Lectionary Calendar
Monday, August 25th, 2025
the Week of Proper 16 / Ordinary 21
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Read the Bible

Complete Jewish Bible

Luke 20:2

and said, "Tell us, what s'mikhah do you have that authorizes you to do these things? Who gave you this s'mikhah?"

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Instruction;   Thompson Chain Reference - Divinity;  

Dictionaries:

- Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Heal, Health;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Consciousness;   Perplexity;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Chief parables and miracles in the bible;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Authority in Religion;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
and said to him: “Tell us, by what authority are you doing these things? Who is it who gave you this authority?”
King James Version (1611)
And spake vnto him, saying, Tell vs, by what authoritie doest thou these things? or who is hee that gaue thee this authoritie?
King James Version
And spake unto him, saying, Tell us, by what authority doest thou these things? or who is he that gave thee this authority?
English Standard Version
and said to him, "Tell us by what authority you do these things, or who it is that gave you this authority."
New American Standard Bible
and they declared, saying to Him, "Tell us by what authority You are doing these things, or who is the one who gave You this authority?"
New Century Version
saying, "Tell us what authority you have to do these things? Who gave you this authority?"
Amplified Bible
and said to Him, "Tell us by what kind of authority You are doing these things? Or who is the one who gave You this authority?"
New American Standard Bible (1995)
and they spoke, saying to Him, "Tell us by what authority You are doing these things, or who is the one who gave You this authority?"
Legacy Standard Bible
and they spoke, saying to Him, "Tell us by what authority You are doing these things, or who is the one who gave You this authority?"
Berean Standard Bible
"Tell us," they said, "by what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?"
Contemporary English Version
asked him, "What right do you have to do these things? Who gave you this authority?"
Darby Translation
and spoke to him saying, Tell us by what authority thou doest these things, or who is it who has given thee this authority?
Easy-to-Read Version
They said, "Tell us what authority you have to do these things. Who gave you this authority?"
Geneva Bible (1587)
And spake vnto him, saying, Tell vs by what authoritie thou doest these things, or who is hee that hath giuen thee this authoritie?
George Lamsa Translation
And they said to him, Tell us by what authority you do these things, and who gave you this authority?
Good News Translation
and said to him, "Tell us, what right do you have to do these things? Who gave you such right?"
Lexham English Bible
and said, saying to him, "Tell us, by what authority you are doing these things, or who is the one who gave you this authority?
Literal Translation
and spoke to Him, saying, Tell us by what authority you do these things, or who is it who gave to you this authority?
American Standard Version
and they spake, saying unto him, Tell us: By what authority doest thou these things? or who is he that gave thee this authority?
Bible in Basic English
That the chief priests and the scribes and the rulers of the people came to him and said, Make clear to us by what authority you do these things and who gave you this authority.
Hebrew Names Version
They asked him, "Tell us: by what authority do you do these things? Or who is giving you this authority?"
International Standard Version
and asked him, "Tell us: By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?"Acts 4:7; 7:27;">[xr]
Etheridge Translation
and said to him, Tell us by what authority thou doest these, and who is he who gave thee this authority ?
Murdock Translation
and said to him: Tell us, by what authority thou doest these things? And who is it, that gave thee this authority?
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And spake vnto him, saying: Tell vs by what aucthoritie doest thou these thynges? Eyther who is he that gaue thee this aucthoritie?
English Revised Version
and they spake, saying unto him, Tell us: By what authority doest thou these things? or who is he that gave thee this authority?
World English Bible
They asked him, "Tell us: by what authority do you do these things? Or who is giving you this authority?"
Wesley's New Testament (1755)
And spake to him saying, Tell us, by what authority dost thou these things, and who is he that gave thee this authority?
Weymouth's New Testament
together with the Elders, and they asked Him, "Tell us, By what authority are you doing these things? And who is it that gave you this authority?"
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
and thei seiden to hym, Seie to vs, in what power thou doist these thingis, or who is he that yaf to thee this power?
Update Bible Version
and they spoke, saying to him, Tell us: By what authority do you do these things? or who is he that gave you this authority?
Webster's Bible Translation
And spoke to him, saying, Tell us, By what authority doest thou these things? or who is he that gave thee this authority?
New English Translation
and said to him, "Tell us: By what authority are you doing these things? Or who is it who gave you this authority?"
New King James Version
and spoke to Him, saying, "Tell us, by what authority are You doing these things? Or who is he who gave You this authority?"
New Living Translation
They demanded, "By what authority are you doing all these things? Who gave you the right?"
New Life Bible
They said to Him, "Tell us, by what right and power are You doing these things? Who gave You the right and the power?"
New Revised Standard
and said to him, "Tell us, by what authority are you doing these things? Who is it who gave you this authority?"
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
and spake, saying, unto him - Tell us, by what authority, these things, thou art doing, and, who, is it, that gave thee this authority.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And spoke to him, saying: Tell us, by what authority dost thou these things? Or, who is he that hath given thee this authority?
Revised Standard Version
and said to him, "Tell us by what authority you do these things, or who it is that gave you this authority."
Tyndale New Testament (1525)
and spake vnto him sayinge. Tell vs by what auctorite thou doest these thinges? Ether who is he yt gave ye this auctorite?
Young's Literal Translation
and spake unto him, saying, `Tell us by what authority thou dost these things? or who is he that gave to thee this authority?'
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
and spake vnto him, and sayde: Tell vs, by what auctorite doest thou these thinges? Or who gaue the this auctorite?
Mace New Testament (1729)
and thus accosted him, tell us by what authority do you act thus? and whence do you derive that authority?
Simplified Cowboy Version
"Who said you could teach in here?"

Contextual Overview

1 One day, as Yeshua was teaching the people at the Temple, making known the Good News, the head cohanim and the Torah-teachers, along with the elders, came up to him 2 and said, "Tell us, what s'mikhah do you have that authorizes you to do these things? Who gave you this s'mikhah?" 3 He answered, "I too will ask you a question. Tell me, 4 the immersion of Yochanan — was it from Heaven or from a human source?" 5 They discussed it among themselves, saying, "If we say, ‘From Heaven,' he will say, ‘Then why didn't you believe him?' 6 But if we say, ‘From a human source,' all the people will stone us, because they're convinced that Yochanan was a prophet." 7 So they answered, "We don't know where it came from." 8 Yeshua said to them, "Then I won't tell you by what s'mikhah I do these things."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Tell: Luke 19:35-40, Luke 19:45, Luke 19:46, Matthew 21:23-27, Mark 11:28-33

who: Exodus 2:14, John 2:18, John 5:22-27, Acts 4:7-10, Acts 7:27, Acts 7:35-39, Acts 7:51

Reciprocal: Jeremiah 32:3 - Wherefore Matthew 21:10 - Who Mark 14:49 - was

Cross-References

Genesis 12:15
Pharaoh's princes saw her and commended her to Pharaoh, so the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house.
Genesis 20:11
Avraham replied, "It was because I thought, ‘There could not possibly be any fear of God in this place, so they will kill me in order to get my wife.'
Genesis 20:12
But she actually is also my sister, the daughter of my father but not the daughter of my mother, and so she became my wife.
Genesis 20:13
When God had me leave my father's house, I told her, ‘Do me this favor: wherever we go, say about me, "He is my brother."'"
Genesis 26:1
A famine came over the land, not the same as the first famine, which had taken place when Avraham was alive. Yitz'chak went to G'rar, to Avimelekh king of the P'lishtim.
Genesis 26:7
The men of the place asked him about his wife, and out of fear he said, "She is my sister." He thought, "If I tell them she's my wife, they might kill me in order to take Rivkah. After all, she is a beautiful woman."
Genesis 26:16
Avimelekh said to Yitz'chak, "You must go away from us, because you have become much more powerful than we are."
2 Chronicles 19:2
Yehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him and said to King Y'hoshafat, "Should you help the wicked and befriend those who hate Adonai ? Because of this, Adonai 's anger is upon you.
2 Chronicles 20:37
Then Eli‘ezer the son of Dodavahu from Mareshah prophesied against Y'hoshafat: "Because you joined yourself with Achazyah, Adonai is wrecking your project." And the ships were wrecked, so that they couldn't go to Tarshish.
2 Chronicles 32:31
However, in the matter of the ambassadors from the princes of Bavel, who sent to him to learn of the marvel that had taken place in the land, God left him by himself, in order to test him, so that he might know everything that was in his heart.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And spoke unto him, saying, tell us by what authority doest thou these things?.... The Arabic and Ethiopic versions read, "this thing"; as if the sanhedrim only referred to his preaching the Gospel, which is mentioned in the preceding verse, and was what he was about when they came to him: but the Persic version reads, "all these things"; not only preaching, but working miracles; and particularly driving the buyers and sellers out of the temple, which especially affected them, they losing their rents thereby:

or who is he that gave thee this authority? God or man?

:-.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

See this passage explained in the notes at Matthew 21:23-27.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Luke 20:2. By what authority, &c.] See Clarke's notes on Matthew 21:23-27.


 
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