Limitless Word
For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side,
Luke 19:43 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB For the days will come on you, when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, surround you, hem you in on every side,
  • BSB For the days will come upon you when your enemies will barricade you and surround you and hem you in on every side.
  • NKJV For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side,
  • NASB For the days will come upon you when your enemies will put up a barricade against you, and surround you and hem you in on every side,
  • NLT Before long your enemies will build ramparts against your walls and encircle you and close in on you from every side.

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 foretells that enemies will besiege and surround Jerusalem. He prophesies the coming judgment on the city.

Overview

This prediction was fulfilled in the Roman siege and destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. Jesus speaks as a prophet announcing the consequences of the nation's rejection of its Messiah. The accuracy of his words underscores both his authority and the seriousness of refusing him.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 13

  • Luke 21:20–24And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.
  • Isa 29:1–4Woe to Ariel, to Ariel, the city where David dwelt! add ye year to year; let them kill sacrifices.
  • Ezek 4:2And lay siege against it, and build a fort against it, and cast a mount against it; set the camp also against it, and set battering rams against it round about.
  • Ezek 26:8He shall slay with the sword thy daughters in the field: and he shall make a fort against thee, and cast a mount against thee, and lift up the buckler against thee.
  • Jer 6:3–6The shepherds with their flocks shall come unto her; they shall pitch their tents against her round about; they shall feed every one in his place.
  • Matt 23:37–39O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
  • Dan 9:26–27And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
  • Isa 37:33Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shields, nor cast a bank against it.
  • Deut 28:49–58The LORD shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand;
  • 1 Th 2:15–16Who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men:
  • Ps 37:12–13The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth.
  • Matt 22:7But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.
  • Mark 13:14–20But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains:

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Luke videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Luke 19:43YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on LukeMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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 19:43 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.