Bible Strands
Matthew 22:12
‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ But the man was speechless.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The king addresses a guest found inside the banquet hall after inspecting the crowd and before ordering his removal. The words — ἑταῖρε (hetaire) means “Friend,” and εἰσῆλθες (eisēlthes) means “did you enter.” The thread — The address “Friend” appears in Matthew 20:13 during a wage dispute, while the judgment motif aligns with 1 Samuel 2:9 and Job 5:16. Why it lands — The text records a direct question about unpreparedness followed by the subject’s inability to answer, requiring the reader to recognize that standing before authority without proper covering leaves one defenseless.
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 saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless.
Cross-references
- 1 Samuel 2:9 He guards the steps of His faithful ones, but the wicked perish in darkness; for by his own strength shall no man prevail.
- Job 5:16 So the poor have hope, and injustice shuts its mouth.
- Matthew 20:13 But he answered one of them, ‘Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Did you not agree with me on one denarius?
- Psalms 107:42 The upright see and rejoice, and all iniquity shuts its mouth.
- Jeremiah 2:23 “How can you say, ‘I am not defiled; I have not run after the Baals’? Look at your behavior in the valley; acknowledge what you have done. You are a swift young she-camel galloping here and there,
- Jeremiah 2:26 As the thief is ashamed when he is caught, so the house of Israel is disgraced. They, their kings, their officials, their priests, and their prophets
- Matthew 26:50 “Friend,” Jesus replied, “do what you came for.” Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus, and arrested Him.
- Acts 5:2 With his wife’s full knowledge, he kept back some of the proceeds for himself, but brought a portion and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
- Titus 3:11 knowing that such a man is corrupt and sinful; he is self-condemned.
- Acts 8:20 But Peter replied, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money!