“Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him. “For all who draw the sword will die by the sword.
Parallel translations
- WEB Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place, for all those who take the sword will die by the sword.
- KJV Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.
- NKJV But Jesus said to him, “Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.
- NASB Then Jesus *said to him, “Put your sword back into its place; for all those who take up the sword will perish by the sword.
- NLT “Put away your sword,” Jesus told him. “Those who use the sword will die by the sword.
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 commands the disciple to sheathe his sword, warning that violence breeds violence. He rejects the way of force for His kingdom.
Overview
Jesus stops the bloodshed and teaches that those who live by the sword will perish by it. His kingdom advances not through violence but through His own sacrificial death. The command reveals the peaceable character of Christ's mission and rebukes any attempt to defend Him by carnal means.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Gen 9:6Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man his blood will be shed; for in His own image God has made mankind.
- Rev 13:10“If anyone is destined for captivity, into captivity he will go; if anyone is to die by the sword, by the sword he must be killed.” Here is a call for the perseverance and faith of the saints.
- Rom 12:19Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but leave room for God’s wrath. For it is written: “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, says the Lord.”
- 1 Pet 2:21–23For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His footsteps:
- Rev 16:6For they have spilled the blood of saints and prophets, and You have given them blood to drink, as they deserve.”
- 1 Pet 3:9Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.
- Ps 55:23But You, O God, will bring them down to the Pit of destruction; men of bloodshed and deceit will not live out half their days. But I will trust in You.
- Ezek 35:5–6Because you harbored an ancient hatred and delivered the Israelites over to the sword in the time of their disaster at the final stage of their punishment,
- Matt 23:34–36Because of this, I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and others you will flog in your synagogues and persecute in town after town.
- 1 Cor 4:11–12To this very hour we are hungry and thirsty, we are poorly clothed, we are brutally treated, we are homeless.
- 1 Th 5:15Make sure that no one repays evil for evil. Always pursue what is good for one another and for all people.
- Matt 5:39But I tell you not to resist an evil person. If someone slaps you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also;
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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 26:52 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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