Luke 7:4
New International Version
When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him, “This man deserves to have you do this,

New Living Translation
So they earnestly begged Jesus to help the man. “If anyone deserves your help, he does,” they said,

English Standard Version
And when they came to Jesus, they pleaded with him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy to have you do this for him,

Berean Standard Bible
They came to Jesus and pleaded with Him earnestly, “This man is worthy to have You grant this,

Berean Literal Bible
And having come to Jesus, they were begging Him earnestly, saying, "He is worthy to whom You will grant this,

King James Bible
And when they came to Jesus, they besought him instantly, saying, That he was worthy for whom he should do this:

New King James Version
And when they came to Jesus, they begged Him earnestly, saying that the one for whom He should do this was deserving,

New American Standard Bible
When they came to Jesus, they strongly urged Him, saying, “He is worthy for You to grant this to him;

NASB 1995
When they came to Jesus, they earnestly implored Him, saying, “He is worthy for You to grant this to him;

NASB 1977
And when they had come to Jesus, they earnestly entreated Him, saying, “He is worthy for You to grant this to him;

Legacy Standard Bible
And when they came to Jesus, they were earnestly pleading with Him, saying, “He is worthy for You to grant this to him;

Amplified Bible
When they reached Jesus, they pleaded with Him earnestly [to come], saying, “He is worthy for You to do this for him,

Christian Standard Bible
When they reached Jesus, they pleaded with him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy for you to grant this,

Holman Christian Standard Bible
When they reached Jesus, they pleaded with Him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy for You to grant this,

American Standard Version
And they, when they came to Jesus, besought him earnestly, saying, He is worthy that thou shouldest do this for him;

Contemporary English Version
The leaders went to Jesus and begged him to do something. They said, "This man deserves your help!

English Revised Version
And they, when they came to Jesus, besought him earnestly, saying, He is worthy that thou shouldest do this for him:

GOD'S WORD® Translation
They came to Jesus and begged, "He deserves your help.

Good News Translation
They came to Jesus and begged him earnestly, "This man really deserves your help.

International Standard Version
So they went to Jesus and begged him repeatedly, "He deserves to have this done for him,

Majority Standard Bible
They came to Jesus and pleaded with Him earnestly, ?This man is worthy to have You grant this,

NET Bible
When they came to Jesus, they urged him earnestly, "He is worthy to have you do this for him,

New Heart English Bible
When they came to Jesus, they pleaded with him earnestly, saying, "He is worthy for you to do this for him,

Webster's Bible Translation
And when they came to Jesus, they besought him earnestly, saying, That he was worthy for whom he should do this:

Weymouth New Testament
And they, when they came to Jesus, earnestly entreated Him, pleading, "He deserves to have this favour granted him,

World English Bible
When they came to Jesus, they begged him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy for you to do this for him,
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
And they, having come near to Jesus, were calling on Him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy to whom You will do this,

Berean Literal Bible
And having come to Jesus, they were begging Him earnestly, saying, "He is worthy to whom You will grant this,

Young's Literal Translation
And they, having come near unto Jesus, were calling upon him earnestly, saying -- 'He is worthy to whom thou shalt do this,

Smith's Literal Translation
And they approaching to Jesus, besought him earnestly, saying, That he is worthy to whom he will bestow this:
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
And when they came to Jesus, they besought him earnestly, saying to him: He is worthy that thou shouldest do this for him.

Catholic Public Domain Version
And when they had come to Jesus, they petitioned him anxiously, saying to him: “He is worthy that you should provide this to him.

New American Bible
They approached Jesus and strongly urged him to come, saying, “He deserves to have you do this for him,

New Revised Standard Version
When they came to Jesus, they appealed to him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy of having you do this for him,
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
When they came to Jesus, they begged him earnestly, saying, He is worthy to have this done for him;

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
But when they came to Yeshua, they were seeking from him diligently and they were saying, “He is worthy that you should do this for him.”
NT Translations
Anderson New Testament
And they came to Jesus, and besought him earnestly, saying: He is worthy for whom thou shouldst do this;

Godbey New Testament
And they, having come to Jesus, continued to entreat Him earnestly, saying, That he to whom He will do this is worthy:

Haweis New Testament
And when they came to Jesus, they entreated him importunately, saying, He is a worthy man on whom thou wilt confer this favour:

Mace New Testament
accordingly they came to Jesus and earnestly pressed him, saying, he very well deserves you should do him this favour; for he loves our nation,

Weymouth New Testament
And they, when they came to Jesus, earnestly entreated Him, pleading, "He deserves to have this favour granted him,

Worrell New Testament
And they, coming to Jesus, were earnestly beseeching Him, saying, "He is worthy for whom Thou shalt do this;

Worsley New Testament
And when they came to Jesus, they intreated Him earnestly, saying, he is worthy of this favor:

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Faith of the Centurion
3When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to ask Him to come and heal his servant. 4 They came to Jesus and pleaded with Him earnestly, “This man is worthy to have You grant this, 5for he loves our nation and has built our synagogue.”…

Cross References
Matthew 8:5-13
When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came and pleaded with Him, / “Lord, my servant lies at home, paralyzed and in terrible agony.” / “I will go and heal him,” Jesus replied. ...

John 4:46-54
So once again He came to Cana in Galilee, where He had turned the water into wine. And there was a royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. / When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went and begged Him to come down and heal his son, who was about to die. / Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will never believe.” ...

Acts 10:1-2
At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was called the Italian Regiment. / He and all his household were devout and God-fearing. He gave generously to the people and prayed to God regularly.

Matthew 15:22-28
And a Canaanite woman from that region came to Him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is miserably possessed by a demon.” / But Jesus did not answer a word. So His disciples came and urged Him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.” / He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” ...

Mark 5:22-23
A synagogue leader named Jairus arrived, and seeing Jesus, he fell at His feet / and pleaded with Him urgently, “My little daughter is near death. Please come and place Your hands on her, so that she will be healed and live.”

John 11:3
So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one You love is sick.”

Acts 9:36-39
In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which is translated as Dorcas), who was always occupied with works of kindness and charity. / At that time, however, she became sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upper room. / Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent two men to urge him, “Come to us without delay.” ...

1 Kings 8:41-43
And as for the foreigner who is not of Your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of Your name— / for they will hear of Your great name and mighty hand and outstretched arm—when he comes and prays toward this temple, / then may You hear from heaven, Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You. Then all the peoples of the earth will know Your name and fear You, as do Your people Israel, and they will know that this house I have built is called by Your Name.

2 Kings 5:1-14
Now Naaman, the commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man in his master’s sight and highly regarded, for through him the LORD had given victory to Aram. And he was a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper. / At this time the Arameans had gone out in bands and had taken a young girl from the land of Israel, and she was serving Naaman’s wife. / She said to her mistress, “If only my master would go to the prophet who is in Samaria, he would cure him of his leprosy.” ...

Isaiah 56:6-7
And the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD to minister to Him, to love the name of the LORD, and to be His servants—all who keep the Sabbath without profaning it and who hold fast to My covenant— / I will bring them to My holy mountain and make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on My altar, for My house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations.”

Romans 11:13-14
I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry / in the hope that I may provoke my own people to jealousy and save some of them.

Ephesians 2:11-13
Therefore remember that formerly you who are Gentiles in the flesh and called uncircumcised by the so-called circumcision (that done in the body by human hands)— / remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. / But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.

Genesis 12:3
I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”

Exodus 12:48-49
If a foreigner resides with you and wants to celebrate the LORD’s Passover, all the males in the household must be circumcised; then he may come near to celebrate it, and he shall be like a native of the land. But no uncircumcised man may eat of it. / The same law shall apply to both the native and the foreigner who resides among you.”

Numbers 15:14-16
And for the generations to come, if a foreigner residing with you or someone else among you wants to prepare a food offering as a pleasing aroma to the LORD, he is to do exactly as you do. / The assembly is to have the same statute both for you and for the foreign resident; it is a permanent statute for the generations to come. You and the foreigner shall be the same before the LORD. / The same law and the same ordinance will apply both to you and to the foreigner residing with you.”


Treasury of Scripture

And when they came to Jesus, they sought him instantly, saying, That he was worthy for whom he should do this:

worthy.

Luke 7:6,7
Then Jesus went with them. And when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself: for I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof: …

Luke 20:35
But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage:

Matthew 10:11,13,37,38
And into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, inquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go thence…

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Luke 7
1. Jesus finds a greater faith in the centurion;
10. heals his servant, being absent;
11. raises from death the widow's son at Nain;
18. answers John's messengers with the declaration of his miracles;
24. testifies to the people what opinion he held of John;
31. compares this generation to the children in the marketplaces,
36. and allowing his feet to be washed and anointed by a woman who was a sinner,
44. he shows how he is a friend to sinners, to forgive them their sins, upon their repentance.














When they came to Jesus
This phrase sets the scene for a significant encounter. The "they" refers to the Jewish elders sent by the centurion, a Roman officer, to Jesus. The act of coming to Jesus signifies a recognition of His authority and power. In the Greek, "came" (ἦλθον) implies a deliberate approach, indicating the elders' respect and urgency. Historically, this reflects the centurion's understanding of Jesus' ability to heal, despite being a Gentile, which underscores the breaking of cultural barriers and the universal reach of Jesus' ministry.

they pleaded with Him earnestly
The word "pleaded" (παρεκάλουν) in Greek conveys a sense of earnest entreaty or begging. This shows the depth of their concern and the seriousness of the centurion's request. The elders' earnestness highlights their respect for the centurion and their belief in Jesus' compassion and power. This plea is not just a casual request but a heartfelt appeal, reflecting the desperation and hope placed in Jesus' ability to heal.

This man is worthy to have You grant this
The phrase "this man is worthy" (ἄξιός ἐστιν) is significant. The elders argue for the centurion's worthiness based on his love for the Jewish nation and his building of a synagogue. In a historical context, this is remarkable, as Roman centurions were often seen as oppressors. Yet, this centurion's actions demonstrate a respect and love for the Jewish people, which the elders believe makes him deserving of Jesus' help. This highlights the theme of faith and righteousness not being confined to ethnic or religious boundaries but being recognized by actions and heart.

(4) They besought him instantly.--Better, earnestly, or urgently, the adverb "instantly" having practically lost the meaning which our translators attached to it.

Verses 4, 5. - He was worthy for whom he should do this: for he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue. There are several mentions of these Roman military officers in the Gospels and Acts, and in every instance the mention is a favourable one. Still more notable instances occur in the case of Cornelius - to whom Peter was specially sent (Acts 10, 11.) - of the centurion who was on guard at the execution on Calvary, and of the centurion who conveyed Paul to Rome (Acts 27:1-3). On these Gentile soldiers "the faith and life of Judaism (seen, we may well believe, to more advantage in the village life of Galilee than amid the factions of Jerusalem) had made a deep impression: he found a purity, reverence, simplicity, and nobleness of life which he had not found elsewhere, and so he loved the nation, and built a new one of the synagogues of the town" (Dean Plumptre). The centurion was apparently one of those foreigners who - without submitting to circumcision and other burdensome ceremonial rites which were incompatible with the exercise of his profession - had accepted the faith of Israel, and worshipped with the people in the position of one who, in another age, would have been termed a "proselyte of the gate." He was evidently one of those true-hearted men who translated a beautiful creed into acts, for it was specially urged by the elders, in their petition to Jesus, that he loved the people, no doubt emphasizing his generous almsgivings, and, as a crowning act of his kindness, had built a synagogue Capernaum. Modern travellers tell us that among the ruins of this city of Jesus are the remains of a white marble synagogue of the time of the Herods. This may have been the Roman soldier's noble gift to Israel. The whole character of this nameless officer seems to have been singularly noble. In those selfish days of undreamed-of luxury, cruelty, and heartlessness, for a master to care for, much less to love, a slave was, comparatively speaking, rare. From his message to Jesus (ver. 7) it would seem as though he had a clearer conception who the poor Galilaean Teacher was than any one else at that period of the public ministry, not excluding the inner circle of disciples.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Greek
They came
παραγενόμενοι (paragenomenoi)
Verb - Aorist Participle Middle - Nominative Masculine Plural
Strong's 3854: From para and ginomai; to become near, i.e. Approach; by implication, to appear publicly.

to
πρὸς (pros)
Preposition
Strong's 4314: To, towards, with. A strengthened form of pro; a preposition of direction; forward to, i.e. Toward.

Jesus
Ἰησοῦν (Iēsoun)
Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular
Strong's 2424: Of Hebrew origin; Jesus, the name of our Lord and two other Israelites.

[and] pleaded with
παρεκάλουν (parekaloun)
Verb - Imperfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural
Strong's 3870: From para and kaleo; to call near, i.e. Invite, invoke.

Him
αὐτὸν (auton)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Accusative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 846: He, she, it, they, them, same. From the particle au; the reflexive pronoun self, used of the third person, and of the other persons.

earnestly,
σπουδαίως (spoudaiōs)
Adverb
Strong's 4709: Diligently, earnestly, zealously. Adverb from spoudaios; earnestly, promptly.

“[This man] is
ἐστιν (estin)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 1510: I am, exist. The first person singular present indicative; a prolonged form of a primary and defective verb; I exist.

worthy
Ἄξιός (Axios)
Adjective - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 514: Worthy, worthy of, deserving, comparable, suitable. Probably from ago; deserving, comparable or suitable.

to have You grant
παρέξῃ (parexē)
Verb - Future Indicative Middle - 2nd Person Singular
Strong's 3930: From para and echo; to hold near, i.e. Present, afford, exhibit, furnish occasion.

this,
τοῦτο (touto)
Demonstrative Pronoun - Accusative Neuter Singular
Strong's 3778: This; he, she, it.


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