Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift each of you like wheat.
Parallel translations
- WEB The Lord said, “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan asked to have you, that he might sift you as wheat,
- KJV And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:
- NKJV And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat.
- NASB “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded to sift you men like wheat;
- NLT “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift each of you like wheat.
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 warns Simon that Satan has demanded to sift all the disciples like wheat. It exposes the real spiritual danger they face.
Overview
Jesus reveals that Satan seeks to test and scatter the disciples, with Peter especially in view. The image of sifting wheat depicts a violent trial meant to destroy faith. Yet the warning comes with the assurance of Jesus' watchful care, framing the coming failure within God's purpose to strengthen His own.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- 1 Pet 5:8Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
- Zech 3:1Then the angel showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, with Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him.
- Job 1:6–12One day the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them.
- Job 2:1–6On another day the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them to present himself before Him.
- Rev 12:10And I heard a loud voice in heaven saying: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of His Christ. For the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down—he who accuses them day and night before our God.
- Amos 9:9“For surely I will give the command, and I will shake the house of Israel among all the nations as grain is sifted in a sieve; but not a pebble will reach the ground.
- Luke 10:41“Martha, Martha,” the Lord replied, “you are worried and upset about many things.
- Acts 9:4He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 22:31 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.