Bible Strands
Matthew 24:35
Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Jesus speaks to his disciples on the Mount of Olives, between the "this generation" declaration (v. 34) and the "no one knows the day or hour" statement (v. 36). He is answering their question about the temple's destruction and the end of the age.
The words — παρελεύσεται (pareleusetai), "will pass away," is a future middle indicative from παρελέυω, carrying the sense of being consumed or used up. The adversative δὲ (de) is the hinge that makes the second clause a direct counterweight to the first, not merely an addition.
The thread — Isaiah 40:8 uses the same contrast (grass and flower vs. the word of God standing forever), and 1 Peter 1:25 quotes it directly. Numbers 23:19 adds the underlying claim: God does not speak and fail to act.
Why it lands — If the words outlast the physical cosmos, then dismissing them is not a minor error but a miscalculation of scale. The verse asks the reader to treat Jesus' words as the one fixed point in a universe explicitly declared temporary.
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
Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 40:8 The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.”
- 1 Peter 1:25 but the word of the Lord stands forever.” And this is the word that was proclaimed to you.
- Numbers 23:19 God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?
- Isaiah 55:11 so My word that proceeds from My mouth will not return to Me empty, but it will accomplish what I please, and it will prosper where I send it.
- 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.
- Proverbs 30:5 Every word of God is flawless; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.
- 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.
- Isaiah 54:10 Though the mountains may be removed and the hills may be shaken, My loving devotion will not depart from you, and My covenant of peace will not be broken,” says the LORD, who has compassion on you.
- Psalms 89:34 I will not violate My covenant or alter the utterance of My lips.
- Titus 1:2 in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began.