Luke 13:4 Meaning and Explanation
“Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem?”
King James Version (KJV)
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Read Full Chapter →Jesus cites a second calamity — eighteen people crushed by the falling tower of Siloam — and asks whether they were worse offenders than all who dwelt in Jerusalem.
What Does Luke 13:4 Mean?
Jesus adds an example of His own, nearer home for hearers bound for Jerusalem: a tower by the pool of Siloam collapsed and killed eighteen. The first case was an atrocity of human cruelty; this one is an accident with no villain at all. The question is the same — were the dead greater debtors before God than anyone else in the city?
By pairing a massacre with a falling tower, Jesus covers the whole field of sudden loss, evil intended and evil merely suffered. Neither kind marks its victims as worse than the rest. What both reveal is the frailty of every life, and the mercy of every morning still given us to turn to God.
Luke 13:4 in the Original Language
opheiletes (ὀφειλέτης), 'sinners' -- literally debtors, those who owe what they cannot pay.
Frequently Asked Questions About Luke 13:4
What does Luke 13:4 mean?
Jesus cites a second calamity — eighteen people crushed by the falling tower of Siloam — and asks whether they were worse offenders than all who dwelt in Jerusalem.