Whoever falls on that stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.”
Parallel translations
- WEB Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, but it will crush whomever it falls on to dust.”
- KJV Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.
- BSB Everyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.”
- NASB Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will crush him.”
- NLT Everyone who stumbles over that stone will be broken to pieces, and it will crush anyone it falls on.”
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
Whoever falls on this stone will be broken, and on whomever it falls it will crush. Christ is both salvation and judgment, depending on one's response.
Overview
Drawing on imagery from Isaiah 8 and Daniel 2, Jesus warns that the cornerstone is also a stone of judgment. To stumble over Christ in unbelief brings ruin, and to remain his enemy brings final destruction. The verse presses the urgency of receiving rather than rejecting the Son.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Isa 8:14–15He will be a sanctuary, but for both houses of Israel, he will be a trap and a snare for the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
- Dan 2:34–35You saw until a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet that were of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces.
- Dan 2:44–45In the days of those kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, nor shall its sovereignty be left to another people; but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.
- Matt 21:44He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but on whomever it will fall, it will scatter him as dust.”
- Zech 12:3It will happen in that day, that I will make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all the peoples. All who burden themselves with it will be severely wounded, and all the nations of the earth will be gathered together against it.
- Matt 21:34When the season for the fruit came near, he sent his servants to the farmers, to receive his fruit.
- 1 Th 2:16forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved; to fill up their sins always. But wrath has come on them to the uttermost.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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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 20:18 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.