombs of the Prophets which is thought to hold the remains of Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi on the Mount of Olives. According to scholars Gideon Avni and Boaz Zissu, the original chamber reflects second temple architecture and is thought to have been built in the first century BC. It's very possible that Jesus is referring to this burial site. Jewish tradition says that Haggai and Malachi died of natural causes. Zechariah, however, was murdered by the king to whom God had sent him to chastise for idolatry (2 Chronicles 24:1–22).

Jesus may be using this fact to reveal the lawyers' hypocrisy. All of God's prophets spoke His divine revelation and many were murdered for it, such as Jeremiah. The point is that some prophets were honored—even in death—while others were murdered. Most recently, John the Baptist was executed for speaking God's truth (Mark 6:14–29).

Jesus also foretells His own death, here, as Stephen explains in his last confession:

You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it. (Acts 7:51–53)

The religious leaders claim that Jesus' power comes from Beelzebul, but they don't know the difference between righteousness and unrighteousness (Luke 11:14–15). They claim to be experts in the Mosaic law, but they reject the prophets.

The King James Version uses "sepulchres" instead of tombs. It refers to a small room cut out of stone or built with stones where a body lies, which fits the description of burial practices at the time.

Jesus says something similar in Matthew 23:29–30.

Luke 11:45–52 comes after descriptions of the cruelty and pride of the Pharisees (Luke 11:39–44). Now, Jesus turns to the lawyers—the experts in the Mosaic law. Greed and wickedness revealed the Pharisees to be like tombs: clean on the outside and filled with death on the inside. The lawyers are said to fill tombs by rejecting God's prophets. In response, the scribes and Pharisees conspire to destroy Jesus (Luke 11:53–54). In the next section, Jesus gives His disciples instructions on how to reject the world and persevere for the sake of the kingdom of God (Luke 12:1—13:9). Jesus will cover this judgment again in Matthew 23.

In what some scholars refer to as "The Travelogue to Jerusalem" (Luke 9:51—19:27), Jesus prepares His disciples for His crucifixion and resurrection and the establishment of the church. The description begins with Christ teaching the disciples how to spread the news of the kingdom of God and reaffirming how they will be blessed, culminating in the Lord's Prayer (Luke 9:51—11:13). Luke 11 finishes with accounts of leaders who reject Jesus. The remainder of the travelogue gives a pattern of teaching on the kingdom of God, miracles, and explanations of salvation. Then Jesus enters Jerusalem to face the cross.

Luke was a traveling companion of Paul (Acts 16:10) and a physician (Colossians 4:14). Unlike Matthew, Mark, and John, Luke writes his gospel as an historian, rather than as a first-hand eyewitness. His extensive writings also include the book of Acts (Acts 1:1–3). These are deliberately organized, carefully researched accounts of those events. The gospel of Luke focuses on the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ. Luke's Gentile perspective presents Christ as a Savior for all people, offering both forgiveness and direction to those who follow Him.