Bible Strands
Luke 21:18
Yet not even a hair of your head will perish.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Jesus addresses his disciples during the Olivet Discourse, speaking immediately after warning them that they will be hated by everyone because of his name. He places this declaration directly before instructing them to pursue patient endurance to gain their souls.
The words — The Greek phrase θρὶξ κεφαλῆς (thrix kephalēs) literally translates to "hair of the head." Paired with the double negative οὐ μὴ (ou mē), it forms an absolute declaration meaning "certainly not" or "by no means."
The thread — This assurance of physical preservation runs parallel to the divine attention recorded in Matthew 10:30 and Luke 12:7, where God numbers every hair. It also aligns with the life-preserving oath in 1 Samuel 14:45 that shields Jonathan from harm.
Why it lands — The text states that physical destruction will not be the final outcome for the speaker's followers despite the surrounding hostility. It requires the reader to distinguish between temporary persecution and the ultimate preservation of life.
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
But there shall not an hair of your head perish.
Cross-references
- Matthew 10:30 And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
- 1 Samuel 14:45 But the people said to Saul, “Must Jonathan die—he who accomplished such a great deliverance for Israel? Never! As surely as the LORD lives, not a hair of his head will fall to the ground, for with God’s help he has accomplished this today.” So the people rescued Jonathan, and he did not die.
- Luke 12:7 And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
- Acts 27:34 So for your own preservation, I urge you to eat something, because not a single hair of your head will be lost.”
- 2 Samuel 14:11 “Please,” she replied, “may the king invoke the LORD your God to prevent the avenger of blood from increasing the devastation, so that my son may not be destroyed!” “As surely as the LORD lives,” he vowed, “not a hair of your son’s head will fall to the ground.”
- 1 Samuel 25:29 And should someone pursue you and seek your life, then the life of my lord will be bound securely by the LORD your God in the bundle of the living. But He shall fling away the lives of your enemies like stones from a sling.