Luke 6:9 (DRB)

Passage

Then Jesus said to them: I ask you, if it be lawful on the sabbath days to do good or to do evil? To save life or to destroy?

Nearby Context

Luke 6:7 And the scribes and Pharisees watched if he would heal on the sabbath: that they might find an accusation against him.

Luke 6:8 But he knew their thoughts and said to the man who had the withered hand: Arise and stand forth in the midst. And rising he stood forth.

Luke 6:9 Then Jesus said to them: I ask you, if it be lawful on the sabbath days to do good or to do evil? To save life or to destroy?

Luke 6:10 And looking round about on them all, he said to the man: Stretch forth thy hand. And he stretched it forth. And his hand was restored.

Luke 6:11 And they were filled with madness: and they talked one with another, what they might do to Jesus.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "jesus", "said", "lawful", "sabbath", "days", "good", "evil", and "save". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "jesus" and "said", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 8's "But he knew their thoughts and said..." into verse 10's "And looking round about on them all...", so "jesus" and "said" belong inside that flow. In Luke context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "jesus" and "said" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.