Luke 18:13 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Luke 18:13
And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
to raise up (literally or figuratively) · verb — aorist active infinitive
so much as
οὐδὲoude
G3761
not however · conjunction — negative
eyes
ὀφθαλμοὺςophthalmous
G3788
the eye (literally or figuratively) · noun — accusative plural masculine
unto
εἰςeis
G1519
to or into (indicating the point reached or entered) · preposition
heaven
οὐρανόν,ouranon
G3772
the sky · noun — accusative singular masculine
but
ἀλλ᾽all᾽
G235
properly · conjunction
smote
ἔτυπτενetupten
G5180
to "thump" · verb — imperfect active indicative, 3rd person singular
upon
εἰςeis
G1519
to or into (indicating the point reached or entered)
his
αὐτοῦautou
G846
the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — genitive singular masculine
breast
στῆθοςstēthos
G4738
the (entire external) bosom · noun — accusative singular neuter
saying
λέγων·legōn
G3004
properly · verb — present active participle, nominative singular masculine
God
θεός,theos
G2316
figuratively · noun — vocative singular masculine, a title
be merciful
ἱλάσθητίhilasthēti
G2433
to conciliate · verb — aorist passive imperative, 2nd person singular
to me
μοίmoí
G3427
to me
a sinner
ἁμαρτωλῷ.hamartōlō
G268
sinful · adjective — dative singular masculine
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
Ezra 9:6 And said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God: for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our tresp…
1 John 1:8-10 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
Psalms 41:4 I said, LORD, be merciful unto me: heal my soul; for I have sinned against thee.
1 Timothy 1:15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.
Hebrews 8:12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.
Luke 7:6-7 Then Jesus went with them. And when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not…
Luke 23:48 And all the people that came together to that sight, beholding the things which were done, smote their breasts, and returned.
Hebrews 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Luke 18:9-14
The scope of this parable likewise is prefixed to it, and we are told (Luk 18:9) who they were whom it was levelled at, and for whom it was calculated. He designed it for the conviction of some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others. They were such as had, 1. A great conceit of themselves, and of their own goodness; they thought themselves as holy as they needed to be, and holier than all their neighbours, and such as might serve for examples to them all. But that was not all; 2. They had a confidence in themselves before God, and not only had a high opinion of their own righteousness, but depended upon the merit of it, whenever they addressed God, as their p…
standing afar off--as unworthy to draw near; but that was the way to get near (Psa 34:18; Isa 57:15).
would not lift up--blushing and ashamed to do so (Ezr 9:6).
smote, &c.--kept smiting; for anguish (Luk 23:48), and self-reproach (Jer 31:19).
be merciful--"be propitiated," a very unusual word in such a sense, only once else used in the New Testament, in the sense of "making reconciliation" by sacrifice (Heb 2:17). There may therefore, be some allusion to this here, though not likely.
a sinner--literally, "the sinner"; that is, "If ever there was one, I am he."
Adam Clarke on Luke 18:13
The publican, standing afar off - Not because he was a heathen, and dared not approach the holy place; (for it is likely he was a Jew); but because he was a true penitent, and felt himself utterly unworthy to appear before God.
Would not lift up - his eyes - Holding down the head, with the eyes fixed upon the earth, was,
1. A sign of deep distress.
2. Of a consciousness and confession of guilt. And,
3. It was the very posture that the Jewish rabbins required in those who prayed to God.
See Ezr 9:6; and Mishna, in Berachoth, chap. v.; and Kypke's note here. So the Pharisee appears to have forgotten one of his own precepts.
But smote upon his breast - Smiting the breast was a token of excessiv…
Some brothers asked Macarius, 'How should we pray?' He said, 'There is no need to talk much in prayer. Reach out your hands often, and say, "Lord have mercy on me, as you will and as you know." But if conflict troubles you, say, "Lord, help me." He knows what is best for us, and has mercy.'
He heard the words, that I am not as the Publican. He was not angry, but pricked to the heart. The one uncovered the wound, the other seeks for its remedy. Let no one then ever put forth so cold an excuse as, I dare not, I am ashamed, I cannot open my mouth. The devils have that kind of fear. The devil would fain close against thee every door of access to God.
And the publican, standing afar off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying: God, be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other. How confidently does he offer forgiveness to the worthily penitent, given that the publican, who fully recognized his wrongdoing, wept, confessed, and if he came unjust to the temple, he left justified from the temple. Typically, however, the Pharisee is the populace of the Jews, who extol their own merits through the justifications of the law. The publican, on the other hand, represents the Gentile, who, placed far from God, confesses his sins. One departed proud and humiliated, while the other, by lamenting, deserved to approach exalted.
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
Pharisees — Separatists (Heb. persahin, from parash, “to separate”). They were probably the successors of the Assideans (i.e., the “pious”), a party that originated in the time of Antiochus Epiphanes in revolt…
Prayer — Is converse with God; the intercourse of the soul with God, not in contemplation or meditation, but in direct address to him. Prayer may be oral or mental, occasional or constant, ejaculatory or…
Confession Of Sin · Illustrated — Illustrated
Confidence · FALSE — FALSE
Eye, The · The Jews: Cast, on the ground in humiliation — The Jews: Cast, on the ground in humiliation
Humility · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Parables · Pharisee and Publican — Pharisee and Publican
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).
John Gill on Luke 18:13
And the publican standing afar off,.... Not at the outermost porch, or at the door: for
"a man might not fix his place at the door of the synagogue, but, "he must go afar off", the space of two doors, and then pray (r);''
it may be in the court of the Gentiles, when the Pharisee was in the court of the Israelites; at least he was afar off from him: and indeed, those who came to humble themselves before the Lord, and confess their sins, were obliged to stand at the distance of four cubits one from another, that one might not hear the prayers and confessions of the other (s): and it might be, that this poor man might stand at a greater distance than was required, that he might not displease…
Luke 18:9-14
Luke 18:9-14
9. And he spoke also this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: 10. Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. 11. The Pharisee standing [327] prayed these things within himself: God, I thank thee that I am not as other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterous, or even as this publican. 12. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. 13. And the publican standing at a distance, did not even wish to raise his eyes towards heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, Lord, be reconciled to me a sinner. 14. I say to you, this man went down into his house justi…
