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Luke 17 · a question people ask

Jesus told all ten to go to the priests (17:14). Were the nine wrong not to come back?

In the text

Here are the verses in order. Jesus said to them, "Go and show yourselves to the priests." Luke goes on, "As they went, they were cleansed." (17:14). "One of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice." (17:15). Jesus answered, "Weren’t the ten cleansed? But where are the nine?" (17:17), and "Were there none found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner?" (17:18). Luke doesn't say where the nine went, whether they reached the priests, or why they didn't come back, and Jesus's words about them are questions. The chapter doesn't answer them beyond the words, and these notes don't either.

The verses

“When he saw them, he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” As they went, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice. He fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks; and he was a Samaritan. Jesus answered, “Weren’t the ten cleansed? But where are the nine? Were there none found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner?””
Luke 17:14-18 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of Luke 17

Luke 17: Where are the nine?

Ten men were cleansed as they went. One, "when he saw that he was healed, turned back" (17:15), and Jesus asked, "Were there none found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner?" (17:18). In the Greek, turned back and returned are one verb, and in the Greek the WEB translates it is the verb of the shepherds who "returned, glorifying and praising God" (2:20).

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Last reviewed October 2, 2026. Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions