Read Verse Keyword Strong's
Prev

Luke 17:28

Next

Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;

Likewise {G3668} also {G2532} as {G5613} it was {G1096} in {G1722} the days {G2250} of Lot {G3091}; they did eat {G2068}, they drank {G4095}, they bought {G59}, they sold {G4453}, they planted {G5452}, they builded {G3618};

Likewise, as it was in the time of Lot — people ate and drank, bought and sold, planted and built;

It was the same in the days of Lot: People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building.

Likewise even as it came to pass in the days of Lot; they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;

Commentary

In Luke 17:28, Jesus continues His discourse on the coming of the Son of Man, drawing a stark parallel between the conditions preceding His return and the events leading up to the divine judgment upon Sodom in the days of Lot. This verse highlights the seemingly ordinary nature of life just before a momentous spiritual upheaval.

Context

This verse is part of Jesus' teaching to His disciples about the future, specifically concerning His Second Coming and the end of the age. He previously compared this period to the days of Noah, where people were consumed with everyday activities before the flood. Here, He shifts to the "days of Lot," reinforcing the message of sudden, unexpected judgment arriving amidst normalcy. The focus is not on the sinfulness of the activities themselves, but on the overwhelming preoccupation with them to the exclusion of spiritual awareness or readiness for God's intervention.

Key Themes

  • Worldly Preoccupation: The list "eat, drank, bought, sold, planted, builded" encompasses the full scope of normal, daily human activities – sustenance, commerce, agriculture, and construction. Jesus emphasizes that people were entirely absorbed in these material pursuits, oblivious to the impending judgment.
  • Suddenness of Divine Judgment: Like the flood in Noah's time, the destruction of Sodom came without warning to those preoccupied with worldly affairs. This underscores the theme that the Son of Man's return will also be sudden and unexpected for an unprepared world, as highlighted in Matthew 24:44.
  • Historical Warning: The "days of Lot" serve as a powerful historical precedent and a prophetic warning. The narrative in Genesis 19 details the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah due to their great wickedness, a judgment that came swiftly upon a city seemingly thriving.

Linguistic Insights

The Greek verbs used in this passage (ἔσθιον, ἔπινον, ἠγόραζον, ἐπώλουν, ἐφύτευον, ᾠκοδόμουν) are all in the imperfect tense. This tense describes continuous or repeated actions in the past, effectively painting a picture of people consistently and habitually engaged in these earthly activities. It emphasizes the ongoing, immersive nature of their preoccupation, rather than isolated acts.

Historical and Cultural Context

The story of Lot and the destruction of Sodom (Genesis 18-19) was a well-known and sobering account in Jewish culture. Sodom was a city known for its prosperity but also its profound moral corruption and spiritual decay, which ultimately led to its catastrophic downfall. Jesus uses this familiar narrative to illustrate a timeless principle: material prosperity and engagement in daily life, when divorced from spiritual discernment and readiness for God's intervention, can lead to devastating consequences.

Practical Application

This verse serves as a potent call to spiritual vigilance. It doesn't condemn everyday activities like working, eating, or building, which are necessary for life. Instead, it warns against allowing these pursuits to become an all-consuming focus that blinds us to eternal realities and the need for spiritual preparedness. Believers are encouraged to live responsibly in the world but always with an awareness of God's sovereignty and the certainty of future judgment and Christ's return. It challenges us to maintain a balance, being "in the world" but not "of the world," ensuring our ultimate hope and security are found in God, not in fleeting material comforts.

Note: If the commentary doesn’t appear instantly, please allow 2–5 seconds for it to load. It is generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash (May 20, 2025) using a prompt focused on Biblical fidelity over bias. While the insights have been consistently reliable, we encourage prayerful discernment through the Holy Spirit.

Please note that only the commentary section is AI-generated — the main Scripture and cross-references are stored on the site and are from trusted and verified sources.

Cross-References

  • Ezekiel 16:49 (4 votes)

    Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.

  • Ezekiel 16:50 (4 votes)

    And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw [good].

  • Genesis 18:20 (3 votes)

    And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous;

  • Genesis 18:21 (3 votes)

    I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.

  • James 5:1 (3 votes)

    ¶ Go to now, [ye] rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon [you].

  • James 5:5 (3 votes)

    Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.

  • Genesis 13:13 (2 votes)

    But the men of Sodom [were] wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly.