I tell you, you will not get out of there until you have paid up the very last lepton.”
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.
- 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.”
- 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 12:42A poor widow came, and she cast in two small brass coins, which equal a quadrans coin.
- Matt 18:34His lord was angry, and delivered him to the tormentors, until he should pay all that was due to him.
- 2 Th 1:3We are bound to always give thanks to God for you, brothers, even as it is appropriate, because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of each and every one of you towards one another abounds;
- Matt 25:41Then he will say also to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels;
- Matt 25:46These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
- Luke 16:26Besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, that those who want to pass from here to you are not able, and that no one may cross over 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.