Luke 4:20

Then He rolled up the scroll, returned it to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on Him,

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Jesus concludes His public reading in the synagogue by rolling up the scroll, returning it to the attendant, and sitting down. He shifts the assembly’s attention from the physical text to Himself as the congregation fixes their eyes on Him.

The words — πτύξας (ptuxas) means having rolled up and ἀποδοὺς (apodous) means having delivered, detailing the precise physical handling of the scroll. ἐκάθισεν (ekathisen) denotes He sat down, marking the deliberate postural shift from reading to teaching.

The thread — The sequence of handling and returning the scroll directly continues Luke 4:17, where the scroll was initially handed to Him. The posture of sitting to teach appears in Matthew 5:1 and John 8:2, establishing a consistent narrative signal for authoritative instruction.

Why it lands — The text reports Jesus’ physical actions and the crowd’s fixed gaze before declaring the fulfillment in Luke 4:21. Readers must weigh their own response to His claim against the tension created by the congregation’s expectant attention.

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

καὶkaiAnd πτύξαςptuxashaving rolled up τὸtothe βιβλίονbiblionscroll ἀποδοὺςapodoushaving delivered [it]τῷtōto the ὑπηρέτῃhupēretēattendant ἐκάθισεν,ekathisenHe sat down,καὶkaiand πάντωνpantōnof all οἱhoithe ὀφθαλμοὶophthalmoieyes ἐνenin τῇtēathe συναγωγῇsunagōgēasynagogue ἦσανēsanwere ἀτενίζοντεςatenizontesfixed upon αὐτῷ.autōHim.

King James Version

And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.

Cross-references

Luke 4:17 the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. Unrolling it, He found the place where it was written:
John 8:2 Early in the morning He went back into the temple courts. All the people came to Him, and He sat down to teach them.
Matthew 5:1 When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain and sat down. His disciples came to Him,
Luke 5:3 Jesus got into the boat belonging to Simon and asked him to put out a little from shore. And sitting down, He taught the people from the boat.
Luke 19:48 Yet they could not find a way to do so, because all the people hung on His words.
Acts 16:13 On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate along the river, where it was customary to find a place of prayer. After sitting down, we spoke to the women who had gathered there.
Matthew 13:1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea.
Matthew 26:55 At that time Jesus said to the crowd, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me as you would an outlaw? Every day I sat teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest Me.
Acts 13:14 And from Perga, they traveled inland to Pisidian Antioch, where they entered the synagogue on the Sabbath and sat down.
Matthew 20:26 It shall not be this way among you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,