Luke 9:48

THE MESSAGE

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
He told them, “Whoever welcomes

King James Version (1611)
And said vnto them, Whosoeuer shall receiue this child in my Name, receiueth me: and whosoeuer shal receiue me, receiueth him that sent me: For hee that is least among you all, the same shalbe great.

King James Version
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.

English Standard Version
and said to them, "Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. For he who is least among you all is the one who is great."

New American Standard Bible
and He said to them, "Whoever receives this child in My name receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me; for the one who is least among all of you, this is the one who is great."

New Century Version
Then Jesus said, "Whoever accepts this little child in my name accepts me. And whoever accepts me accepts the One who sent me, because whoever is least among you all is really the greatest."

Amplified Bible
and He told them, "Whoever welcomes this child in My name welcomes Me; and whoever welcomes Me [also] welcomes Him who sent Me; for the one who is least among all of you [that is, the one who is genuinely humble—the one with a realistic self-view]—he is the one who is [truly] great."

New American Standard Bible (1995)
and said to them, "Whoever receives this child in My name receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me; for the one who is least among all of you, this is the one who is great."

Legacy Standard Bible
and said to them, "Whoever receives this child in My name receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me; for the one who is least among all of you, this is the one who is great."

Berean Standard Bible
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."

Contemporary English Version
Then he said to his disciples, "When you welcome even a child because of me, you welcome me. And when you welcome me, you welcome the one who sent me. Whichever one of you is the most humble is the greatest."

Complete Jewish Bible
and said to them, "Whoever welcomes this child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the One who sent me. In other words, the one who is least among you all — this is the one who is great."

Darby Translation
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.

Easy-to-Read Version
Then he said to the followers, "Whoever accepts a little child like this in my name is accepting me. And anyone who accepts me is also accepting the one who sent me. The one among you who is the most humble—this is the one who is great."

Geneva Bible (1587)
And said vnto them, Whosoeuer receiueth this litle childe in my Name, receiueth me: and whosoeuer shall receiue me, receiueth him that sent me: for he that is least among you all, he shall be great.

George Lamsa Translation
And he said to them, Everyone who receives a little boy like this one in my name, receives me; and he who receives me receives him who sent me; for whoever is least among you, let him be great.

Good News Translation
and said to them, "Whoever welcomes this child in my name, welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me, also welcomes the one who sent me. For the one who is least among you all is the greatest."

Lexham English Bible
and said to them, "Whoever welcomes this child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For the one who is least among you all—this one is great."

Literal Translation
and said to them, Whoever receives this child on My name receives Me. And whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me. For the one being least among you all, this one shall be great.

American Standard Version
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.

Bible in Basic English
And said to them, Whoever gives honour to this child in my name, gives honour to me: and whoever gives honour to me, gives honour to him who sent me: for whoever is least among you all, that man is great.

Hebrew Names Version
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."

International Standard Version
Then 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 the one who is least among all of you is the one who is greatest."Matthew 10:40; 18:5; 23:11-12; Mark 9:37; John 12:44; 13:20;">[xr]

Etheridge Translation
And he said to them, Every one who receiveth a child like this in my name, receiveth me. And whosoever receiveth me, he receiveth Him who sent me. For he who is least among you, he shall be greatest.

Murdock Translation
and said to them: Whoever receiveth a child like this, in my name, receiveth me; and he that receiveth me, receiveth him that sent me. For he that shall be least among you all, he will be the great one.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And sayde vnto them: Whosoeuer receaueth this chylde in my name, receaueth me: And whosoeuer receaueth me, receaueth him that sent me. For he that is least among you all, the same shalbe great.

English Revised Version
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.

World English Bible
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."

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
and sat him by him, And said to 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.

Weymouth's New Testament
and said to them, "Whoever for my sake receives this little child, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives Him who sent me. For the lowliest among you all--he is the greatest."

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
and seide to hem, Who euer resseyueth this child in my name, resseyueth me; and who euer resseyueth me, resseiueth him that sente me; for he that is leest among you alle, is the grettest.

Update Bible Version
and said to them, Whoever shall receive this little child in my name receives me: and whoever shall receive me receives him that sent me: for he that is least among you all, the same is great.

Webster's Bible Translation
And said to them, Whoever shall receive this child in my name, receiveth me; and whoever shall receive me, receiveth him that sent me: for he that is least among you all, the same shall be great.

New English Translation
and said to them, "Whoever welcomes this child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me, for the one who is least among you all is the one who is great."

New King James Version
and said to them, "Whoever receives this little child in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me. For he who is least among you all will be great."

New Living Translation
Then he said to them, "Anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me also welcomes my Father who sent me. Whoever is the least among you is the greatest."

New Life Bible
He said to the followers, "Whoever receives this child in My name, receives Me. Whoever receives Me, receives Him Who sent Me. The one who is least among you is the one who is great."

New Revised Standard
and said to them, "Whoever welcomes this child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me; for the least among all of you is the greatest."

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
and said unto them - Whosoever shall give welcome unto this child, on my name, unto me, giveth welcome; and, whosoever, unto me, giveth welcome, giveth welcome unto him that sent me forth. For, he who is least among you all, the same, is, great.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And said to 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 the lesser among you all, he is the greater.

Revised Standard Version
and said to them, "Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me; for he who is least among you all is the one who is great."

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
and sayd vnto the: Whosoever receaveth this chylde in my name receaveth me. And whosoever receaveth me receaveth him yt sent me. For he yt is least amonge you all the same shalbe greate.

Young's Literal Translation
and said to them, `Whoever may receive this child in my name, doth receive me, and whoever may receive me, doth receive Him who sent me, for he who is least among you all -- he shall be great.'

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
and sayde vnto them? Whosoeuer receaueth this childe in my name, receaueth me: and who so euer receaueth me, receaueth him that sent me. But who so is leest amoge you all, ye same shal be greate.

Mace New Testament (1729)
whoever receives such a child in my name, receives me: and he that receives me, receives him that sent me. for he that is least among you all, he shall be greatest.

Simplified Cowboy Version
said, "Whoever loves a child like this loves me. And if you love me, you love the Boss who sent me. The best hand among you will be the one who thinks of themselves the least."

Contextual Overview

⁴⁴Keep It Simple Jesus now called the Twelve and gave them authority and power to deal with all the demons and cure diseases. He commissioned them to preach the news of God's kingdom and heal the sick. He said, "Don't load yourselves up with equipment. Keep it simple; you are the equipment. And no luxury inns—get a modest place and be content there until you leave. If you're not welcomed, leave town. Don't make a scene. Shrug your shoulders and move on." Commissioned, they left. They traveled from town to town telling the latest news of God, the Message, and curing people everywhere they went. Herod, the ruler, heard of these goings on and didn't know what to think. There were people saying John had come back from the dead, others that Elijah had appeared, still others that some prophet of long ago had shown up. Herod said, "But I killed John—took off his head. So who is this that I keep hearing about?" Curious, he looked for a chance to see him in action. The apostles returned and reported on what they had done. Jesus took them away, off by themselves, near the town called Bethsaida. But the crowds got wind of it and followed. Jesus graciously welcomed them and talked to them about the kingdom of God. Those who needed healing, he healed. As the day declined, the Twelve said, "Dismiss the crowd so they can go to the farms or villages around here and get a room for the night and a bite to eat. We're out in the middle of nowhere." "You feed them," Jesus said. They said, "We couldn't scrape up more than five loaves of bread and a couple of fish—unless, of course, you want us to go to town ourselves and buy food for everybody." (There were more than five thousand people in the crowd.) But he went ahead and directed his disciples, "Sit them down in groups of about fifty." They did what he said, and soon had everyone seated. He took the five loaves and two fish, lifted his face to heaven in prayer, blessed, broke, and gave the bread and fish to the disciples to hand out to the crowd. After the people had all eaten their fill, twelve baskets of leftovers were gathered up. One time when Jesus was off praying by himself, his disciples nearby, he asked them, "What are the crowds saying about me, about who I am?" They said, "John the Baptizer. Others say Elijah. Still others say that one of the prophets from long ago has come back." He then asked, "And you—what are you saying about me? Who am I?" Peter answered, "The Messiah of God." Jesus then warned them to keep it quiet. They were to tell no one what Peter had said. He went on, "It is necessary that the Son of Man proceed to an ordeal of suffering, be tried and found guilty by the religious leaders, high priests, and religion scholars, be killed, and on the third day be raised up alive." Then he told them what they could expect for themselves: "Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You're not in the driver's seat—I am. Don't run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I'll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self. What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you? If any of you is embarrassed with me and the way I'm leading you, know that the Son of Man will be far more embarrassed with you when he arrives in all his splendor in company with the Father and the holy angels. This isn't, you realize, pie in the sky by and by. Some who have taken their stand right here are going to see it happen, see with their own eyes the kingdom of God." About eight days after saying this, he climbed the mountain to pray, taking Peter, John, and James along. While he was in prayer, the appearance of his face changed and his clothes became blinding white. At once two men were there talking with him. They turned out to be Moses and Elijah—and what a glorious appearance they made! They talked over his exodus, the one Jesus was about to complete in Jerusalem. Meanwhile, Peter and those with him were slumped over in sleep. When they came to, rubbing their eyes, they saw Jesus in his glory and the two men standing with him. When Moses and Elijah had left, Peter said to Jesus, "Master, this is a great moment! Let's build three memorials: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." He blurted this out without thinking. While he was babbling on like this, a light-radiant cloud enveloped them. As they found themselves buried in the cloud, they became deeply aware of God. Then there was a voice out of the cloud: "This is my Son, the Chosen! Listen to him." When the sound of the voice died away, they saw Jesus there alone. They were speechless. And they continued speechless, said not one thing to anyone during those days of what they had seen. When they came down off the mountain the next day, a big crowd was there to meet them. A man called from out of the crowd, "Please, please, Teacher, take a look at my son. He's my only child. Often a spirit seizes him. Suddenly he's screaming, thrown into convulsions, his mouth foaming. And then it beats him black-and-blue before it leaves. I asked your disciples to deliver him but they couldn't." Jesus said, "What a generation! No sense of God! No focus to your lives! How many times do I have to go over these things? How much longer do I have to put up with this? Bring your son here." While he was coming, the demon slammed him to the ground and threw him into convulsions. Jesus stepped in, ordered the vile spirit gone, healed the boy, and handed him back to his father. They all shook their heads in wonder, astonished at God's greatness, God's majestic greatness. While they continued to stand around exclaiming over all the things he was doing, Jesus said to his disciples, "Treasure and ponder each of these next words: The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into human hands." ⁴⁵ They didn't get what he was saying. It was like he was speaking a foreign language and they couldn't make heads or tails of it. But they were embarrassed to ask him what he meant. ⁴⁶They started arguing over which of them would be most famous. When Jesus realized how much this mattered to them, he brought a child to his side. "Whoever accepts this child as if the child were me, accepts me," he said. "And whoever accepts me, accepts the One who sent me. You become great by accepting, not asserting. Your spirit, not your size, makes the difference." ⁴⁹ John spoke up, "Master, we saw a man using your name to expel demons and we stopped him because he wasn't of our group." ⁵⁰ Jesus said, "Don't stop him. If he's not an enemy, he's an ally."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Whosoever shall receive this: Luke 10:16, Matthew 10:40-42, Matthew 18:5, Matthew 18:6, Matthew 18:10, Matthew 18:14, Matthew 25:40, Matthew 25:45, Mark 9:37, John 12:44, John 12:45, John 13:20, John 14:21, 1 Thessalonians 4:8

he that: Luke 7:28, Luke 14:11, Luke 22:30, Proverbs 18:12, Matthew 19:28, Matthew 23:11, Matthew 23:12, 1 Peter 5:3, 1 Peter 5:4, 1 Peter 5:6, Revelation 3:21, Revelation 21:14

Reciprocal: Deuteronomy 28:1 - will set Matthew 5:19 - great Matthew 10:14 - whosoever Matthew 11:11 - he that Matthew 18:4 - greatest Mark 10:43 - whosoever Mark 10:52 - thy faith Luke 9:5 - whosoever Luke 9:53 - General Luke 10:8 - and Luke 22:26 - General John 17:3 - and Jesus Romans 2:10 - glory Romans 15:7 - receive James 1:9 - in 3 John 1:9 - receiveth

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And said unto them, whosoever shalt receive this child,.... Or "one such little child", as in Matthew 18:5 and so the Syriac version here, "a child like to this"; and the Arabic version, "one like to this child"; not in age, but in meekness and humility; one that is not proud and haughty, ambitious of worldly honour, and envious at the superior state of others: whoever receives such an one into his house and heart, and the Gospel he preaches,

in my name; because he belongs to me, is sent by me, and represents me, and delivers my message:

receiveth me; represented by him, and will be so taken:

and whosoever shall receive me, receiveth him that sent me;

Matthew 18:5- :

For he that is least among you all; that is so, in his own opinion, and behaves as such in his conduct, who is lowly and meek, and humble; and so the Ethiopic version, rather interpreting than translating, renders it, "for he that makes himself humble, who is lesser than all"; who considers himself as the least of the apostles, and unworthy to be one, as did the Apostle Paul:

the same shall be great; shall be highly honoured with gifts, and made greatly useful, as the above mentioned apostle was: a saying like this, the Jews have u;

"every one, המקטין עצמו, "that makes himself little", for the words of the law in this world, נעשה גדול, "shall be made great" in the world to come;''

that is, in the days of the Messiah: and again it is said by w them,

"worthy is he that makes himself little in this world, how great and high shall he be in that world!--whoever is little shall be great, and he that is great shall be little.''

u T. Bab Bava Metzia, fol. 85. 2. w Zohar in Num. for. 70. 1. & Tosaphta in Zohar in Gen. fol. 76. 2.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

See the notes at Matthew 18:1-5. Compare Mark 9:33-38.