Luke 9:4

Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that area.

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — Jesus issues this command to the twelve apostles immediately after directing them to travel without staff, bag, bread, or money. He gives the instruction as they prepare to depart for their assigned missionary circuit.

The words — The verb μένετε (menete) carries the literal sense "do remain" or "keep staying." It locks the preceding εἰσέλθητε (eiselthēte), "you may enter," into a fixed period of residence.

The thread — Jesus repeats this exact boundary rule in Mark 6:10 and Matthew 10:11 during the same commissioning. Luke 10:5 appears in a parallel dispatch but only commands greeting a home with peace rather than reiterating the stay-in-one-house rule.

Why it lands — The text requires travelers to commit to a single host's shelter for the duration of their visit. It demands practical obedience to avoid moving residences and to maintain clear witness boundaries.

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 εἰςeisinto ἣνhēnwhatever ἂνanmaybe οἰκίανoikianhouse εἰσέλθητε,eiselthēteyou may enter,ἐκεῖekeithere μένετεmenetedo remain καὶkaiand ἐκεῖθενekeithenfrom there ἐξέρχεσθε.exerchesthedo go forth.

King James Version

And whatsoever house ye enter into, there abide, and thence depart.

Cross-references

Matthew 10:11 Whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy there and stay at his house until you move on.
Mark 6:10 And He told them, “When you enter a house, stay there until you leave that area.
Luke 10:5 Whatever house you enter, begin by saying, ‘Peace to this house.’
Acts 16:15 And when she and her household had been baptized, she urged us, “If you consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.