The Bible Software
bible.software › Luke › Luke 20 › Luke 20:2

Luke 20:2

They asked him, “Tell us, by what authority are you doing these things? Who authorized you to do things like you did here yesterday?”

Translation for Translators

In The King James Version

And spake unto him, saying, Tell us, by what authority doest thou these things? or who is he that gave thee this authority?

In Context

1One day during that week, Jesus was teaching the people in the Temple courtyard and telling them God’s good message. As he was doing that, the chief priests, the men who taught the Jewish laws, and other Jewish elders came to him.

3He replied, “I will also ask you a question. Tell me,

Read all of Luke 20

Cross References

Matthew 21:23After that, Jesus went into the Temple courtyard. While he was teaching the people, the chief priests and the elders of the Jewish Council approached him. They asked, “By what authority are you doing these things? Who authorized you to do what you did here yesterday [DOU]?”

Luke 19:35The two disciples brought the animal to Jesus. They threw their cloaks on the animal’s back for him to sit on and helped Jesus get on it.

John 2:18So one of the Jewish leaders [SYN] replied to him, “What miracle will you perform to show us that you have authority from God to do these things?”

Acts 4:7They commanded guards to bring Peter and John into the courtroom [MTY] and have them stand in front of them. Then one of the leaders questioned the two of them, saying, “Who do you two claim gave you the power to heal this man? And who authorized [MTY] you to do this [DOU]?”

Acts 7:35“This Moses is the one who had tried to help our Israeli people, but whom they rejected by saying, ‘No one [RHQ] appointed you to rule and judge us!’ Moses is the one whom God himself sent to rule them and to free them from being slaves. He is the one whom an angel in the bush commanded to do that.

Matthew Henry on Luke 20:2-9

Christ's Enemies Nonplussed. 1 And it came to pass, that on one of those days, as he taught the people in the temple, and preached the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes came upon him with the elders, 2 And spake unto him, saying, Tell us, by what authority doest thou these things? or who is he that gave thee this authority? 3 And he answered and said unto them, I will also ask you one thing; and answer me: 4 The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? 5 And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If… Read the whole commentary →

This Verse In Other Editions

King James VersionBíblia Almeida (Português)Luther Bibel (Deutsch)Bible Louis Segond (Français)Библия (Русский)聖經 (中文)성경 (한국어)聖書 (日本語)الكتاب المقدس (العربية)बाइबल (हिन्दी)Biblia (Kiswahili)Bibbia Diodati (Italiano)Alkitab (Bahasa Indonesia)

Study Luke 20:2

Matthew HenryJamieson-Fausset-BrownAdam ClarkeAlbert BarnesJohn WesleyJohn CalvinScofieldWilliam BurkittFamily Bible NotesThe Fourfold GospelJohn LightfootGeneva Bible Notes (1599)
← Luke 20:1Luke 20Luke 20:3 →