No, I tell you. But unless you repent, you too will all perish.
Parallel translations
- WEB I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all perish in the same way.
- KJV I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
- ESV No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.
- NKJV I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.
- NASB No, I tell you, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.
- NLT Not at all! And you will perish, too, unless you repent of your sins and turn to God.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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 says no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Every person needs repentance to escape coming judgment.
Overview
Rather than explaining the victims' fate, Jesus turns the warning back on His hearers: all are sinners facing judgment apart from repentance. The point is universal human need, not the comparative guilt of those who died. This urgent call to repent points to the salvation God offers in Christ, the only refuge from perishing eternally.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Acts 3:19Repent, then, and turn back, so that your sins may be wiped away,
- Matt 3:2and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”
- Acts 2:38–40Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
- Rev 2:21–22Even though I have given her time to repent of her immorality, she is unwilling.
- Luke 13:5No, I tell you. But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”
- Luke 23:28–30But Jesus turned to them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.
- Luke 21:22–24For these are the days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written.
- Matt 12:45Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and dwell there; and the final plight of that man is worse than the first. So will it be with this wicked generation.”
- Matt 3:10–12The axe lies ready at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
- Luke 24:47and in His name repentance and forgiveness of sins will be proclaimed to all nations, beginning in Jerusalem.
- Matt 23:35–38And so upon you will come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.
- Matt 22:7The king was enraged, and he sent his troops to destroy those murderers and burn their city.
- Luke 19:42–44and said, “If only you had known on this day what would bring you peace! But now it is hidden from your eyes.
- Matt 24:21–29For at that time there will be great tribulation, unmatched from the beginning of the world until now, and never to be seen again.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 13:3 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.