Luke 17

1 He said to the disciples, “It is impossible that no occasions of stumbling should come, but woe to him through whom they come!

2 It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, rather than that he should cause one of these little ones to stumble.

3 Be careful. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him. If he repents, forgive him.

4 If he sins against you seven times in the day, and seven times returns, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.”

5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.”

6 The Lord said, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you would tell this sycamore tree, ‘Be uprooted and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.

7 But who is there among you, having a servant plowing or keeping sheep, that will say when he comes in from the field, ‘Come immediately and sit down at the table’?

8 Wouldn’t he rather tell him, ‘Prepare my supper, clothe yourself properly, and serve me while I eat and drink. Afterward you shall eat and drink’?

9 Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded? I think not.

10 Even so you also, when you have done all the things that are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy servants. We have done our duty.’”

11 As he was on his way to Jerusalem, he was passing along the borders of Samaria and Galilee.

12 As he entered into a certain village, ten men who were lepers met him, who stood at a distance.

13 They lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”

14 When he saw them, he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” As they went, they were cleansed.

15 One of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice.

16 He fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks; and he was a Samaritan.

17 Jesus answered, “Weren’t the ten cleansed? But where are the nine?

18 Were there none found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner?”

19 Then he said to him, “Get up, and go your way. Your faith has healed you.”

20 Being asked by the Pharisees when God’s Kingdom would come, he answered them, “God’s Kingdom doesn’t come with observation;

21 neither will they say, ‘Look, here!’ or, ‘Look, there!’ for behold, God’s Kingdom is within you.”

22 He said to the disciples, “The 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 They will tell you, ‘Look, here!’ or ‘Look, there!’ Don’t go away or follow after them,

24 for as the lightning, when it flashes out of one part under the sky, shines to another part under the sky, so will the Son of Man be in his day.

25 But first, he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.

26 As it was in the days of Noah, even so it will also be in the days of the Son of Man.

27 They ate, they drank, they married, and they were given in marriage until the day that Noah entered into the ship, and the flood came and destroyed them all.

28 Likewise, even as it was in the days of Lot: they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built;

29 but in the day that Lot went out from Sodom, it rained fire and sulfur from the sky and destroyed them all.

30 It will be the same way in the day that the Son of Man is revealed.

31 In that day, he who will be on the housetop and his goods in the house, let him not go down to take them away. Let him who is in the field likewise not turn back.

32 Remember Lot’s wife!

33 Whoever seeks to save his life loses it, but whoever loses his life preserves it.

34 I tell you, in that night there will be two people in one bed. One will be taken and the other will be left.

35 There will be two grinding grain together. One will be taken and the other will be left.”

36 Verse omitted in this WEB edition. See the source notes.

37 They, answering, asked him, “Where, Lord?” He said to them, “Where the body is, there the vultures will also be gathered together.”

Around Luke 17

Book context

LukeEditorial draft

Luke begins with a short preface: many had already written accounts, and the author, having traced everything carefully, writes an orderly account for “most excellent Theophilus” so that he may know the certainty of what he was taught (1:1 to 4). The Gospel pays close attention to people others overlooked and sums up Jesus’ mission as seeking and saving the lost (19:10). The author is not named; church tradition attributes the book to Luke, a companion of Paul. Acts is also addressed to Theophilus (Acts 1:1), and the two books are widely read as one work in two parts.

Why we say this

HisFullGlory editorial · common interpretation · not yet reviewed by a theological reader

From the text itself

Sources

Notes summarise their sources in our own words. Where Christians or scholars disagree, the note says so. Notes are not original-language evidence and do not replace the text.

AI explanation

Luke 17 · Written by an AI model · Not reviewed by a theological reader

This explanation was written by an AI model to help you get started. It names no sources and can contain mistakes. Scripture comes first, and context with sources is shown separately on this page.

What this chapter says

Jesus gives his disciples hard sayings first. Stumbling blocks will come, but woe to the one who causes them, especially to little ones. If a brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, even seven times in a day. The apostles say, “Increase our faith”, and Jesus answers with a mustard seed and a servant who simply does his duty.

On the road to Jerusalem, ten men with leprosy call to him from a distance. He tells them to show themselves to the priests, and as they go they are cleansed. One of them, a Samaritan, turns back, falls at Jesus’ feet, and thanks him. “But where are the nine?” Jesus asks, and he tells the man that his faith has healed him.

When the Pharisees ask when God’s Kingdom will come, he says it does not come with observation. To the disciples he speaks of the days of the Son of Man, like the days of Noah and of Lot. “Remember Lot’s wife!”

Background

Showing themselves to the priests followed the law in Leviticus 14 for those who believed they had been healed of a skin disease. A Samaritan was a double outsider, as a foreigner and a member of a group that many Jews avoided. The phrase in verse 21 is translated within you in some Bibles and among you in others, and Christians differ on which is meant. The sayings about the days of the Son of Man are read in different ways, as are the taken and left in verses 34 and 35. Verse 36 is not in the oldest manuscripts, as the text here notes. See Genesis 6 to 7 and 19.

About this explanation

Written by Claude Sonnet 5.5, an AI model, on 29 October 2026. It draws on the WEB text and general knowledge and was not checked against sources by a person. Every quotation from Scripture is checked automatically against the WEB text.

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World English Bible. Public-domain source and edition notes