And Jesus answering said unto them, The children of this world marry, and are given in marriage:

LUKE 20:34KJV
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Luke 20:34 (KJV)

What does Luke 20:34 mean?

Luke 20:34 records Jesus explaining that people who belong to "this world" (meaning ordinary, earthly life) marry and are given in marriage. He is making a distinction between life as people know it now and something different about life in the age to come.

Jesus is speaking to a group of religious leaders called the Sadducees, who are questioning him about resurrection and what happens after death. In this verse, Jesus begins his answer by describing how marriage is a normal part of earthly life, setting up a contrast with what he will say next about life after resurrection.

The Greek behind Luke 20:34

  • κόσμος (kosmos, G165): Translated here as "world," this word often means the present age or the current order of human life. Jesus is pointing to the way things work in everyday human society, not necessarily the physical planet.
  • γαμέω (gameō, G1060) and γαμίζω (gamizō, G1548): Both words refer to marrying and being given in marriage. The first is used for men marrying, and the second for women being given in marriage, reflecting the customs of the time.

Why Luke 20:34 matters

  • This verse clarifies that Jesus sees a real difference between earthly life and the life to come, especially regarding marriage and social customs.
  • It helps explain the context for Jesus' teaching about resurrection, showing that the Sadducees' question is based on assumptions about life that do not apply after resurrection.
  • Understanding this verse helps readers follow Jesus' argument in the wider passage, where he challenges common ideas about life after death.

Where else these words appear

“marriage” Greek G1548 · used in 2 verses

  • 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:

“marry” Greek G1060 · used in 25 verses

  • Matthew 5:32 But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.
  • Mark 10:12 And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery.
  • 1 Corinthians 7:28 But and if thou marry, thou hast not sinned; and if a virgin marry, she hath not sinned. Nevertheless such shall have trouble in the flesh: but I spare you.

“this” Greek G5127 · used in 72 verses

  • Matthew 13:15 For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
  • John 13:1 Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.
  • Romans 11:7 What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded

“world” Greek G165 · used in 102 verses

  • Matthew 6:13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
  • Romans 1:25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
  • Hebrews 6:5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,