I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.
Parallel translations
- WEB I tell you that even so there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, than over ninety-nine righteous people who need no repentance.
- BSB In the same way, I tell you that there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous ones who do not need to repent.
- NKJV I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.
- NASB I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance.
- NLT In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!
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 applies the parable: heaven rejoices more over one repentant sinner than over many who think they need no repentance. It rebukes the Pharisees' contempt for sinners.
Overview
Spoken to grumbling Pharisees and scribes (15:1-2), this verse exposes their self-righteousness. The 'ninety-nine righteous' are ironic; in truth all need repentance. God's heart is for the lost, and repentance is the entryway to the joy of salvation that Christ secures.
Cross-references & the web
Theme
- Repentance"Joy in heaven over one sinner who repents."
Cross-references · 10
- Luke 15:10Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.
- Luke 5:32I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
- Luke 15:32It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.
- Matt 18:13And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray.
- Prov 30:12There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness.
- Luke 18:9–11And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:
- Phil 3:6–7Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.
- Luke 16:15And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.
- Rom 7:9For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.
- Luke 15:29And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends:
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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 15:7 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.