New Testament
Luke 11:48
The Clear Bible Translation matches the King James Version, written at a 10th-grade reading level in plain English
At a Glance
In this verse, Jesus is addressing the religious leaders of His time, pointing out their hypocrisy.
- Author
- Luke the physician
- Written
- Around AD 60-62
- Genre
- Gospel and history
- Original Audience
- Gentile Christians (addressed to Theophilus)
You testify that you agree with the deeds of your fathers: they killed them, and you build their tombs.
Truly ye bear witness that ye allow the deeds of your fathers: for they indeed killed them, and ye build their sepulchres.
Verse Analysis
Plain-English insight for readers
In this verse, Jesus is addressing the religious leaders of His time, pointing out their hypocrisy. He accuses them of honoring the prophets who were killed by their ancestors while simultaneously agreeing with the actions of those ancestors. By building tombs for the prophets, they are outwardly showing respect, but their actions reveal that they share the same spirit of rejection. This highlights a disconnect between their words and their true beliefs. They claim to honor the prophets, yet they are part of a lineage that persecuted them. Jesus is calling them out for their insincerity and warning them that they are repeating the mistakes of the past by not recognizing the truth of His message. This serves as a reminder that true honor for God’s messengers involves more than just outward displays; it requires genuine acceptance and obedience to their teachings.
Related Bible verses
How to apply Luke 11:48 to your life
This verse challenges us to examine our own lives for hypocrisy. Are we honoring God and His messengers with our words while our actions contradict that honor? True faith requires alignment between what we say and what we do, urging us to live authentically in our beliefs.
Curated for this public verse page. Luke Summary
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick, clear answers about this verse
What does Luke 11:48 mean?
In Luke 11:48, Jesus criticizes the religious leaders for honoring the prophets by building tombs while sharing in the same rejection of those prophets as their ancestors did. This highlights their hypocrisy and disconnect between their outward actions and true beliefs.
What is the meaning of hypocrisy in Luke 11:48?
Hypocrisy in Luke 11:48 refers to the religious leaders' practice of outwardly honoring the prophets by building tombs, while inwardly agreeing with their ancestors who persecuted those same prophets. It emphasizes the inconsistency between their words and actions.
How does Luke 11:48 relate to spiritual blindness?
Luke 11:48 illustrates spiritual blindness by showing how the religious leaders fail to recognize their own complicity in the rejection of God's messengers, despite their outward displays of respect. This disconnect reveals a deeper issue of not truly understanding or accepting the truth.
What lesson can we learn from Luke 11:48?
Luke 11:48 teaches us to examine our own lives for authenticity in our faith. It encourages us to ensure that our actions align with our beliefs, avoiding the trap of hypocrisy where we honor God with our words but not with our deeds.

The Book of Luke
Luke 1: The Births of John the Baptist and Jesus Foretold
In the days of Herod, king of Judaea, a priest named Zacharias serves in the temple. He and his wife Elisabeth are both righteous but have no children because Elisabeth is barren, and they are both old. While Zacharias burns incense, the angel Gabriel appears to him and says Elisabeth will bear a son who is to be named John. The child will be great before the Lord, will drink no wine or strong drink, and will be filled with the Holy Ghost from his mother's womb. He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. Zacharias asks how he can know this, since he and his wife are old. Gabriel says Zacharias will be unable to speak until these things come to pass because he did not believe.
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