Matthew 8:12

But the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — Jesus speaks to the centurion and the surrounding crowd, pivoting from the inclusion of Gentiles in v.11 to the exclusion of those who claim insider status.

The words — ἐκβληθήσονται (ekblēthēsontai), "will be cast out," is a future passive of ἐκβάλλω, the verb used for ejecting something from the inside to the outside; it carries the force of a violent removal, not a gentle departure.

The thread — The same phrase "outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth" appears in Matthew 25:30, and the exclusion motif recurs in Luke 13:28 and Matthew 21:43, where the kingdom is taken from those who fail to produce fruit.

Why it lands — The excluded are not the outsiders but the "sons of the kingdom," which forces the reader to ask whether claimed belonging by birth or position is what actually secures a place at the table.

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 the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Cross-references

Matthew 25:30 And throw that worthless servant into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
Luke 13:28 There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves are thrown out.
Matthew 21:43 Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.
Matthew 13:42 And they will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Matthew 13:50 and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Matthew 24:51 Then he will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Matthew 22:12 ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ But the man was speechless.
Matthew 3:9 And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.
2 Peter 2:17 These men are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them.
Jude 1:13 They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever.