Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
Luke 6:9 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 9. 9Then said Jesus unto them, I will ask you one thing; Is it lawful on the sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy it?
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Luke 6:9 frames the Sabbath question as doing good and saving life rather than doing harm.
A withered hand is placed at the center of the argument
This verse is one part of that explanation in Luke 6:6–6:11. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- Luke 6:6–6:11
Read Luke 6:9 with 6:6–6:11. In isolation, this contribution—frames the Sabbath question as doing good and saving life rather than doing harm—can be detached from its speaker, audience, scene or teaching sequence, and outcome. The complete unit establishes: In another synagogue Jesus knows hostile scrutiny, asks whether Sabbath permits good or harm, restores a man's hand, and leaves opponents discussing what to do.
Follow the Context
- Identify the actors, setting, and initiating speech or action in Luke 6:6–6:11.
- In another synagogue Jesus knows hostile scrutiny, asks whether Sabbath permits good or harm, restores a man's hand, and leaves opponents discussing what to do.
- Hold this material interpretive limit in view: Luke says the scribes and Pharisees fill with fury, but the conflict is local and intra-Jewish. The man's body must not become merely a prop in leader controversy.
What This Verse Is Not Saying
This verse does not detach its specific contribution—frames the Sabbath question as doing good and saving life rather than doing harm—from the complete unit or override the unit's explicit boundary: The healing does not define Judaism as anti-mercy, excuse public provocation that risks a vulnerable person, or guarantee cure on command.
What Remains True
Luke 6:9 frames the Sabbath question as doing good and saving life rather than doing harm. Read inside Luke 6:6–6:11, this contribution supports the unit's proportionate truth: In another synagogue Jesus knows hostile scrutiny, asks whether Sabbath permits good or harm, restores a man's hand, and leaves opponents discussing what to do. Its use remains accountable to affected people and the unit's explicit boundary.
Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read Luke 6:6–6:11 — Doing Good on Sabbath Exposes Hardened ConflictSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
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 6:6–6:11, 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, 6:6–6:11
Open the Luke Greek text file ↗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 6:6–6:11
Open source ↗