But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for a single stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law.
Parallel translations
- WEB But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away, than for one tiny stroke of a pen in the law to fall.
- KJV And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.
- NKJV And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tittle of the law to fail.
- NASB But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter of the Law to fail.
- NLT But that doesn’t mean that the law has lost its force. It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the smallest point of God’s law to be overturned.
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
Though a new era has come, not the smallest detail of God's law will fail. The law retains its authority.
Overview
Jesus guards against thinking the kingdom abolishes the law. Heaven and earth will pass before the least stroke of it falls; it is fulfilled, not discarded, in Christ. This affirms the enduring validity of God's moral standards, which Jesus upholds and perfectly satisfies.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Matt 5:18For I tell you truly, until heaven and earth pass away, not a single jot, not a stroke of a pen, will disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.
- Luke 21:33Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.
- 1 Pet 1:25but the word of the Lord stands forever.” And this is the word that was proclaimed to you.
- Rom 3:31Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Certainly not! Instead, we uphold the law.
- Isa 40:8The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.”
- Isa 51:6Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look at the earth below; for the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment, and its people will die like gnats. But My salvation will last forever, and My righteousness will never fail.
- Ps 102:25–27In the beginning You laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands.
- Rev 21:1Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
- Rev 21:4‘He will wipe away every tear from their eyes,’ and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the former things have passed away.”
- Rev 20:11Then I saw a great white throne and the One seated on it. Earth and heaven fled from His presence, and no place was found for them.
- 2 Pet 3:10But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar, the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and its works will be laid bare.
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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 16:17 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.