What Does Luke 5:26 Mean?
And they were all gripped and beside themselves, and they gave weight to God and were filled with awe, saying, We have seen things beyond all weight today.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
And they were all amazed, and they glorified God, and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things to day.THE KEY
The Greek word for their “strange things” shares its root with “glorified”: what exceeds expectation makes God’s weight visible.
THE MEANING
When the man who could not walk stands before you, amazement and fear fill the room together. The witnesses give God glory because what they see exceeds the frame they brought to it; the verse lets the fear remain alongside their recognition.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The belief that what seems impossible is the final measure of what can happen gives way as the witnesses see a reality beyond their expectation.
THE ROOT
παράδοξα
paradoxa
GROWS FROM
δοξ- (dox-), from δόξα (doxa)
Expectation or opinion in paradoxa; honor and weight in doxazō.
“gave weight to God” in this verse is paradoxa. The same dox- word-family runs through “strange things” and “glorified”: paradoxa names what exceeds expectation, while doxazō means to give weight. The Greek holds their astonishment and praise together; English separates the wonder from what it reveals.
ALSO GROWS
paradoxa: Unexpected or extraordinary things; literally, what goes beyond expectation.
παράδοξα
This is the word behind “strange things,” naming what exceeds the witnesses’ usual frame.
doxazō: To honor, glorify, give weight.
δοξάζω
This word-family names the witnesses’ response to what they see: they give God weight.
THE PATTERN
An encounter that exceeds expectation draws out awe, recognition, or praise.
And he was struck with awe, and said, How awe-filled is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of the heavens.Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with a ringing cry. Then they said among the nations, The LORD has grown great in doing with these.And they knew that it was he who sat for gifts at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, and they were filled with wonder and beside themselves at what had happened to him.THE THREAD
And awe seized them all, and they gave weight to God, saying, A great prophet has been roused among us, and God has looked in upon his people.Fear and glorifying God appear together in both verses. The shared Greek word doxazō, “to glorify, give weight”, links their response to what exceeds expectation.
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