Bible Strands
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.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jesus speaks this declaration to his listeners immediately after noting that the Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John, and the gospel of the kingdom is now being preached. He makes this statement to anchor his subsequent teaching on marriage and divorce in the unbreakable authority of Scripture.
The words — The Greek term εὐκοπώτερον (eukopōteron) translates literally to "easier," establishing a comparative structure with the destruction of heaven and earth. The text states that it is more probable for the cosmos to cease existing than for a single stroke of a pen to vanish from the Law.
The thread — The same imagery of heaven and earth passing away while God's word endures appears in Matthew 5:18 and Luke 21:33. This theme of the eternal stability of divine speech is further confirmed in 1 Peter 1:25.
Why it lands — The verse demands that a reader treat every detail of the Law as permanently binding and unchangeable. It requires immediate obedience to Scripture's commands, including the specific moral boundaries Jesus outlines next, rather than treating ancient text as optional or obsolete.
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
And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.
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.
- Luke 21:33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.
- 1 Peter 1:25 but the word of the Lord stands forever.” And this is the word that was proclaimed to you.
- Isaiah 40:8 The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.”
- Romans 3:31 Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Certainly not! Instead, we uphold the law.
- Isaiah 51:6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look at the earth below; for the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment, and its people will die like gnats. But My salvation will last forever, and My righteousness will never fail.
- Psalms 102:25 In the beginning You laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands.
- Revelation 20:11 Then I saw a great white throne and the One seated on it. Earth and heaven fled from His presence, and no place was found for them.
- Revelation 21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
- Revelation 21:4 ‘He will wipe away every tear from their eyes,’ and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the former things have passed away.”