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The sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two.
Luke 23:45 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst.
  • BSB The sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn down the middle.
  • NKJV Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two.
  • NASB because the sun stopped shining; and the veil of the temple was torn in two.
  • NLT The light from the sun was gone. And suddenly, the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn down the middle.

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

The sun was darkened and the temple veil was torn in two. Christ's death opened the way into God's presence.

Overview

As the darkness deepens, the veil separating the Holy Place from the Most Holy is rent. This dramatic sign declares that access to God is now opened through Christ's sacrifice, as Hebrews teaches that He inaugurated a new and living way through His flesh. The barrier between God and sinners is removed by the cross.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 9

  • Heb 10:19–22Having therefore, brothers, boldness to enter into the holy place by the blood of Jesus,
  • Matt 27:51Behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from the top to the bottom. The earth quaked and the rocks were split.
  • Heb 9:3–8After the second veil was the tabernacle which is called the Holy of Holies,
  • Mark 15:38The veil of the temple was torn in two from the top to the bottom.
  • Eph 2:14–18For he is our peace, who made both one, and broke down the middle wall of partition,
  • Lev 16:12–16He shall take a censer full of coals of fire from off the altar before Yahweh, and two handfuls of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the veil:
  • 2 Chr 3:14He made the veil of blue, purple, crimson, and fine linen, and ornamented it with cherubim.
  • Heb 6:19This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and entering into that which is within the veil;
  • Exod 26:31–33“You shall make a veil of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, with cherubim. The work of the skillful workman shall it be made.

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 23:45YouTube · 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 23:45 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.