What Does Luke 10:11 Mean in the King James?
Even the very dust of your city, which cleaveth on us, we do wipe off against you: notwithstanding be ye sure of this, that the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The town can reject the messengers and have its dust shaken off, yet the kingdom’s nearness remains the last word.
THE MEANING
The verse holds refusal and arrival together: what clings from a place can be released, while God’s governance remains near. A closed door does not make the kingdom distant; its nearness is still announced at the point of rejection.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that refusing an invitation makes God’s governance withdraw; the verse places its nearness alongside the refusal.
THE ROOT
ἤγγικεν
ēngiken
GROWS FROM
ἐγγίζω
engizō
to approach, draw near
“nigh” in this verse is ēngiken. The Greek verb describes the kingdom as having drawn near, and its perfect form presents that arrival as still standing in the present. Nearness here is not merely a future possibility; it is already at hand.
ALSO GROWS
engys: near, close at hand
ἐγγύς
This related word makes clear that the announcement concerns present proximity.
engizō: approach, draw near
ἐγγίζω
The verb names movement toward someone, so the kingdom is described as arriving near.
βασιλεία
basileia
GROWS FROM
βασιλεύς
basileus
king, ruler
“kingdom” in this verse is basileia. The word carries the sense of kingship and rule as well as a realm. Here it is God’s governance that has come near, not merely a distant place the town might enter.
ALSO GROWS
basileuō: to reign, exercise kingship
βασιλεύω
This verb shows the active rule contained in the idea of a kingdom.
basileia: kingship, reign, kingdom
βασιλεία
The verse announces this rule as near to the town.
THE PATTERN
God’s word and governance are spoken of as near enough to meet, rather than distant or unreachable.
But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.THE THREAD
And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.The same announcement of the kingdom’s nearness appears with healing in verse 9, then remains in verse 11 after rejection. The response changes, but the announced arrival does not.
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