People will come from east and west and north and south, and will recline at the table in the kingdom of God.
Parallel translations
- WEB They will come from the east, west, north, and south, and will sit down in God’s Kingdom.
- KJV And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God.
- NKJV They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God.
- NASB And they will come from east and west, and from north and south, and will recline at the table in the kingdom of God.
- NLT And people will come from all over the world—from east and west, north and south—to take their places in the Kingdom of God.
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
People from every direction will come and recline at the kingdom's feast. The kingdom welcomes Gentiles and all who come in faith.
Overview
Gathering from east, west, north, and south signals the worldwide scope of salvation, fulfilling promises that nations would share Abraham's blessing. The image of reclining at table pictures the joyful messianic banquet. Many outsiders will be welcomed while presumptuous insiders are excluded, overturning expectations.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Isa 66:18–20“And I, knowing their deeds and thoughts, am coming to gather all nations and tongues, and they will come and see My glory.
- Isa 43:6I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back!’ Bring My sons from afar, and My daughters from the ends of the earth—
- Isa 49:6He says: “It is not enough for You to be My Servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the protected ones of Israel. I will also make You a light for the nations, to bring My salvation to the ends of the earth.”
- Mal 1:11For My name will be great among the nations, from where the sun rises to where it sets. In every place, incense and pure offerings will be presented in My name, because My name will be great among the nations,” says the LORD of Hosts.
- Isa 54:2–3“Enlarge the site of your tent, stretch out the curtains of your dwellings, do not hold back. Lengthen your ropes and drive your stakes in deep.
- Mark 13:27And He will send out the angels to gather His elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.
- Rev 7:9–10After this I looked and saw a multitude too large to count, from every nation and tribe and people and tongue, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands.
- Eph 3:6–8This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are fellow heirs, fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus.
- Acts 28:28Be advised, therefore, that God’s salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!”
- Col 1:23if indeed you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope of the gospel you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.
- Gen 28:14Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and east and north and south. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.
- Matt 8:11I say to you that many will come from the east and the west to share the banquet with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.
- Col 1:6that has come to you. All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood the grace of God.
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 13:29 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
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