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And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.
Luke 23:43 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB Jesus said to him, “Assuredly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
  • BSB And Jesus said to him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”
  • NKJV And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”
  • NASB And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”
  • NLT And Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

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 promised the criminal he would be with Him in Paradise that very day. Salvation came instantly to a believing sinner at the last hour.

Overview

Jesus answers the dying man's faith with a sure and immediate promise of fellowship in Paradise. This shows that the believer enters God's presence at death and that salvation rests on grace, not accumulated merit. The thief's deathbed conversion stands as enduring assurance that no sinner who trusts Christ is beyond the reach of His mercy.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 21

  • Rev 2:7He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
  • Ps 50:15And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.
  • 1 Tim 1:15–16This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.
  • Luke 19:10For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.
  • Ps 32:5I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.
  • John 14:3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
  • Heb 7:25Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
  • John 17:24Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.
  • Phil 1:23For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:
  • 2 Cor 12:3–4And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;)
  • Isa 65:24And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.
  • Job 33:27–30He looketh upon men, and if any say, I have sinned, and perverted that which was right, and it profited me not;
  • Mic 7:18Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.
  • 2 Cor 5:8We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
  • Isa 1:18–19Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
  • Luke 15:4–5What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?
  • Isa 55:6–9Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
  • Matt 20:15–16Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?
  • Rom 5:20–21Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:
  • Isa 53:11He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
  • Luke 15:20–24And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (6)

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 23:43YouTube · 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 23:43 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.