Luke 6:38

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Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.

Luke 6:38 (NKJV)

Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

Luke 6:38 (NIV)

Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

Luke 6:38 (KJV)

Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full, p ressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.

Luke 6:38 (NLT)

Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.

Luke 6:38 (ESV)

Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure, p ressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.

Luke 6:38 (NASB)

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.lockman.org

Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure, p ressed down, shaken together, and running over [with no space left for more]. For with the standard of measurement you use [when you do good to others], it will be measured to you in return.

Luke 6:38 (AMP)

Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified® Bible (AMP), Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.lockman.org

Give, and [gifts] will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will they pour into [the pouch formed by] the bosom [of your robe and used as a bag]. For with the measure you deal out [with the measure you use when you confer benefits on others], it will be measured back to you.

Luke 6:38 (AMPC)

Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified® Bible (AMPC), Copyright © 1954, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.lockman.org

Give away your life; you'll find life given back, but not merely given back, g iven back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity.

Luke 6:38 (MSG)

Scripture quotations from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.

New Covenant Meaning

The Four-Stage Description of the Return

Jesus describes the return with four participles that build on each other: good measure (kalon metron: a full and generous measure), pressed down (pepiesmenon: compacted so that more can fit), shaken together (sesaleumenon: shaken to settle the contents so the measure is not artificially inflated by air), running over (huperekchunnomenon: overflowing beyond the container). This is the language of a grain merchant in a first-century market who is determined to give his customer full value and more. Each step adds to the previous: not just a full measure but a pressed-down measure; not just pressed down but shaken so it truly settles; not just settled but overflowing. Jesus is not describing a minimal return. He is describing abundance that goes beyond what the container was designed to hold.

The Measure Principle: Your Posture Determines Your Capacity

Jesus says "with the same measure you use, it will be measured back to you." The Greek metron can refer to a measuring vessel or to a standard of measurement. The principle is that the generosity of your giving establishes the dimension of your receiving. This is not a formula of equal exchange, t he overflowing return described in the verse is clearly larger than the gift. But the posture of the giver does shape the capacity of the return. A closed fist cannot receive. An open hand, extended in generosity, is the same hand that receives what God pours back. The measure you use in giving is the measure of heart you bring to receiving.

Luke 6:38 appears in the context of Jesus's teaching on mercy and generosity toward enemies (vv. 27-38). The primary context is relational generosity, not financial: Jesus is teaching about forgiving, lending, doing good, and not judging. The return he describes in verse 38 applies to all forms of generosity, r elational, financial, and spiritual. The principle is consistent with 2 Corinthians 9:6: "He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows generously will also reap generously." The measure principle operates across every domain of generosity, not just money.

Application for Your Life

Generosity Is a Seed, Not a Loss

The framework Jesus establishes in Luke 6:38 reframes giving. Giving is not a subtraction from what you have. It is a seed planted that returns with interest. The return is described as pressed down, shaken together, and running over, a n image of abundance exceeding what was given. When you give, o f your money, your time, your mercy, your forgiveness, y ou are not diminishing yourself. You are opening a channel through which God's own generosity flows back to you. The person who holds everything tight never discovers what God is prepared to pour into an open hand.

Into Your Bosom: Personal, Abundant, Direct

"Will be put into your bosom" (eis ton kolpon humon). The kolpos was the fold of a garment above the belt, used as a pocket or pouch, close to the body. The image is personal and intimate: the return does not go somewhere abstract. It is poured into the fold of your garment, held against your body. Jesus describes a God who does not return generosity impersonally. The provision is specific, personal, and pressed down until overflowing. What you give with an open hand comes back to you, held close, more than you gave.

Prayer Based on This Verse

Father, I receive the principle Jesus taught: give, and it will be given to me. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over. I open my hand. I release what is in it, m y resources, my time, my mercy, my forgiveness, t rusting that You are the God who returns what is given with overflowing abundance. I refuse the closed fist of fear and hoarding. I choose the open hand of faith. With the measure I give, it will be measured back to me. I plant generously. I trust You as the one who gives the harvest. Pour into my bosom the good measure You have prepared for those who give as You give. In Jesus name. Amen.