I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the very last penny.”
Parallel translations
- WEB I tell you, you will by no means get out of there, until you have paid the very last penny. ”
- KJV I tell thee, thou shalt not depart thence, till thou hast paid the very last mite.
- ESV I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the very last penny.”
- NKJV I tell you, you shall not depart from there till you have paid the very last mite.”
- NASB I tell you, you will not get out of there until you have paid up the very last lepton.”
- NLT And if that happens, you won’t be free again until you have paid the very last penny.”
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus warns that one will not escape prison until the last penny is paid. Unresolved guilt before God's judgment leads to inescapable consequences.
Overview
Continuing the courtroom image, Jesus stresses the finality and severity of judgment for those who fail to settle accounts in time. The picture underscores the urgency of seeking reconciliation with God before it is too late. It implicitly points to Christ, who alone can pay the debt of sin that we could never settle ourselves.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Mark 12:42Then one poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amounted to a small fraction of a denarius.
- Matt 18:34In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should repay all that he owed.
- 2 Th 1:3We are obligated to thank God for you all the time, brothers, as is fitting, because your faith is growing more and more, and your love for one another is increasing.
- Matt 25:41Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
- Matt 25:46And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
- Luke 16:26And besides all this, a great chasm has been fixed between us and you, so that even those who wish cannot cross from here to you, nor can anyone cross from there to us.’
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 12:59 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.