Bible Strands
Luke 17:31
On that day, let no one on the housetop come down to retrieve his possessions. Likewise, let no one in the field return for anything he has left behind.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Jesus addresses his disciples regarding the sudden day the Son of Man is revealed. He issues direct commands to those who would be caught in ordinary locations during that event.
The words — ἐκεῖνῃ (ekeinē) means "that [very]" and ἡμέρᾳ (hēmera) means "day," fixing the command to a precise, imminent moment.
The thread — The prohibition against retrieving possessions echoes the urgent flight in Mark 13:14 and the soul-versus-world calculation in Matthew 16:26. It directly bridges the revelation warning in Luke 17:30 and the Lot’s wife warning in Luke 17:32.
Why it lands — The text commands immediate departure without hesitation or attachment to material goods. It requires the reader to abandon earthly recovery and prioritize immediate obedience.
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
In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 45:5 But as for you, do you seek great things for yourself? Stop seeking! For I will bring disaster on every living creature, declares the LORD, but wherever you go, I will grant your life as a spoil of war.”
- Matthew 16:26 What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?
- Mark 13:14 So when you see the abomination of desolation standing where it should not be (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
- Luke 21:21 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country stay out of the city.
- Matthew 24:17 Let no one on the housetop come down to retrieve anything from his house.
- Philippians 3:7 But whatever was gain to me I count as loss for the sake of Christ.
- Job 2:4 “Skin for skin!” Satan replied. “A man will give up all he owns in exchange for his life.
- Matthew 6:25 Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?