I tell thee, thou shalt not depart thence, till thou hast paid the very last mite.
Parallel translations
- WEB I tell you, you will by no means get out of there, until you have paid the very last penny. ”
- BSB I tell you, you will not 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 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 12:42And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing.
- Matt 18:34And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.
- 2 Th 1:3We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth;
- Matt 25:41Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
- Matt 25:46And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
- Luke 16:26And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.
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.