But Jesus looked directly at them and said, “Then what is the meaning of that which is written: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’?
Parallel translations
- WEB But he looked at them, and said, “Then what is this that is written, ‘The stone which the builders rejected, the same was made the chief cornerstone?’
- KJV And he beheld them, and said, What is this then that is written, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner?
- NKJV Then He looked at them and said, “What then is this that is written: ‘The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone’ ?
- NASB But Jesus looked at them and said, “Then what is this statement that has been written: ‘A stone which the builders rejected, This has become the chief cornerstone’?
- NLT Jesus looked at them and said, “Then what does this Scripture mean? ‘The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.’
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 quotes Scripture: the stone the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. The rejected Christ is God's appointed foundation.
Overview
Citing Psalm 118:22, Jesus identifies himself as the cornerstone spurned by Israel's builders yet exalted by God. His rejection by the leaders does not thwart God's plan but fulfills it. The crucified and risen Christ becomes the foundation of God's new people, vindicated by the Father.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Ps 118:22The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
- Isa 28:16So this is what the Lord GOD says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; the one who believes will never be shaken.
- Acts 4:11This Jesus is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’
- Matt 21:42Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?
- 1 Pet 2:7–8To you who believe, then, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,”
- Mark 12:10Have you never read this Scripture: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
- Zech 3:9See the stone I have set before Joshua; on that one stone are seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave on it an inscription, declares the LORD of Hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day.
- Mark 3:5Jesus looked around at them with anger and sorrow at their hardness of heart. Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out, and it was restored.
- Luke 24:44Jesus said to them, “These are the words I spoke to you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about Me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms.”
- Luke 22:37For I tell you that this Scripture must be fulfilled in Me: ‘And He was numbered with the transgressors.’ For what is written about Me is reaching its fulfillment.”
- Luke 22:61And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word that the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny Me three times.”
- Mark 10:23Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!”
- John 15:25But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated Me without reason.’
- Luke 19:41As Jesus approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He wept over it
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 20:17 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.