Luke 12:58

When thou goest with thine adversary to the magistrate, as thou art in the way, give diligence that thou mayest be delivered from him; lest he hale thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and the officer cast thee into prison.

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
When	ὡς hōs	G5613	which how · particle
thou goest	ὑπάγεις hupageis	G5217	to lead (oneself) under · verb — present active indicative, 2nd person singular
with	μετὰ meta	G3326	properly · preposition
thine	σοῦ soû	G4675	of thee
adversary	ἀντιδίκου antidikou	G476	an opponent (in a lawsuit) · noun — genitive singular masculine
to	ἐπ᾽ ep᾽	G1909	properly · preposition
the magistrate	ἄρχοντα, archonta	G758	a first (in rank or power) · noun — accusative singular masculine
in	ἐν en	G1722	"in · preposition
the way	ὁδῷ hodō	G3598	a road · noun — dative singular feminine
give	δὸς dos	G1325	to give (used in a very wide application · verb — second aorist active imperative, 2nd person singular
diligence	ἐργασίαν ergasian	G2039	occupation · noun — accusative singular feminine
that thou mayest be delivered	ἀπηλλάχθαι apēllachthai	G525	to change away · verb — perfect passive infinitive
from	ἀπ᾽ ap᾽	G575	"off · preposition
him	αὐτοῦ autou	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — genitive singular masculine
lest	μήποτε mḗpote	G3379	not ever
he hale	κατασύρῃ katasurē	G2694	to drag down · verb — present active subjunctive, 3rd person singular
thee	σέ sé	G4571	thee
to	πρὸς pros	G4314	a preposition of direction · preposition
the judge	κριτήν, kritēn	G2923	a judge (genitive case or specially) · noun — accusative singular masculine
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
the judge	κριτής kritēs	G2923	a judge (genitive case or specially) · noun — nominative singular masculine
deliver	παραδώσει paradōsei	G3860	to surrender · verb — future active indicative, 3rd person singular
thee	σέ sé	G4571	thee
to the officer	πράκτορι, praktori	G4233	a practiser · noun — dative singular masculine
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
the officer	πράκτωρ praktōr	G4233	a practiser · noun — nominative singular masculine
cast	βαλεῖ balei	G906	to throw (in various applications · verb — future active indicative, 3rd person singular
thee	σέ sé	G4571	thee
into	εἰς eis	G1519	to or into (indicating the point reached or entered) · preposition
prison	φυλακήν. phulakēn	G5438	a guarding or (concretely · noun — accusative singular feminine

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Matthew 5:23-26 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;
Job 23:7 There the righteous might dispute with him; so should I be delivered for ever from my judge.
Proverbs 25:8-9 Go not forth hastily to strive, lest thou know not what to do in the end thereof, when thy neighbour hath put thee to shame.
Isaiah 55:6 Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
Luke 13:24-28 Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.
Genesis 32:3-28 And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother unto the land of Seir, the country of Edom.
1 Samuel 25:18-35 Then Abigail made haste, and took two hundred loaves, and two bottles of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched co…
Job 22:21 Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Luke 12:54–end

Having given his disciples their lesson in the foregoing verses, here Christ turns to the people, and gives them theirs, Luk 12:54. He said also to the people: he preached ad populum - to the people, as well as ad clerum - to the clergy. In general, he would have them be as wise in the affairs of their souls as they are in their outward affairs. Two things he specifies: - I. Let them learn to discern the way of God towards them, that they may prepare accordingly. They were weather-wise, and by observing the winds and clouds could foresee when there would be rain and when there would be hot weather (Luk 12:54, Luk 12:55); and, according as they foresaw the weather would be, they either house…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Luke 12:58

When thou goest, &c.--(See on Mat 5:25-26). The urgency of the case with them, and the necessity, for their own safety, of immediate decision, was the object of these striking words. Next: Luke Chapter 13

Adam Clarke on Luke 12:58

When thou goest with thine adversary - This and the next verse are a part of our Lord's sermon upon the mount. See them explained Mat 5:25, Mat 5:26 (note). St. Luke is very particular in collecting and relating every word and action of our blessed Lord, but seldom gives them in the order of time in which they were spoken or done. See the Preface to this Gospel. Give diligence - Δος εργασιαν, Give labor, do every thing in thy power to get free before a suit commences. The officer - Πρακτωρ properly signifies such an officer as was appointed to levy the fines imposed by the law for a violation of any of its precepts. See Kypke.

John Gill on Luke 12:58

When thou goest with thine adversary,.... The creditor, as the Persic version, and who is the prosecutor, that has commenced a suit of law against another, in order to obtain his right: for Christ is here speaking of a bad man, that will not pay his just debts, so that his creditor is obliged to prosecute him, and have him to the magistrate; ruler, or prince; the Nasi, or prince of the sanhedrim, who sat as judge there: as thou art in the way; going along with the creditor, or prosecutor, to the court of judicature; give diligence that thou mayest be delivered from him. The Persic version renders it, "give him the money"; and the Arabic version, "give what thou owest"; and the Syriac versi…

The Church Fathers

But how absurd, that he should now be commanding them to judge righteously, who was destroying God the righteous Judge! For the Judge, who commits to prison, and allows no release Out of it without the payment of "the very last mite," they treat of in the person of the Creator, with the view of disparaging Him.
— Tertullian, Against Marcion Book IV

But the Saviour himself, whom alone they think one should obey, has forbidden hatred and reviling and says: "When you go with your adversary to court, try to achieve a friendly reconciliation with him." Accordingly, they will either refuse to accept Christ's exhortation, in that they are in opposition to the adversary, or they will become his friends and cease to oppose him.
— Clement of Alexandria, The Stromata Book 3

(Hom. 16. in Matt.) It seems to me that He is speaking of the present judges, and of the way to the present judgment, and of the prison of this world. For by these things which are visible and at hand, ignorant men are wont to gain improvement. For often He gives a lesson, not only from future good and evil but from present, for the sake of His ruder hearers.
— John Chrysostom ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Adversary — (Heb. satan), an opponent or foe (1 Kings 5:4; 11:14, 23, 25; Luke 13:17); one that speaks against another, a complainant (Matt. 5:25; Luke 12:58); an enemy (Luke 18:3), and specially the devil (1…
Closet — As used in the New Testament, signifies properly a storehouse (Luke 12: 24), and hence a place of privacy and retirement (Matt. 6:6; Luke 12:3).
Magistrate — A public civil officer invested with authority. The Hebrew shophetim, or judges, were magistrates having authority in the land (Deut. 1:16, 17). In Judg. 18:7 the word “magistrate” (A.V.) is rendered…
Officer — It is obvious that most, if not all, of the Hebrew words rendered “officer” are either of an indefinite character or are synonymous terms for functionaries known under other and more specific names,…
Compromise · BEFORE LITIGATION, ENJOINED — BEFORE LITIGATION, ENJOINED
Courts Of Justice · Judges of: Called magistrates — Judges of: Called magistrates
Creditor · OPPRESSIONS OF — OPPRESSIONS OF
Litigation · To be avoi — To be avoi
Magistrate · An officer of civil law — An officer of civil law
Strife · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Luke 12:58

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Luke 12:54–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Luke 12:58

Adam Clarke on Luke 12:58

John Gill on Luke 12:58

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Luke 12:58

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Luke 12:54–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Luke 12:58

Adam Clarke on Luke 12:58

John Gill on Luke 12:58

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Luke 12:58–end

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Luke 12:58