And he said, “Woe to you lawyers also! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Jesus uses the word "touch" in a way that vividly pictures the lawyers' utter lack of empathy, comparing their refusal to help with a medical term for a very gentle, tentative touch on a sore spot. They imposed heavy rules but wouldn't even offer the lightest assistance or feel the weight of the burdens themselves.
And he said, “Woe to you lawyers also! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Jesus has just been dining with a Pharisee, and after addressing the hypocrisy of the hosts, he turns his sharp critique toward another influential group. One of the lawyers present challenges Jesus, and in response, Jesus pronounces a series of "woes" specifically targeting the lawyers and scribes, highlighting their failure to live by the very rules they impose on others. This condemnation is part of a larger discourse where Jesus contrasts outward religious observance with inner righteousness.
Ever felt crushed by expectations you can't quite meet? Jesus calls out a group who did just that to others, while exempting themselves.
Jesus confronts the 'lawyers' – those who interpreted and applied the Mosaic Law. He says they "lade people with burdens hard to bear." This wasn't just about the Law itself, which God intended to guide His people. It was about the additional rules and traditions the lawyers piled on, making life incredibly difficult for ordinary people.
Think about it: these were the experts, the ones who should have understood and applied God's heart. Instead, they created a system of requirements that became almost impossible to follow. These weren't necessarily God's direct commands, but human additions that, in practice, became heavy chains.
What's worse than carrying a heavy load? It's seeing the ones who put it there refuse to even lift a finger to help.
The most damning part of Jesus' accusation is that these lawyers "yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers." This highlights a profound hypocrisy.
They imposed rigorous standards, traditions, and interpretations on others, but they themselves avoided any personal discomfort or effort related to these burdens. The original Greek word used here for 'touch' can even imply a gentle, probing touch, like a doctor examining a wound. These lawyers wouldn't even gently engage with the difficulties they imposed on others. They were masters of rules, but not participants in the struggle of living under them.
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Understand the original words
ouai · Greek Interjection
An expression of intense grief, sorrow, or a prophetic pronouncement of impending judgment/condemnation. It signifies a state of misery or the pronouncement of divine judgment upon someone for their actions or character.
nomikos · Greek Noun
Experts in the Mosaic Law, whose role was to study, interpret, and teach the Law of God. In the New Testament, they are often linked with the Pharisees as religious leaders who frequently opposed Jesus.
phortion · Greek Noun
Metaphorical for the heavy demands, legalistic requirements, or traditions added to the Law of Moses that made religious life oppressive rather than life-giving.
Jesus is directly confronting the 'lawyers' – those who were experts in and interpreters of the Law. Their 'burdens' were not just the Law itself, but the added layers of traditions and interpretations they imposed, which they themselves refused to fully uphold or engage with.
c. 2nd century BC
Development of Oral Law
The Sadducees and Pharisees developed a complex system of oral traditions and interpretations to supplement and apply the written Law. These traditions became increasingly burdensome.
Early 1st century AD
Jesus' Public Ministry Begins
Jesus begins his public ministry, teaching and healing, often encountering opposition from the religious leaders of the day.
c. AD 30-33— this verse
Jesus' Confrontations with Religious Leaders
Throughout his ministry, Jesus engaged in public debates and confrontations with scribes and Pharisees, critiquing their hypocrisy and burdensome interpretations of the Law.
c. AD 33
Jesus' Crucifixion and Resurrection
Jesus is crucified and rises from the dead, events that would profoundly shape the early Christian movement and its relationship with Jewish law.
c. AD 40s-50s
Apostolic Council of Jerusalem
The early church grappled with how much of the Mosaic Law (including traditions) applied to Gentile believers, culminating in the Council of Jerusalem.
This passage directly parallels Luke 11:46, describing how the scribes and Pharisees 'bind heavy burdens and lay them on men's shoulders, but they themselves will not move them with their finger.'
Matthew 11:28-30Jesus offers a stark contrast to the heavy burdens imposed by religious leaders, inviting those who are weary to find rest in His 'easy' and 'light' yoke.
Romans 9:32This verse speaks to a similar misplaced effort, where Israel 'did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were by works,' highlighting the error of seeking righteousness through burdensome human effort rather than God's grace.
Galatians 3:10Paul quotes Deuteronomy, stating that 'all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse,' which echoes the theme of the crushing weight of legalism that Jesus condemned.
James 2:10This verse emphasizes that 'whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it,' underscoring the impossibility and cruelty of trying to achieve righteousness by perfectly keeping a multitude of complex rules, especially when not upholding them oneself.
vincentLuke 11:46: "And he said, Woe unto you also, ye lawyers! for ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers."
Also (καὶ)Emphatic. "Even or also unto you lawyers, woe." Note the article as in the address to the Pharisees (Luke 11:43): You, the lawyers.Ye ladeCompare heavy laden, Matthew 11:28.Grievous to be borne (δυσβάστακτα)Only here and Matthew 23:4.Touch (προσψαύετε)Only here in New Testament. A technical term in medicine fo…
calvinLuke 11:45-46: "Then answered one of the lawyers, and said unto him, Master, thus saying thou reproachest us also."
- Then Jesus spoke to the multitude, and to his disciples, 2. Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in the chair of Moses. 3. Observe and do, therefore, all things whatever they command you to observe; but do not according to their works; for they say and do not. 4. For they bind heavy and intolerable burdens, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they refuse to touch them wit…
Jesus uses the word "touch" in a way that vividly pictures the lawyers' utter lack of empathy, comparing their refusal to help with a medical term for a very gentle, tentative touch on a sore spot. They imposed heavy rules but wouldn't even offer the lightest assistance or feel the weight of the burdens themselves.
Jesus has just been dining with a Pharisee, and after addressing the hypocrisy of the hosts, he turns his sharp critique toward another influential group. One of the lawyers present challenges Jesus, and in response, Jesus pronounces a series of "woes" specifically targeting the lawyers and scribes, highlighting their failure to live by the very rules they impose on others. This condemnation is part of a larger discourse where Jesus contrasts outward religious observance with inner righteousness.
Jesus has just been dining with a Pharisee, and after addressing the hypocrisy of the hosts, he turns his sharp critique toward another influential group. One of the lawyers present challenges Jesus, and in response, Jesus pronounces a series of "woes" specifically targeting the lawyers and scribes, highlighting their failure to live by the very rules they impose on others. This condemnation is part of a larger discourse where Jesus contrasts outward religious observance with inner righteousness.
"And he said, “Woe to you lawyers also! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers." — Jesus uses the word "touch" in a way that vividly pictures the lawyers' utter lack of empathy, comparing their refusal to help with a medical term for a very gentle, tentative touch on a sore spot. T…
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Last reviewed October 2026