I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed: One will be taken and the other left.
Parallel translations
- WEB I tell you, in that night there will be two people in one bed. The one will be taken, and the other will be left.
- KJV I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left.
- NKJV I tell you, in that night there will be two men in one bed: the one will be taken and the other will be left.
- NASB I tell you, on that night there will be two in one bed; one will be taken and the other will be left.
- NLT That night two people will be asleep in one bed; one will be taken, the other left.
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
On that night two will be in one bed; one taken, one left. Judgment divides people who outwardly look alike.
Overview
Jesus pictures a sudden separation cutting through the closest human settings. Whether "taken" means gathered to the Lord or removed in judgment is debated among faithful interpreters, but the main thrust is clear: the day brings a decisive, individual division. No external closeness substitutes for personal readiness before God.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Matt 24:40–41Two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left.
- 2 Pet 2:9if all this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment.
- Mal 3:16–18At that time those who feared the LORD spoke with one another, and the LORD listened and heard them. So a scroll of remembrance was written before Him regarding those who feared the LORD and honored His name.
- 1 Th 4:16–17For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will be the first to rise.
- Luke 13:24“Make every effort to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able.
- Mark 13:23So be on your guard; I have told you everything in advance.
- Ps 26:9Do not take my soul away with sinners, or my life with men of bloodshed,
- Luke 13:3No, I tell you. But unless you repent, you too will all perish.
- Jer 45:5But as for you, do you seek great things for yourself? Stop seeking! For I will bring disaster on every living creature, declares the LORD, but wherever you go, I will grant your life as a spoil of war.”
- Luke 13:5No, I tell you. But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”
- Ps 28:3Do not drag me away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity, who speak peace to their neighbors while malice is in their hearts.
- Isa 42:9Behold, the former things have happened, and now I declare new things. Before they spring forth I proclaim them to you.”
- Ezek 9:4–6“Go throughout the city of Jerusalem,” said the LORD, “and put a mark on the foreheads of the men sighing and groaning over all the abominations committed there.”
- Matt 24:25See, I have told you in advance.
- Rom 11:4–7And what was the divine reply to him? “I have reserved for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.”
- Mark 14:29Peter declared, “Even if all fall away, I never will.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 17:34 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.