The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
Parallel translations
- WEB The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
- KJV The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.
- NKJV The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone.
- NASB ¶A stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone.
- NLT The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.
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 stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. It matters because it foretells Christ, rejected by men yet made the foundation of God's people.
Overview
Originally celebrating an unlikely victory, this verse is applied by Jesus and the apostles directly to Christ (Matt. 21:42; Acts 4:11; 1 Pet. 2:7). The one despised and crucified is exalted by God as the cornerstone of his church. It is a cornerstone prophecy of the gospel: rejection reversed into the foundation of salvation.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Luke 20:17But Jesus looked directly at them and said, “Then what is the meaning of that which is written: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’?
- Matt 21:42Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?
- 1 Pet 2:4–8As you come to Him, the living stone, rejected by men but chosen and precious in God’s sight,
- Acts 4:11This Jesus is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’
- Mark 12:10–11Have you never read this Scripture: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
- Eph 2:20–22built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the cornerstone.
- Zech 4:7What are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain. Then he will bring forth the capstone accompanied by shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 118:22 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 Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.