And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.
Parallel translations
- WEB He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but on whomever it will fall, it will scatter him as dust.”
- BSB He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.”
- NKJV And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.”
- NASB And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and on whomever it falls, it will crush him.”
- NLT Anyone who stumbles over that stone will be broken to pieces, and it will crush anyone it falls on.”
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
Whoever falls on this stone is broken, and whoever it falls on is crushed. Christ is either one's salvation or one's judgment.
Overview
Drawing on stone imagery from Isaiah and Daniel, Jesus warns that responses to Him have eternal consequences. To stumble over Him in unbelief brings ruin, and to be opposed to Him invites decisive judgment. The verse confronts every hearer with the inescapable significance of how they relate to the rejected cornerstone.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 18
- Isa 8:14–15And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
- 1 Pet 2:8And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.
- Dan 2:34–35Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces.
- Dan 2:44–45And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.
- Rom 9:33As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
- Luke 20:18Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.
- Matt 27:25Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.
- Ps 21:8–9Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies: thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee.
- Ps 110:5–6The Lord at thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath.
- 2 Cor 4:3–4But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:
- Zech 12:3And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.
- Matt 26:24The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born.
- Isa 60:12For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted.
- 1 Th 2:16Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins alway: for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost.
- John 19:11Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.
- Heb 2:2–3For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward;
- Ps 2:12Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.
- Ps 2:9Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
How Matthew 21:44 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.