Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.
Parallel translations
- WEB Most certainly I tell you, you shall by no means get out of there, until you have paid the last penny.
- BSB Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.
- NKJV Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny.
- NASB Truly I say to you, you will not come out of there until you have paid up the last quadrans.
- NLT And if that happens, you surely won’t be free again until you have paid the last penny.
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
You will not get out until you have paid the last penny. It underscores the seriousness and full cost of unresolved offense.
Overview
Closing the courtroom illustration, Jesus warns that the consequences of failing to reconcile can be inescapable and complete. The vivid image of full payment reinforces the urgency of His teaching. It also evokes the dreadful reality of judgment, from which only Christ's payment can deliver us.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Matt 18:34And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.
- Luke 12:59I tell thee, thou shalt not depart thence, till thou hast paid the very last mite.
- Jas 2:13For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.
- 2 Th 1:9Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;
- Matt 25:41Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
- Matt 25:46And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
- Luke 16:26And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 5:26 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.