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And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”
Luke 23:43 · New American Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Jesus said to him, “Assuredly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
  • KJV And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou 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.”
  • 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 who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of my God.
  • Ps 50:15Call on me in the day of trouble. I will deliver you, and you will honor me.”
  • 1 Tim 1:15–16The saying is faithful and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.
  • Luke 19:10For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost.”
  • Ps 32:5I acknowledged my sin to you. I didn’t hide my iniquity. I said, I will confess my transgressions to Yahweh, and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah.
  • John 14:3If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and will receive you to myself; that where I am, you may be there also.
  • Heb 7:25Therefore he is also able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, seeing that he lives forever to make intercession for them.
  • John 17:24Father, I desire that they also whom you have given me be with me where I am, that they may see my glory, which you have given me, for you loved me before the foundation of the world.
  • Phil 1:23But I am in a dilemma between the two, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.
  • 2 Cor 12:3–4I know such a man (whether in the body, or outside of the body, I don’t know; God knows),
  • Isa 65:24It will happen that, before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.
  • Job 33:27–30He sings before men, and says, ‘I have sinned, and perverted that which was right, and it didn’t profit me.
  • Mic 7:18Who is a God like you, who pardons iniquity, and passes over the disobedience of the remnant of his heritage? He doesn’t retain his anger forever, because he delights in loving kindness.
  • 2 Cor 5:8We are courageous, I say, and are willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be at home with the Lord.
  • Isa 1:18–19“Come now, and let us reason together,” says Yahweh: “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 15:4–5“Which of you men, if you had one hundred sheep, and lost one of them, wouldn’t leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one that was lost, until he found it?
  • Isa 55:6–9Seek Yahweh while he may be found. Call on him while he is near.
  • Matt 20:15–16Isn’t it lawful for me to do what I want to with what I own? Or is your eye evil, because I am good?’
  • Rom 5:20–21The law came in besides, that the trespass might abound; but where sin abounded, grace abounded more exceedingly;
  • Isa 53:11After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light and be satisfied. My righteous servant will justify many by the knowledge of himself; and he will bear their iniquities.
  • Luke 15:20–24“He arose, and came to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him, and was moved with 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.