Bible Strands
Matthew 11:30
For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Jesus speaks to the crowds, immediately after calling them to take his yoke and find rest (Matthew 11:29). The verse is the closing justification for that invitation.
The words — χρηστὸς (chrēstos, "easy") is a rare adjective here, literally "good, serviceable, fit for use," not the common word for "light." τὸ φορτίον (to phortion, "burden") is a military-logistics term for a load carried by a soldier or pack animal.
The thread — 1 John 5:3 echoes the claim that God's commandments are "not burdensome," and John 16:33 pairs the promise of peace with the reality of tribulation.
Why it lands — The verse asks the reader to accept a yoke — a binding, not a liberation — and to trust that the one who sets it is gentle enough to make it bearable.
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
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Cross-references
- 1 John 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome,
- John 16:33 I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take courage; I have overcome the world!”
- Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.
- 2 Corinthians 12:9 But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me.
- Galatians 5:1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be encumbered once more by a yoke of slavery.
- Micah 6:8 He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?
- 2 Corinthians 1:4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.
- 2 Corinthians 4:17 For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond comparison.
- Galatians 5:18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
- Acts 15:10 Now then, why do you test God by placing on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear?