The Meaning of Luke 4:34 Explained

Luke 4:34

KJV: Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art; the Holy One of God.

YLT: saying, 'Away, what -- to us and to thee, Jesus, O Nazarene? thou didst come to destroy us; I have known thee who thou art -- the Holy One of God.'

Darby: saying, Eh! what have we to do with thee, Jesus, Nazarene? hast thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God.

ASV: Ah! what have we to do with thee, Jesus thou Nazarene? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Saying,  Let [us] alone;  what  have we to do  with thee,  [thou] Jesus  of Nazareth?  art thou come  to destroy  us?  I know  thee  who  thou art;  the Holy One  of God. 

What does Luke 4:34 Mean?

Context Summary

Luke 4:31-44 - Healer And Preacher
In after years the evil spirit cried out, "Jesus I know," Acts 19:15. Evidently our Lord was not only "seen of angels," but closely watched by the fallen spirits, who beheld His every act and listened to every word. What a remarkable verdict was that given in Luke 4:34! Those who know most of evil are most certain of the ultimate woe which awaits its votaries; and they know genuine goodness when they meet it. Our Lord had overcome the prince of demons, and could therefore command His household.
We need to be delivered from the fever of passion, caught in the low-lying marshes of our lives; to have Christ's hands laid upon our sicknesses and wounds; to be delivered from evil things that haunt our hearts. Then we must help Him in similar services to others. But if He must have His quiet prayer times, so must we, Luke 4:42. [source]

Chapter Summary: Luke 4

1  The fasting and temptation of Jesus
14  He begins to preach
16  The people of Nazareth marvel at words, but seek to kill him
33  He cures one possessed of a demon,
38  Peter's mother-in-law,
40  and various other sick persons
41  The demons acknowledge Jesus, and are reproved for it
42  He preaches through the cities of Galilee

Greek Commentary for Luke 4:34

Ah! [Εα]
An interjection frequent in the Attic poets, but rare in prose. Apparently second person singular imperative of εαω — eaō to permit. It is expressive of wonder, fear, indignation. Here it amounts to a diabolical screech. For the rest of the verse see note on Mark 1:24 and note on Matthew 8:29. The muzzle (πιμος — phimos) occurs literally in 1 Corinthians 9:9, 1 Timothy 5:18, and metaphorically here and Mark 1:25; Mark 4:39; Matthew 22:12. [source]
What have we to do with thee [τί ἡμῖν καὶ σοί]
Lit., what is there to us and to thee? i.e., what have we in common? So Wyc. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Luke 4:34

Luke 4:41 Thou art the Son of God [Συ ει ο υιος του τεου]
More definite statement of the deity of Jesus than the witness of the demoniac in the synagogue (Luke 4:34; Mark 1:24), like the words of the Father (Luke 3:22) and more so than the condition of the devil (Luke 4:3, Luke 4:9). In the Canterbury Revision “devils” should always be “demons” Imperfect third singular active of εαω — eaō very old and common verb with syllabic augment ει — ei The tense accents the continued refusal of Jesus to receive testimony to his person and work from demons. Cf. Matthew 8:4 to the lepers.Because they knew Causal, not declarative, οτι — hoti Past perfect of the second perfect οιδα — oida he was the Christ Infinitive in indirect assertion with the accusative of general reference. Τον Χριστον — Ton Christon = the Anointed, the Messiah. [source]
Revelation 3:7 The holy, he that is true [ο αγιοσ ο αλητινος]
Separate articles (four in all) for each item in this description. “The holy, the genuine.” Asyndeton in the Greek. Latin Vulgate, Sanctus et Verus. αγιος — Hosea hagios is ascribed to God in Revelation 4:8; Revelation 6:10 (both αλητινος — hagios and αλητινος — alēthinos as here), but to Christ in Mark 1:24; Luke 4:34; John 6:69; Acts 4:27, Acts 4:30; 1 John 2:20, a recognized title of the Messiah as the consecrated one set apart. Swete notes that αλητης — alēthinos is verus as distinguished from verax So it is applied to God in Revelation 6:10 and to Christ in Revelation 3:14; Revelation 19:11 as in John 1:9; John 6:32; John 15:1.He that hath the key of David (και ουδεις κλεισει — ho echōn tēn klein Daueid). This epithet comes from Isaiah 22:22, where Eliakim as the chief steward of the royal household holds the keys of power. Christ as the Messiah (Revelation 5:5; Revelation 22:16) has exclusive power in heaven, on earth, and in Hades (Matthew 16:19; Matthew 28:18; Romans 14:9; Philemon 2:9.; Revelation 1:18). Christ has power to admit and exclude of his own will (Matthew 25:10.; Ephesians 1:22; Revelation 3:21; Revelation 19:11-16; Revelation 20:4; Revelation 22:16).And none shall shut Charles calls the structure Hebrew (future active indicative of ο ανοιγων — kleiō), and not Greek because it does not correspond to the present articular participle just before και ουδεις ανοιγει — ho anoigōn (the one opening), but it occurs often in this book as in the very next clause, “and none openeth” (κλειων — kai oudeis anoigei) over against κλειει — kleiōn (present active participle, opening) though here some MSS. read kleiei (present active indicative, open). [source]

What do the individual words in Luke 4:34 mean?

Ha What to us and to You Jesus of Nazareth Are You come to destroy us I know You who are the Holy [One] - of God
Ἔα τί ἡμῖν καὶ σοί Ἰησοῦ Ναζαρηνέ ἦλθες ἀπολέσαι ἡμᾶς οἶδά σε τίς εἶ Ἅγιος τοῦ Θεοῦ

Ἔα  Ha 
Parse: Interjection
Root: ἔα  
Sense: interjection expressive of indignation, or of wonder mixed with fear, ha! ah!.
ἡμῖν  to  us 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Dative 1st Person Plural
Root: ἐγώ  
Sense: I, me, my.
σοί  to  You 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Dative 2nd Person Singular
Root: σύ  
Sense: you.
Ἰησοῦ  Jesus 
Parse: Noun, Vocative Masculine Singular
Root: Ἰησοῦς  
Sense: Joshua was the famous captain of the Israelites, Moses’ successor.
Ναζαρηνέ  of  Nazareth 
Parse: Noun, Vocative Masculine Singular
Root: Ναζαρηνός  
Sense: a resident of Nazareth.
ἦλθες  Are  You  come 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 2nd Person Singular
Root: ἔρχομαι  
Sense: to come.
ἀπολέσαι  to  destroy 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Infinitive Active
Root: ἀπόλλυμι  
Sense: to destroy.
ἡμᾶς  us 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Accusative 1st Person Plural
Root: ἐγώ  
Sense: I, me, my.
οἶδά  I  know 
Parse: Verb, Perfect Indicative Active, 1st Person Singular
Root: οἶδα  
Sense: to see.
Ἅγιος  Holy  [One] 
Parse: Adjective, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: ἅγιος  
Sense: most holy thing, a saint.
τοῦ  - 
Parse: Article, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
Θεοῦ  of  God 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: θεός  
Sense: a god or goddess, a general name of deities or divinities.