Bible Strands
Luke 20:18
Everyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Jesus speaks to the scribes and chief priests immediately after recounting the parable of the tenants and citing Psalm 118:22. He delivers this declaration directly to the religious leaders who are seeking to arrest Him.
The words — πεσὼν (pesōn) means falling, while συνθλασθὴσεται (sunthlasthēsetai) means will be broken. These terms describe the physical destruction of those who oppose the stone.
The thread — The imagery of a stone causing destruction or establishing a kingdom appears in Isaiah 8:14, Daniel 2:34, and Daniel 2:44. These passages trace the motif of God's judgment and sovereign rule through stone imagery.
Why it lands — The text declares that rejecting the stone results in being broken, while resisting it results in being crushed. It demands a clear assessment of whether the reader aligns with or opposes the stone's authority.
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
Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 8:14 And He will be a sanctuary—but to both houses of Israel a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, to the dwellers of Jerusalem a trap and a snare.
- Daniel 2:34 As you watched, a stone was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay, and crushed them.
- Daniel 2:44 In the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will shatter all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, but will itself stand forever.
- Zechariah 12:3 On that day, when all the nations of the earth gather against her, I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who would heave it away will be severely injured.
- Matthew 21:44 He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.”
- Matthew 21:34 When the harvest time drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his share of the fruit.
- 1 Thessalonians 2:16 hindering us from telling the Gentiles how they may be saved. As a result, they continue to heap up their sins to full capacity; the utmost wrath has come upon them.