Bible Strands
Matthew 26:31
Then Jesus said to them, “This very night you will all fall away on account of Me. For it is written: ‘I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jesus speaks to his disciples immediately after the Passover meal and a hymn, on the way to the Mount of Olives, the night before his arrest. He tells them all will abandon him that very night.
The words — σκανδαλισθήσεσθε (skandalisthēsesthe), "you will be caused to stumble," is future passive: the falling away is something done to them, not merely a choice they make. The emphasis on πᾶντες (pantes), "all," leaves no disciple exempt.
The thread — The quotation is Zechariah 13:7; the parallel is Mark 14:27; John 16:32 restates the scattering with "each to his own home."
Why it lands — The verse removes any assumption that closeness to Jesus guarantees loyalty under pressure. It asks the reader to name their own conditions for abandonment rather than assume they would hold.
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
Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad.
Cross-references
- Zechariah 13:7 Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, against the man who is My Companion, declares the LORD of Hosts. Strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn My hand against the little ones.
- Mark 14:27 Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away, for it is written: ‘I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’
- John 16:32 “Look, an hour is coming and has already come when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and you will leave Me all alone. Yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me.
- Ezekiel 34:5 They were scattered for lack of a shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild beasts.
- Psalms 69:20 Insults have broken my heart, and I am in despair. I looked for sympathy, but there was none, for comforters, but I found no one.
- Psalms 38:11 My beloved and friends shun my disease, and my kinsmen stand at a distance.
- Matthew 24:9 Then they will deliver you over to be persecuted and killed, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name.
- Psalms 88:18 You have removed my beloved and my friend; darkness is my closest companion.
- Isaiah 53:10 Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush Him and to cause Him to suffer; and when His soul is made a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, and the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.
- Lamentations 1:19 I called out to my lovers, but they have betrayed me. My priests and elders perished in the city while they searched for food to keep themselves alive.