But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value 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.
- BSB And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So do not be afraid; you are worth more 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 10:30–31But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
- Matt 6:26Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
- Isa 43:3–4For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee.
- 2 Sam 14:11Then said she, I pray thee, let the king remember the LORD thy God, that thou wouldest not suffer the revengers of blood to destroy any more, lest they destroy my son. And he said, As the LORD liveth, there shall not one hair of thy son fall to the earth.
- Luke 21:18But there shall not an hair of your head perish.
- Acts 27:34Wherefore I pray you to take some meat: for this is for your health: for there shall not an hair fall from the head of any of you.
- 1 Sam 14:45And the people said unto Saul, Shall Jonathan die, who hath wrought this great salvation in Israel? God forbid: as the LORD liveth, there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground; for he hath wrought with God this day. So the people rescued Jonathan, that he died not.
- Ps 8:6Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:
- Matt 12:12How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.
- Job 35:11Who teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth, and maketh us wiser than the fowls of heaven?
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.