Luke 11:7

And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Do not bother me. My door is already shut, and my children and I are in bed. I cannot get up to give you anything.’

Berean Standard Bible

Follow its threads on the canvas →

Study note

Setting — A hypothetical homeowner inside a house responds to a visitor who arrived unexpectedly on a journey and needs provisions. The speaker is the imagined host addressing the friend at the door at night.

The words — ἀποκριθεὶς (apokritheis) means "answering," and κόπους (kopous) translates to "trouble" or "bother." These terms frame the homeowner’s refusal as a direct, weary reply to the visitor’s request.

The thread — The motif of a closed door and rejected knocking appears in Luke 13:25 and Matthew 25:10, where shut doors mark finality and missed opportunity.

Why it lands — The text states that the host will not rise due to friendship, only due to the visitor's persistence. It requires the reader to pursue prayer with relentless audacity rather than expecting accommodation based on relationship or convenience.

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

And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee.

Cross-references

Matthew 25:10 But while they were on their way to buy it, the bridegroom arrived. Those who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet, and the door was shut.
Luke 7:6 So Jesus went with them. But when He was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends with the message: “Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy to have You come under my roof.
Luke 13:25 After the master of the house gets up and shuts the door, you will stand outside knocking and saying, ‘Lord, open the door for us.’ But he will reply, ‘I do not know where you are from.’
Galatians 6:17 From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.