Luke 16:15

Bible in Basic English (1941)

And he said, You take care to seem right in the eyes of men, but God sees your hearts: and those things which are important in the opinion of men, are evil in the eyes of God.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

Καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς, Ὑμεῖς ἐστε οἱ δικαιοῦντες ἑαυτοὺς ἐνώπιον τῶν ἀνθρώπων· ὁ δὲ Θεὸς γινώσκει τὰς καρδίας ὑμῶν: ὅτι τὸ ἐν ἀνθρώποις ὑψηλὸν βδέλυγμα ἐνώπιον τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐστὶν.

Transliteration

And eipen to them, You este the dikaiountes heautous enōpion tōn anthrōpōn; ho de Theos ginōskei tas kardias of you: hoti that in anthrōpois hypsēlon bdelygma enōpion tou Theou estin.

Grammar Details

• *eipen*: aorist active indicative, 3rd singular - said/spoke
• *este*: present active indicative, 2nd plural - you are
• *dikaiountes*: present active participle, nominative plural masculine - justifying
• *heautous*: accusative plural reflexive pronoun - yourselves
• *enōpion*: preposition + genitive - before/in the sight of
• *tōn anthrōpōn*: genitive plural masculine - of men/people
• *ho de*: but the
• *Theos*: nominative singular masculine - God
• *ginōskei*: present active indicative, 3rd singular - knows
• *tas kardias*: accusative plural feminine - the hearts
• *hoti*: conjunction - because/that
• *anthrōpois*: dative plural masculine - among men/people
• *hypsēlon*: nominative singular neuter adjective - high/lofty/exalted
• *bdelygma*: nominative singular neuter - abomination
• *tou Theou*: genitive singular masculine - of God
• *estin*: present active indicative, 3rd singular - is

Word Meanings

• *dikaiountes*: justifying/declaring righteous/vindicating
• *enōpion*: before/in the sight of/in the presence of
• *Theos*: God/Deity
• *ginōskei*: knows/perceives/understands
• *kardias*: hearts/inner selves/minds
• *hypsēlon*: high/lofty/exalted
• *bdelygma*: abomination/detestable thing/abhorrence

Referenced Verses

• 1 Sam 16:7 : 7 But the Lord said to Samuel, Do not take note of his face or how tall he is, because I will not have him: for the Lord's view is not man's; man takes note of the outer form, but the Lord sees the heart.
• Prov 16:5 : 5 Everyone who has pride in his heart is disgusting to the Lord: he will certainly not go free from punishment.
• 1 Pet 3:4 : 4 But let them be those of the unseen man of the heart, the ever-shining ornament of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great price in the eyes of God.
• 1 Pet 5:5 : 5 And in the same way, let the younger men be ruled by the older ones. Let all of you put away pride and make yourselves ready to be servants: for God is a hater of pride, but he gives grace to those who make themselves low.
• 1 Cor 4:5 : 5 For this reason let there be no judging before the time, till the Lord comes, who will make clear the secret things of the dark, and the designs of the heart; and then will every man have his praise from God.
• Prov 21:2 : 2 Every way of a man seems right to himself, but the Lord is the tester of hearts.
• Jer 17:10 : 10 I the Lord am the searcher of the heart, the tester of the thoughts, so that I may give to every man the reward of his ways, in keeping with the fruit of his doings.
• 1 Chr 29:17 : 17 And I am conscious, my God, that you are the searcher of hearts, taking pleasure in righteousness. As for me, with an upright heart I have freely given all these things; and I have seen with joy your people who are here to make their offerings freely to you.
• 2 Chr 6:30 : 30 Then give ear from heaven your living-place, answering with forgiveness, and give to every man, whose secret heart is open to you, the reward of all his ways; (for you, and you only, have knowledge of the hearts of the children of men;)
• Ps 7:9 : 9 O let the evil of the evil-doer come to an end, but give strength to the upright: for men's minds and hearts are tested by the God of righteousness.
• Acts 15:8 : 8 And God, the searcher of hearts, was a witness to them, giving them the Holy Spirit even as he did to us;
• Rev 2:23 : 23 And I will put her children to death; and all the churches will see that I am he who makes search into the secret thoughts and hearts of men: and I will give to every one of you the reward of your works.
• Matt 23:5 : 5 But all their works they do so as to be seen by men: for they make wide their phylacteries, and the edges of their robes,
• Matt 23:25-27 : 25 A curse is on you, scribes and Pharisees, false ones! for you make clean the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of violent behaviour and uncontrolled desire. 26 You blind Pharisee, first make clean the inside of the cup and of the plate, so that the outside may become equally clean. 27 A curse is on you, scribes and Pharisees, false ones! for you are like the resting-places of the dead, which are made white, and seem beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men's bones and of all unclean things.
• Luke 10:29 : 29 But he, desiring to put himself in the right, said to Jesus, And who is my neighbour?
• Luke 11:39 : 39 And the Lord said to him, You Pharisees make the outside of the cup and the plate clean; but inside you are thieves and full of evil.
• Luke 18:11 : 11 The Pharisee, taking up his position, said to himself these words: God, I give you praise because I am not like other men, who take more than their right, who are evil-doers, who are untrue to their wives, or even like this tax-farmer.
• Luke 18:21 : 21 And he said, All these things I have done from the time when I was a boy.
• Luke 20:20 : 20 And they kept watch on him, and sent out secret representatives, who were acting the part of good men, in order that they might get something from his words, on account of which they might give him up to the government and into the power of the ruler.
• Luke 20:47 : 47 Who take the property of widows and before the eyes of men make long prayers; they will get a greater punishment.
• John 2:25 : 25 He had no need for any witness about man; for he himself had knowledge of what was in man.
• John 21:17 : 17 He said to him a third time, Simon, son of John, am I dear to you? Now Peter was troubled in his heart because he put the question a third time, Am I dear to you? And he said to him, Lord, you have knowledge of all things; you see that you are dear to me. Jesus said to him, Then give my sheep food.
• Acts 1:18 : 18 (Now this man, with the reward of his evil-doing, got for himself a field, and falling head first, came to a sudden and violent end there.
• Rom 3:20 : 20 Because by the works of the law no man is able to have righteousness in his eyes, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin.
• Ps 10:3 : 3 For the evil-doer is lifted up because of the purpose of his heart, and he whose mind is fixed on wealth is turned away from the Lord, saying evil against him.
• Ps 49:13 : 13 This is the way of the foolish; their silver is for those who come after them, and their children get the pleasure of their gold. (Selah.)
• Ps 49:18 : 18 Though he might have pride in his soul in his life-time, and men will give you praise if you do well for yourself,
• Ps 139:1-2 : 1 <To the chief music-maker. A Psalm. Of David.> O Lord, you have knowledge of me, searching out all my secrets. 2 You have knowledge when I am seated and when I get up, you see my thoughts from far away.
• Amos 5:21-22 : 21 Your feasts are disgusting to me, I will have nothing to do with them; I will take no delight in your holy meetings. 22 Even if you give me your burned offerings and your meal offerings, I will not take pleasure in them: I will have nothing to do with the peace-offerings of your fat beasts.
• Mal 3:15 : 15 And now to us the men of pride seem happy; yes, the evil-doers are doing well; they put God to the test and are safe.
• Matt 6:2 : 2 When then you give money to the poor, do not make a noise about it, as the false-hearted men do in the Synagogues and in the streets, so that they may have glory from men. Truly, I say to you, They have their reward.
• Matt 6:5 : 5 And when you make your prayers, be not like the false-hearted men, who take pleasure in getting up and saying their prayers in the Synagogues and at the street turnings so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, They have their reward.
• Matt 6:16 : 16 And when you go without food, be not sad-faced as the false-hearted are. For they go about with changed looks, so that men may see that they are going without food. Truly I say to you, They have their reward.
• Isa 1:10-14 : 10 Give ear to the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom; let your hearts be turned to the law of our God, you people of Gomorrah. 11 What use to me is the number of the offerings which you give me? says the Lord; your burned offerings of sheep, and the best parts of fat cattle, are a weariness to me; I take no pleasure in the blood of oxen, or of lambs, or of he-goats. 12 At whose request do you come before me, making my house unclean with your feet? 13 Give me no more false offerings; the smoke of burning flesh is disgusting to me, so are your new moons and Sabbaths and your holy meetings. 14 Your new moons and your regular feasts are a grief to my soul: they are a weight in my spirit; I am crushed under them.
• Prov 20:6 : 6 Most men make no secret of their kind acts: but where is a man of good faith to be seen?
• Jas 2:21-25 : 21 Was not the righteousness of Abraham our father judged by his works, when he made an offering of Isaac his son on the altar? 22 You see that his faith was helping his works and was made complete by them; 23 And the holy Writings were put into effect which said, And Abraham had faith in God and it was put to his account as righteousness; and he was named the friend of God. 24 You see that a man's righteousness is judged by his works and not by his faith only. 25 And in the same way, was not the righteousness of Rahab, the loose woman, judged by her works, when she took into her house those who were sent and let them go out by another way?