Luke 10:19

Behold, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy. Nothing will harm you.

Berean Standard Bible

Follow its threads on the canvas →

Study note

Setting — Jesus addresses the seventy-two who have just returned from mission reporting that even demons submit to them (v.17); he confirms what their experience already showed.

The words — ἐξουσίαν (exousian) is delegated authority, the right to act, not raw power; πατεῖν (patein) is the physical act of treading, a concrete image of dominance over what is beneath the foot.

The thread — The treading image echoes Psalms 91:13 (lion and cobra) and anticipates Mark 16:18 (snakes, poison); Romans 16:20 restates the same motif as God's act of crushing Satan under the believer's feet.

Why it lands — The verb is perfect (δεδωκά, "I have given"): the authority is already in hand, not a promise to be earned. The verse asks the reader to stop negotiating with fear and act from what has been received.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Greek words

King James Version

Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

Cross-references

Psalms 91:13 You will tread on the lion and cobra; you will trample the young lion and serpent.
Mark 16:18 they will pick up snakes with their hands, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not harm them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will be made well.”
Romans 16:20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
Acts 28:5 But Paul shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no ill effects.
Revelation 11:5 If anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouths and devours their enemies. In this way, anyone who wants to harm them must be killed.
Luke 21:17 And you will be hated by everyone because of My name.
Ezekiel 2:6 But you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns surround you, and you dwell among scorpions. Do not be afraid of their words or dismayed by their presence, though they are a rebellious house.
Romans 8:31 What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
Hebrews 13:5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, for God has said: “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.”
Isaiah 11:8 The infant will play by the cobra’s den, and the toddler will reach into the viper’s nest.