What Does Luke 7:13 Mean?
And when the Lord saw her, his insides moved with compassion for her, and he said to her, Do not weep.
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 when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not.THE KEY
The Lord’s compassion begins with seeing: he moves toward her grief before she asks for anything.
THE MEANING
When grief closes around you, this verse shows the Lord seeing you before you ask and meeting you with compassion and direct address. “Weep not” is spoken beside the act that follows, so it carries his approach to the loss rather than a demand to pretend it does not hurt.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
You have to ask correctly before the Lord sees your grief.
THE ROOT
σπλαγχνίζομαι
splagchnizomai
GROWS FROM
σπλαγχν-
splagchn-
Inward parts; the inner organs, pictured as the seat of deep feeling.
“his insides moved with compassion” in this verse is splagchnizomai. The verb translated “had compassion” comes from a word for the inward parts, picturing compassion as something felt deep within. Its word family also describes tenderheartedness, revealing an inner movement toward the person seen, not detached pity.
ALSO GROWS
splagchna: Inward parts; deep affections.
σπλάγχνα
The image behind the compassion verb makes the Lord’s response to her grief visceral.
eusplagchnos: Tenderhearted; compassionate.
εὔσπλαγχνος
This branch shows the same inward quality expressed as a tender disposition toward another.
THE PATTERN
Compassion sees suffering and moves toward the person who bears it.
As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those in awe of him.But a certain Samaritan, walking the road, came where he was, and when he saw him, his insides moved over him.And Jesus came out and saw a great crowd, and his gut stirred toward them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd, and he began to teach them many things.THE THREAD
But a certain Samaritan, walking the road, came where he was, and when he saw him, his insides moved over him.Luke uses the same Greek compassion verb here: seeing the injured man stirs the inward movement described in Luke 7:13. In both verses, compassion begins with seeing someone in distress.
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