Bible Strands
Luke 6:48
He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid his foundation on the rock. When the flood came, the torrent crashed against that house but could not shake it, because it was well built.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jesus, addressing his followers at the close of the Sermon on the Plain (Luke 6:20–49), delivers the second half of a paired illustration introduced in verse 47.
The words — ἔσκαψεν (eskapsen, "dug") carries the verse: it is a finite aorist, marking a completed act of labor and depth, not a passive or surface gesture.
The thread — Matthew 7:25 preserves the same image in the Sermon on the Mount; 1 Corinthians 3:10 applies "foundation" language to apostolic teaching; Psalms 62:2 identifies God himself as the rock that prevents being shaken.
Why it lands — The verse makes the test binary: hearing without acting leaves a structure that cannot withstand the next flood, and the cost of that failure is total collapse (v. 49).
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
He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.
Cross-references
- 1 Corinthians 3:10 By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one must be careful how he builds.
- Psalms 62:2 He alone is my rock and my salvation. He is my fortress; I will never be shaken.
- Matthew 7:25 The rain fell, the torrents raged, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because its foundation was on the rock.
- Isaiah 28:16 So this is what the Lord GOD says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; the one who believes will never be shaken.
- Jude 1:24 Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you unblemished in His glorious presence, with great joy—
- Isaiah 26:4 Trust in the LORD forever, because GOD the LORD is the Rock eternal.
- Ephesians 2:20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the cornerstone.
- 1 Peter 2:4 As you come to Him, the living stone, rejected by men but chosen and precious in God’s sight,
- 2 Samuel 22:32 For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our God?
- Psalms 32:6 Therefore let all the godly pray to You while You may be found. Surely when great waters rise, they will not come near.