Luke 13:26

Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — Jesus addresses those standing outside the shut door, describing their immediate verbal response after the master declares he does not know them.

The words — The Greek ἄρξεσθε (arxesthe) and λέγειν (legein) render “will you begin to say,” marking the precise moment the outsiders shift from knocking to asserting prior association.

The thread — This dynamic of claiming religious proximity while lacking genuine obedience runs through Isaiah 58:2, Titus 1:16, and 2 Timothy 3:5.

Why it lands — It requires readers to verify whether their claimed familiarity with Christ rests on shared meals and heard teaching or on a life that actually knows him.

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

τότεtoteThen ἄρξεσθεarxesthewill you begin λέγειν·legeinto say;ἐφάγομενephagomenWe ate ἐνώπιόνenōpionin presence σουsouof you καὶkaiand ἐπίομεν,epiomendrank,καὶkaiand ἐνenin ταῖςtaisthe πλατείαιςplateiaisstreets ἡμῶνhēmōnof us ἐδίδαξας·edidaxasyou taught;

King James Version

Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets.

Cross-references

Isaiah 58:2 For day after day they seek Me and delight to know My ways, like a nation that does what is right and does not forsake the justice of their God. They ask Me for righteous judgments; they delight in the nearness of God.”
Titus 1:16 They profess to know God, but by their actions they deny Him. They are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for any good deed.
2 Timothy 3:5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Turn away from such as these!