The Meaning of Luke 11:43 Explained

Luke 11:43

KJV: Woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets.

YLT: 'Woe to you, the Pharisees, because ye love the first seats in the synagogues, and the salutations in the market-places.

Darby: Woe unto you, Pharisees, for ye love the first seat in the synagogues and salutations in the market-places.

ASV: Woe unto you Pharisees! for ye love the chief seats in the synagogues, and the salutations in the marketplaces.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Woe  unto you,  Pharisees!  for  ye love  the uppermost seats  in  the synagogues,  and  greetings  in  the markets. 

What does Luke 11:43 Mean?

Context Summary

Luke 11:33-44 - Dark And Foul Within
"The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord," Proverbs 20:27. How many unlit candles there are! Will you not ask whether Christ has ever kindled you with His divine light and life? You have the capacity for God, but this is not enough: Christ must give you light, Ephesians 5:14. Seek the clear shining of the inner light, and remember that it will grow clearer and brighter just in proportion as it is obeyed and followed. What a glorious conception this is, that the Lord Jesus shall so fill us with the radiance and warmth of His love that there shall be no part dark!
Our Lord's denunciations of the religious leaders of His time reveal the wrath of infinite truth and purity against all that is inconsistent with either. Because He loved His sheep, the Good Shepherd must warn them against wolves. Notice Luke 11:41, r.v., which means that our faith, love and joy are to be shared with others. Let us be munificent and generous in self-giving. There is no law of the tithe here! Give all! [source]

Chapter Summary: Luke 11

1  Jesus teaches us to pray, and that instantly;
11  assuring us that God will give all good things to those who ask him
14  He, casting out a demon, rebukes the blasphemous Pharisees;
27  and shows who are blessed;
29  preaches to the people;
37  and reprimands the outward show of holiness

Greek Commentary for Luke 11:43

The chief seats in the synagogues [την πρωτοκατεδριαν εν ταις συναγωγαις]
Singular here, plural in Matthew 23:6. This semi-circular bench faced the congregation. Matthew 23:6 has also the chief place at feasts given by Luke also in that discourse (Luke 20:46) as well as in Luke 14:7, a marked characteristic of the Pharisees. [source]
Pharisees [τοῖς Φαρισαίοις]
Luke's form of expression differs from that of Matthew, who says, “ye Pharisees; while Luke has “woe unto you, the Pharisees,” marking them by the article as a well-known religious body. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Luke 11:43

Luke 12:4 Unto you, my friends [ὑμῖν τοῖς φίλοις μου]
See on Pharisees and lawyers, Luke 11:43, Luke 11:46. Not an address, “O my friends,” but, “unto you, the friends of me.” [source]
Luke 11:46 Also [καὶ]
Emphatic. “Even or also unto you lawyers, woe.” Note the article as in the address to the Pharisees (Luke 11:43): You, the lawyers. [source]
Luke 12:4 Unto you my friends [υμιν τοις πιλοις]
As opposed to the Pharisees and lawyers in Luke 11:43, Luke 11:46, Luke 11:53. [source]

What do the individual words in Luke 11:43 mean?

Woe to you - Pharisees for you love the first seat in the synagogues and the greetings marketplaces
Οὐαὶ ὑμῖν τοῖς Φαρισαίοις ὅτι ἀγαπᾶτε τὴν πρωτοκαθεδρίαν ἐν ταῖς συναγωγαῖς καὶ τοὺς ἀσπασμοὺς ἀγοραῖς

Οὐαὶ  Woe 
Parse: Interjection
Root: οὐαί  
Sense: alas, woe.
ὑμῖν  to  you 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Dative 2nd Person Plural
Root: σύ  
Sense: you.
τοῖς  - 
Parse: Article, Dative Masculine Plural
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
Φαρισαίοις  Pharisees 
Parse: Noun, Dative Masculine Plural
Root: Φαρισαῖος  
Sense: A sect that seems to have started after the Jewish exile.
ἀγαπᾶτε  you  love 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 2nd Person Plural
Root: ἀγαπάω  
Sense: of persons.
πρωτοκαθεδρίαν  first  seat 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: πρωτοκαθεδρία  
Sense: to sit in the first seat, the first or chief seat.
συναγωγαῖς  synagogues 
Parse: Noun, Dative Feminine Plural
Root: συναγωγή  
Sense: a bringing together, gathering (as of fruits), a contracting.
ἀσπασμοὺς  greetings 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Masculine Plural
Root: ἀσπασμός  
Sense: a salutation, either oral or written.
ἀγοραῖς  marketplaces 
Parse: Noun, Dative Feminine Plural
Root: ἀγορά  
Sense: any assembly, especially of the people.