Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.
Parallel translations
- WEB Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
- KJV Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not 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 pass away. His word is more enduring than the universe itself.
Overview
Jesus places his own words on a level with the eternal word of God, claiming a divine authority that outlasts all creation. This is a staggering assertion of his deity and the trustworthiness of everything he has spoken. Believers can stake their lives on his promises, for though the cosmos itself will dissolve, the words of Christ stand forever.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Isa 40:8The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.”
- Isa 51:6Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look at the earth below; for the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment, and its people will die like gnats. But My salvation will last forever, and My righteousness will never fail.
- Matt 24:35Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.
- Luke 21:33Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.
- Matt 5:18For I tell you truly, until heaven and earth pass away, not a single jot, not a stroke of a pen, will disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.
- Ps 102:25–27In the beginning You laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands.
- Heb 1:10–12And: “In the beginning, O Lord, You laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands.
- Num 23:19God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?
- Ps 19:7The Law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is trustworthy, making wise the simple.
- 2 Tim 2:13if we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.
- Josh 23:14–15Now behold, today I am going the way of all the earth, and you know with all your heart and soul that not one of the good promises the LORD your God made to you has failed. Everything was fulfilled for you; not one promise has failed.
- Titus 1:2in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began.
- Zech 1:6But did not My words and My statutes, which I commanded My servants the prophets, overtake your fathers? They repented and said, ‘Just as the LORD of Hosts purposed to do to us according to our ways and deeds, so He has done to us.’”
- 2 Pet 3:10–12But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar, the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and its works will be laid bare.
- Rev 20:11Then I saw a great white throne and the One seated on it. Earth and heaven fled from His presence, and no place was found for them.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Mark drives urgently to the cross, showing Jesus the Son of God as the suffering Servant who 'came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'
How Mark 13:31 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
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