And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.
Parallel translations
- WEB Besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, that those who want to pass from here to you are not able, and that no one may cross over from there to us.’
- BSB And besides all this, a great chasm has been fixed between us and you, so that even those who wish cannot cross from here to you, nor can anyone cross from there to us.’
- NKJV And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’
- NASB And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set, so that those who want to go over from here to you will not be able, nor will any people cross over from there to us.’
- NLT And besides, there is a great chasm separating us. No one can cross over to you from here, and no one can cross over to us from there.’
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
Abraham explains a great, fixed gulf separates the two realms, so no one can cross over. Eternal destinies are unchangeable.
Overview
The 'great gulf fixed' teaches the permanence of one's state after death; there is no passage between bliss and torment. This sobering truth presses the urgency of repentance now. The chasm that mercy in this life could have bridged is, after death, uncrossable.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- John 3:36He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
- Ps 49:14Like sheep they are laid in the grave; death shall feed on them; and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their beauty shall consume in the grave from their dwelling.
- Ps 50:22Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver.
- Jas 1:11–12For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways.
- Matt 25:46And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
- Mal 3:18Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.
- 2 Th 1:4–10So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure:
- Jas 5:1–7Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
- Rev 20:10And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
- Ezek 28:24And there shall be no more a pricking brier unto the house of Israel, nor any grieving thorn of all that are round about them, that despised them; and they shall know that I am the Lord GOD.
- Luke 12:59I tell thee, thou shalt not depart thence, till thou hast paid the very last mite.
- 1 Sam 25:36And Abigail came to Nabal; and, behold, he held a feast in his house, like the feast of a king; and Nabal’s heart was merry within him, for he was very drunken: wherefore she told him nothing, less or more, until the morning light.
- Rev 22:11He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.
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 16:26 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.