Bible Strands
Luke 13:28
There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves are thrown out.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jesus addresses a crowd that assumes ethnic lineage guarantees salvation, warning them that physical descent from the patriarchs does not secure a place in God’s kingdom. He speaks this during His journey to Jerusalem, immediately after telling the rejected to depart from Him as evildoers.
The words — The adverb ἐκεῖ (ekei) anchors the scene in a specific location where exclusion becomes visible. The nouns κλαυθμὸς (klauthmos) and βρυγμὸς (brugmos) literally denote weeping and gnashing, describing the physical manifestation of distress for those barred from the feast.
The thread — Jesus echoes this warning in Matthew 8:11 and Matthew 25:30, where the same combination of weeping, gnashing, and exclusion from the patriarchs' banquet appears. The motif contrasts the inclusive gathering of the kingdom with the sudden reversal of those who presumed their standing.
Why it lands — The verse demands immediate self-examination regarding the basis of one’s confidence before God. It requires readers to pursue active obedience and genuine relationship rather than relying on heritage or proximity to religious tradition.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.
Cross-references
- Matthew 8:11 I say to you that many will come from the east and the west to share the banquet with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.
- Matthew 22:13 Then the king told the servants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
- Matthew 25:30 And throw that worthless servant into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
- Matthew 13:42 And they will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
- Matthew 13:50 and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
- Matthew 24:51 Then he will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
- Luke 14:15 When one of those reclining with Him heard this, he said to Jesus, “Blessed is everyone who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.”
- Luke 16:23 In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham from afar, with Lazarus by his side.
- Luke 23:42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom!”
- Revelation 21:8 But to the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and sexually immoral and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. This is the second death.”