Luke 16:17 But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for a single stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law.

◄ Luke 16:17 ►

New International Version
It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law.

New Living Translation
But that doesn’t mean that the law has lost its force. It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the smallest point of God’s law to be overturned.

English Standard Version
But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to become void.

Berean Standard Bible
But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for a single stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law.

Berean Literal Bible
But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than one stroke of a letter of the Law to fail.

King James Bible
And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.

New King James Version
And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tittle of the law to fail.

New American Standard Bible
But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter of the Law to fail.

NASB 1995
“But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter of the Law to fail.

NASB 1977
“But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter of the Law to fail.

Legacy Standard Bible
But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter of the Law to fail.

Amplified Bible
Yet it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for a single stroke of a letter of the Law to fail and become void.

Christian Standard Bible
But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter in the law to drop out.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter in the law to drop out.

American Standard Version
But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away, than for one tittle of the law to fall.

Contemporary English Version
Heaven and earth will disappear before the smallest letter of the Law does.

English Revised Version
But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away, than for one tittle of the law to fall.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
It is easier for the earth and the heavens to disappear than to drop a comma from Moses' Teachings.

Good News Translation
But it is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the smallest detail of the Law to be done away with.

International Standard Version
However, it is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for one stroke of a letter in the Law to be dropped.

Majority Standard Bible
But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for a single stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law.

NET Bible
But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tiny stroke of a letter in the law to become void.

New Heart English Bible
But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away, than for one tiny stroke of a pen in the Law to become void.

Webster's Bible Translation
And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away, than one tittle of the law to fail.

Weymouth New Testament
But it is easier for earth and sky to pass away than for one smallest detail of the Law to fall to the ground.

World English Bible
But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tiny stroke of a pen in the law to fall.

Literal Translations

Literal Standard Version
and it is easier for the heaven and the earth to pass away, than one tittle to fall of the Law.

Berean Literal Bible
But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than one stroke of a letter of the Law to fail.

Young's Literal Translation
and it is easier to the heaven and the earth to pass away, than of the law one tittle to fall.

Smith's Literal Translation
And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away, than for one horn of the law to fall.

Catholic Translations

Douay-Rheims Bible
And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fall.

Catholic Public Domain Version
But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away, than for one dot of the law to fall away.

New American Bible
It is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for the smallest part of a letter of the law to become invalid.

New Revised Standard Version
But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away, than for one stroke of a letter in the law to be dropped.

Translations from Aramaic

Lamsa Bible
It is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one letter of the law to pass away.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
“But it is easier for Heaven and earth to pass away than for one symbol of The Law to pass away.”

NT Translations

Anderson New Testament
But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away, than for one point of the law to fail.

Godbey New Testament
And it is easier that heaven and earth pass away, than one tittle fall from the law.

Haweis New Testament
But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away, than for one tittle of the law to fail.

Mace New Testament
yet heaven and earth may sooner pass away, than any part of the law be unaccomplish'd.

Weymouth New Testament
But it is easier for earth and sky to pass away than for one smallest detail of the Law to fall to the ground.

Worrell New Testament
But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away, than for one tittle of the law to fall.

Worsley New Testament
Though it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away, than one tittle of the law to fail.

Additional Translations ...

Audio Bible

Context

The Law and the Prophets
…16The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the gospel of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it. 17But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for a single stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law. 18Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.…

Berean Standard Bible · Download

Cross References

Matthew 5:18
For 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.

Matthew 24:35
Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.

Isaiah 40:8
The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.”

Psalm 119:89
Your word, O LORD, is everlasting; it is firmly fixed in the heavens.

Psalm 119:160
The entirety of Your word is truth, and all Your righteous judgments endure forever.

Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it pierces even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It judges the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

1 Peter 1:25
but the word of the Lord stands forever.” And this is the word that was proclaimed to you.

Romans 3:31
Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Certainly not! Instead, we uphold the law.

Galatians 3:19
Why then was the law given? It was added because of transgressions, until the arrival of the seed to whom the promise referred. It was administered through angels by a mediator.

Galatians 3:24
So the law became our guardian to lead us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

James 2:10
Whoever keeps the whole law but stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.

John 10:35
If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and the Scripture cannot be broken—

Matthew 5:17
Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them.

Romans 7:12
So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous, and good.

Romans 7:14
We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin.

Treasury of Scripture

And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one pronunciation mark of the law to fail.

it.

Luke 21:33
Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.

Psalm 102:25-27
Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands…

Isaiah 51:6
Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished.

than.

Isaiah 40:8
The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.

Romans 3:31
Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.

1 Peter 1:25
But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.

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Luke 16

1. The parable of the unjust steward.
14. Jesus reproves the hypocrisy of the covetous Pharisees.
19. The parable of the rich man and Lazarus the beggar.

Berean Study Bible

But it is easier
This phrase introduces a comparison that emphasizes the impossibility of the event being described. The Greek word for "easier" (εὐκοπώτερον, eukopōteron) suggests something that requires less effort or is more feasible. In the context of Jesus' teaching, it underscores the enduring nature of God's Law, suggesting that the natural order of the universe is more likely to change than the divine decrees.

for heaven and earth to pass away
The phrase "heaven and earth" is a common biblical expression denoting the entirety of creation. In Jewish thought, these were seen as the most stable and permanent elements of the universe. The Greek word for "pass away" (παρελθεῖν, parelthein) implies a complete removal or disappearance. This hyperbolic language is used to stress the permanence and unchangeability of God's Law, which is more enduring than even the cosmos itself.

than for a single stroke of a pen
The "single stroke of a pen" refers to the smallest letter or part of a letter in the Hebrew alphabet, often understood as a "jot" or "tittle" (Greek: κεραία, keraia). This highlights the meticulous precision and completeness of the Law. In a historical context, scribes were known for their exactness in copying the Scriptures, ensuring that not even the smallest detail was altered. This phrase emphasizes the inviolability and precision of God's Word.

to drop out of the Law
The "Law" here refers to the Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament, which were considered the foundation of Jewish religious life and practice. The Greek word for "drop out" (πεσεῖν, pesein) conveys the idea of falling away or being removed. This underscores the belief that God's commandments are eternal and unchanging. In a broader scriptural context, this affirms the continuity and fulfillment of the Law in the teachings of Jesus, who came not to abolish the Law but to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17).

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(17) It is easier for heaven and earth to pass.--See Notes on Matthew 5:18. Our first impression on reading the words here is that there is less logical sequence in their position. They seem unconnected with the teaching as to the mammon of unrighteousness. It is possible that here, as elsewhere, some links of the chain have been dropped; but the explanation that has been given of the preceding parable gives a sufficient connection. The scribes and Pharisees had been tampering with the sacredness of the laws which are not of to-day or yesterday--fixed as the everlasting hills--and they are told that their casuistry cannot set aside the claims of those laws in any single instance, such, e.g., as that which immediately follows.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 17. - And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the Law to fail. "Yet think not," went on the Master, "that, though things are changing, the Divine Law will ever fail. The mere temporary and transitory regulations will, of course, give place to a new order, but not the smallest part of one letter of the Divine moral Law will fail." "One tittle." This is the rendering of a Greek word the diminutive of "horn," which denoted the horn or extremity of a Hebrew letter, by the omission or addition of which - to give an instance - the letter d becomes the letter r; thus with the horn it is ד, daleth, d; without the horn ר, resh, r. The heresiarch Marcion (second century) here, in his recension of St. Luke, changes the text thus: "It is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than for one tittle of my sayings to fail." Marcion, who refused fallow the Divine origin of any part of the Old Testament, was afraid of the testimony which this assertion of our Lord would give to the Divine authority of the Pentateuch. In illustration of his saying that the moral Law given to the Jews was changeless, and while earth endured would never fail, the Master instances one grave chapter of the Law with which there had been much tampering-that of divorce. "See," he said, "the new state of things which I am now teaching, instead of loosening the cords with which the old Law regulated human society, will rather tighten them. Instead of a laxer code being substituted, I am preaching a yet severer one. My law of divorce is a severer one than that written down by Moses."

Parallel Commentaries ...

Greek

But
δέ (de)
Conjunction
Strong's 1161: A primary particle; but, and, etc.

it is
ἐστιν (estin)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 1510: I am, exist. The first person singular present indicative; a prolonged form of a primary and defective verb; I exist.

easier for
εὐκοπώτερον (eukopōteron)
Adjective - Nominative Neuter Singular - Comparative
Strong's 2123: Easier. Comparative of a compound of eu and kopos; better for toil, i.e. More facile.

heaven
οὐρανὸν (ouranon)
Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3772: Perhaps from the same as oros; the sky; by extension, heaven; by implication, happiness, power, eternity; specially, the Gospel.

and
καὶ (kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

earth
γῆν (gēn)
Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular
Strong's 1093: Contracted from a primary word; soil; by extension a region, or the solid part or the whole of the terrene globe.

to pass away
παρελθεῖν (parelthein)
Verb - Aorist Infinitive Active
Strong's 3928: From para and erchomai; to come near or aside, i.e. To approach, go by, perish or neglect, avert.

than for
ἢ (ē)
Conjunction
Strong's 2228: Or, than. A primary particle of distinction between two connected terms; disjunctive, or; comparative, than.

a single
μίαν (mian)
Adjective - Accusative Feminine Singular
Strong's 1520: One. (including the neuter Hen); a primary numeral; one.

stroke of a pen
κεραίαν (keraian)
Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular
Strong's 2762: Feminine of a presumed derivative of the base of keras; something horn-like, i.e. the apex of a Hebrew letter.

to drop out
πεσεῖν (pesein)
Verb - Aorist Infinitive Active
Strong's 4098: A reduplicated and contracted form of peto; probably akin to petomai through the idea of alighting; to fall.

of the
τοῦ (tou)
Article - Genitive Masculine Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

Law.
νόμου (nomou)
Noun - Genitive Masculine Singular
Strong's 3551: From a primary nemo; law, genitive case, specially, (including the volume); also of the Gospel), or figuratively.

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NT Gospels: Luke 16:17 But it is easier for heaven (Luke Lu Lk)