Luke 23:26–23:31, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Luke 23:26–23:31
Simon Carries the Cross as Jesus Addresses Mourning Women
A stranger takes the beam; daughters are told to weep ahead
As they lead him away, they lay hold upon one Simon, a Cyrenian, coming out of the country, and on him they lay the cross, that he might bear it after Jesus. There follow him a great company of people, and of women, which also bewailed and lamented him. Jesus turning unto them says, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children. Days are coming in which they will say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the paps which never gave suck. Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us. For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?
Pronouns and Luke's choice not to linger on Mark's soldier-mockery can blur who is acting; Roman execution practice remains the governing fact of the road. Simon is compelled into the load, not recruited as a mascot. The women are mourning witnesses, not scenery to blame and not a chorus of guilt. He redirects their tears toward coming suffering in the city, using green-and-dry-tree speech. He does not scold them for grief, and he does not make motherhood a curse; he names how bad the coming days will be for those who carry children through them.
How this should shape us
Share a load you did not choose when a condemned person cannot carry it, and let mourning women remain witnesses rather than props. Weep for what violence does to a city's children; do not hear his word as a command to dry your eyes.
Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties
Which judgment needs visible uncertainty?
Best judgment: Pronoun antecedents and Luke's omission of Mark's Roman-soldier mockery can blur responsibility; Roman execution practice remains the governing historical fact. The women are mourning witnesses, not culpable scenery.
How certain? probableResearch trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and coverage.
Luke 23:26–23:31, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Supports: Greek wording and sentence relations; the edition is not treated as a complete apparatus.
Faithlife SBLGNT official repository, data/sblgnt/text/Luke.txt, 23:26–23:31
Supports: Greek forms, morphology, and lexical ranges only where the unit discusses them; local syntax controls sense.
STEP Bible Data official repository, TAGNT Matthew-Acts rows for Luke 23:26–23:31
Supports: Verse-level translation, syntax, KJV-language clarification, historical notes, Synoptic parallels, and textual alternatives.
NET Bible First Edition Luke PDF, exact tn/tc/sn entries attached to Luke 23:26–23:31
Supports: Critical orientation to the unit's place in Luke-Acts, narrative structure, sources, social questions, Passion, or resurrection.
Yale Bible Study Gospel of Luke course, The Passion and Resurrection study guide, Luke 23:1-24:53; applied to Luke 23:26–23:31
Supports: Current reader-oriented synthesis of anonymity, date, Jewish setting, salvation, marginalized people, parables, wealth, and whole-book movement.
Enter the Bible Luke course, Summary, Outline, Background, Introductory Issues, Theological Themes, Bible in the World, and linked passage index; applied to Luke 23:26–23:31
Supports: One complete confessional reading of the unit, independently checked against critical, textual, and ethical controls.
Bolt, “Luke,” commentary heading and paragraphs explicitly covering Luke 23:26–23:31
Supports: Literary relationship evidence and material alternatives among Luke, Mark, and Matthew without treating dependence as a historicity verdict.
Goodacre, The Synoptic Problem, chapters 1-5 on Synoptic data and Markan priority and chapters 6-10 on Q and Farrer alternatives; applied to Luke 23:26–23:31
Supports: Abstract-supported control against simple anti-Jewish or replacement summaries; not a settlement of every scene.
Smith, JTS 72.2 (2021), official abstract and bibliographic range pp. 738-765; applied only to Jewish continuity and Gentile-inclusion framing in Luke 23:26–23:31
Supports: Women's narrative, material, and discipleship agency, with social reconstructions kept provisional.
Penner, The Work of Wealthy Women, PDF pp. 15-18, 30-61, and 76-100; applied to the named women, households, bodies, work, resources, or witness in Luke 23:26–23:31
Supports: Critical control for pro-Jewish and anti-Jewish tensions, Roman responsibility, collective blame, and later harm.
Gaston, “Anti-Judaism and the Passion Narrative in Luke and Acts,” complete open essay, especially the sections on Jerusalem warnings, Luke 22-23, Pilate, Herod, Roman execution, collective responsibility, and reception; applied to Luke 23:26–23:31
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and coverage.
Exact location: Luke 23:26–23:31, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: Greek wording and sentence relations; the edition is not treated as a complete apparatus.
Exact location: Faithlife SBLGNT official repository, data/sblgnt/text/Luke.txt, 23:26–23:31
Open the Luke Greek text file ↗Lexical and grammatical evidence
STEP Bible Data
Tyndale House Cambridge
Tyndale House Cambridge, repository snapshot verified 2026
Supports: Greek forms, morphology, and lexical ranges only where the unit discusses them; local syntax controls sense.
Exact location: STEP Bible Data official repository, TAGNT Matthew-Acts rows for Luke 23:26–23:31
Open source ↗open translation and translator notes
NET Bible First Edition Notes: Luke
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Verse-level translation, syntax, KJV-language clarification, historical notes, Synoptic parallels, and textual alternatives.
Exact location: NET Bible First Edition Luke PDF, exact tn/tc/sn entries attached to Luke 23:26–23:31
Open source ↗open university bible study course
The Gospel of Luke Course and Study Guides
Yale Divinity School faculty
Yale Bible Study, 2020; current online edition
Supports: Critical orientation to the unit's place in Luke-Acts, narrative structure, sources, social questions, Passion, or resurrection.
Exact location: Yale Bible Study Gospel of Luke course, The Passion and Resurrection study guide, Luke 23:1-24:53; applied to Luke 23:26–23:31
Open source ↗modern scholarly book introduction
Luke: Summary, Outline, Background, Introductory Issues, Theological Themes, and Bible in the World
Matthew L. Skinner
Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, 2024 revision; current course inspected 2026
Supports: Current reader-oriented synthesis of anonymity, date, Jewish setting, salvation, marginalized people, parables, wealth, and whole-book movement.
Exact location: Enter the Bible Luke course, Summary, Outline, Background, Introductory Issues, Theological Themes, Bible in the World, and linked passage index; applied to Luke 23:26–23:31
Open source ↗open confessional commentary
Luke
Peter G. Bolt
The Gospel Coalition Bible Commentary, 2023
Supports: One complete confessional reading of the unit, independently checked against critical, textual, and ethical controls.
Exact location: Bolt, “Luke,” commentary heading and paragraphs explicitly covering Luke 23:26–23:31
Open source ↗modern scholarly open monograph
The Synoptic Problem: A Way Through the Maze
Mark Goodacre
T&T Clark; open access supplied by the author and Duke University, 2001; open release 2011
Supports: Literary relationship evidence and material alternatives among Luke, Mark, and Matthew without treating dependence as a historicity verdict.
Exact location: Goodacre, The Synoptic Problem, chapters 1-5 on Synoptic data and Markan priority and chapters 6-10 on Q and Farrer alternatives; applied to Luke 23:26–23:31
Open source ↗peer reviewed article abstract and metadata
The Jewishness of Luke-Acts: How Recent Scholarship Has Challenged the View that Luke-Acts Is Pro-Gentile and Anti-Jewish
Joshua Paul Smith
The Journal of Theological Studies 72.2, 2021
Supports: Abstract-supported control against simple anti-Jewish or replacement summaries; not a settlement of every scene.
Exact location: Smith, JTS 72.2 (2021), official abstract and bibliographic range pp. 738-765; applied only to Jewish continuity and Gentile-inclusion framing in Luke 23:26–23:31
Open source ↗open access masters thesis
The Work of Wealthy Women: Female Discipleship in Luke 8:1-3
Kimberly Penner
University of Waterloo, 2011
Supports: Women's narrative, material, and discipleship agency, with social reconstructions kept provisional.
Exact location: Penner, The Work of Wealthy Women, PDF pp. 15-18, 30-61, and 76-100; applied to the named women, households, bodies, work, resources, or witness in Luke 23:26–23:31
Open source ↗scholarly essay open html
Anti-Judaism and the Passion Narrative in Luke and Acts
Lloyd Gaston
Anti-Judaism in Early Christianity, vol. 1; Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 1986
Supports: Critical control for pro-Jewish and anti-Jewish tensions, Roman responsibility, collective blame, and later harm.
Exact location: Gaston, “Anti-Judaism and the Passion Narrative in Luke and Acts,” complete open essay, especially the sections on Jerusalem warnings, Luke 22-23, Pilate, Herod, Roman execution, collective responsibility, and reception; applied to Luke 23:26–23:31
Open source ↗