And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
Parallel translations
- WEB But the very hairs of your head are all counted. Therefore don’t be afraid. You are of more value than many sparrows.
- KJV But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.
- NKJV But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.
- NASB But even the hairs of your head are all counted. Do not fear; you are more valuable than a great number of sparrows.
- NLT And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.
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
Even the hairs of your head are numbered, so do not be afraid; you are worth far more than many sparrows. God's detailed care assures believers of their immense value to Him.
Overview
Jesus draws the comforting conclusion: God's knowledge of His people is exhaustive, down to the smallest detail. This intimate care removes fear, even in the face of persecution mentioned earlier. The disciple's worth is grounded not in self-estimation but in the value God places on those He has made His own.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Matt 10:30–31And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
- Matt 6:26Look at the birds of the air: They do not sow or reap or gather into barns—and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
- Isa 43:3–4For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your place.
- 2 Sam 14:11“Please,” she replied, “may the king invoke the LORD your God to prevent the avenger of blood from increasing the devastation, so that my son may not be destroyed!” “As surely as the LORD lives,” he vowed, “not a hair of your son’s head will fall to the ground.”
- Luke 21:18Yet not even a hair of your head will perish.
- Acts 27:34So for your own preservation, I urge you to eat something, because not a single hair of your head will be lost.”
- 1 Sam 14:45But the people said to Saul, “Must Jonathan die—he who accomplished such a great deliverance for Israel? Never! As surely as the LORD lives, not a hair of his head will fall to the ground, for with God’s help he has accomplished this today.” So the people rescued Jonathan, and he did not die.
- Ps 8:6You made him ruler of the works of Your hands; You have placed everything under his feet:
- Matt 12:12How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”
- Job 35:11who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth and makes us wiser than the birds of the air?’
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 12:7 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.