Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.
Parallel translations
- WEB Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will by no means pass away.
- BSB Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.
- NKJV Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.
- NASB Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.
- NLT Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear.
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
Heaven and earth will pass away, but Jesus' words will never fail.
Overview
Jesus places His own words on the level of God's eternal, unbreakable truth. The most permanent-seeming realities will perish, yet His teaching stands forever. This is a striking claim to divine authority and a sure anchor for faith.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Isa 40:8The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.
- Mark 13:31Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.
- Matt 24:35Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
- Isa 51:6Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished.
- Ps 102:26They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed:
- Matt 5:18For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
- 1 Pet 1:25But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.
- 2 Pet 3:7–14But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
- Rev 20:11And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 21:33 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.