What Does Luke 9:3 Mean in the King James?
And he said unto them, Take nothing for your journey, neither staves, nor scrip, neither bread, neither money; neither have two coats apiece.
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 sending begins with the travelers’ usual safeguards removed, so the road cannot be measured by what they carry.
THE MEANING
The verse meets you where the road begins, with ordinary guarantees removed: no staff, travel bag, bread, money, or second tunic. The journey proceeds without the travelers holding provisions in reserve. The lack is concrete, while the sending remains.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
You must have every ordinary need secured before a meaningful journey can begin.
THE ROOT
αἴρετε
airete
GROWS FROM
αἰρ-
air-
To lift, carry, or take away.
“Take” in this verse is airete. The verb joins lifting, carrying, and taking away: here, the travelers are told to carry no reserve onto the road. Luke 9:23 uses this same verb for taking up the cross, linking what is carried to the act of lifting it.
ALSO GROWS
aratō: Let him take up or lift.
ἀράτω
The same verb appears when Jesus speaks of taking up the cross in Luke 9:23, later in this chapter.
airōn: Taking away.
αἴρων
The Lamb is described with this form of the verb in John 1:29: “which taketh away the sin of the world.”
ὁδόν
hodon
GROWS FROM
ὁδ-
hod-
Road, path, way.
The Greek word names a road or way, keeping the journey connected to movement along a path. In this same chapter, Jesus’ coming departure is called ἔξοδος (exodos), a “way out” or departure (Luke 9:31); both words carry the road-root.
ALSO GROWS
exodos: Departure, way out.
ἔξοδος
In Luke 9:31, this word names the departure Jesus will accomplish at Jerusalem, using a word built from the same road-root.
hodēgeō: Guide, lead along a way.
ὁδηγέω
In John 16:13, the word means to guide; it keeps the image of a way as a path one can be led along.
THE PATTERN
Provision for the journey is not limited to what can be packed before departure.
And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.And he said unto them, When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye any thing? And they said, Nothing.But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.THE THREAD
And he said unto them, When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye any thing? And they said, Nothing.The “scrip” prohibited here and named again in Luke 22:35 is the same Greek word, πήρα (pēra). When Jesus revisits that sending, the travelers say they lacked nothing: the empty pack receives its answer in the passage’s own later voice.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us