Luke 9:48
46 Then an argument started among the disciples as to which of them would be the greatest.
47 But Jesus, knowing the thoughts of their hearts, had a little child stand beside Him.
And He said to them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in My name welcomes Me, and whoever welcomes Me welcomes the One who sent Me. For whoever is the least among all of you, he is the greatest.”
49 “Master,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in Your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not accompany us.”
50 “Do not stop him,” Jesus replied, “for whoever is not against you is for you.”
Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- And He said to them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in My name welcomes Me, and whoever welcomes Me welcomes the One who sent Me. For whoever is the least among all of you, he is the greatest.”
- KJV
- And said unto them, Whosoever shall receive this child in my name receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me receiveth him that sent me: for he that is least among you all, the same shall be great.
- WEB
- and said to them, “Whoever receives this little child in my name receives me. Whoever receives me receives him who sent me. For whoever is least among you all, this one will be great.”
- ASV
- and said unto them, Whosoever shall receive this little child in my name receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me receiveth him that sent me: for he that is least among you all, the same is great.
- DARBY
- and said to them, Whosoever shall receive this little child in my name receives me, and whosoever shall receive me receives him that sent me. For he who is the least among you all, *he* is great.
- BLB
- and He said to them, “Whoever shall receive this little child in My name receives Me; and whoever shall receive Me receives the One having sent Me. For the one being least among you⁺ all, he is great.”
- ÅB
- og sa til dem: Den som tar imot dette lille barn for mitt navns skyld, tar imot meg, og den som tar imot meg, tar imot ham som sendte meg; for den som er den minste iblant dere alle, han er stor.
- OTB
- Så sa han til dem: "Den som tar imot dette lille barnet i mitt navn, tar imot meg; og den som tar imot meg, tar imot ham som sendte meg. For den som er minst blant dere alle, han er den største."
- B1930
- og sa til dem: Den som tar imot dette lille barn for mitt navns skyld, tar imot mig, og den som tar imot mig, tar imot ham som sendte mig; for den som er den minste iblandt eder alle, han er stor.
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
1 Peter 5:6
Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, so that in due time He may exalt you.
Read in contextLuke 14:11
For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Read in contextMark 9:37
“Whoever welcomes one of these little children in My name welcomes Me, and whoever welcomes Me welcomes not only Me, but the One who sent Me.”
Read in contextJohn 13:20
Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever receives the one I send receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives the One who sent Me.”
Read in contextLuke 22:26
But you shall not be like them. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who leads like the one who serves.
Read in contextMatthew 10:40–42
He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives the One who sent Me.
Read in contextLuke 10:16
Whoever listens to you listens to Me; whoever rejects you rejects Me; and whoever rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me.”
Read in contextMatthew 23:11–12
The greatest among you shall be your servant.
Read in context