The Meaning of Luke 16:17 Explained

Luke 16:17

KJV: And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.

YLT: and it is easier to the heaven and the earth to pass away, than of the law one tittle to fall.

Darby: But it is easier that the heaven and the earth should pass away than that one tittle of the law should fail.

ASV: But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away, than for one tittle of the law to fall.

Discover Luke 16:17

CONTEXT: What is the Context of Luke 16:17?

MEANING: What does Luke 16:17 Mean?

WORDS: What do the individual words in Luke 16:17 mean?

RELATIONS: What do the major concepts mean in Luke 16:17?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And  it is  easier  for heaven  and  earth  to pass,  than  one  tittle  of the law  to fail. 

What does Luke 16:17 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Regardless of the Pharisees" views the Old Testament would stand as the final authority. Luke 16:17 is a very strong attestation to God"s preservation of Scripture (cf. Matthew 5:18). The implication was that Jesus" teachings would likewise endure.

Context Summary

Luke 16:14-31 - A Look Into The Future
Here was a flagrant case of heartless indifference, amid luxuries of every kind, to the daily spectacle of abject need. Most of us have at least one Lazarus at the gates of our life. The charge against the rich man was, not that he had injured Lazarus, but that he had not helped him. Man condemns us for doing wrong, God for failing to do right.
Lazarus was translated to the realm of blessedness-the bosom of Abraham bespeaking nearness to him at the great feast-not because he had been so poor and miserable, but because, beggar though he was, he possessed the faith of heart and the purity of motive that characterized his great ancestor.
Notice that memory plays a conspicuous part in the sorrow of Gehenna; that Christ gives no hope of changing the soul's habitation; and that we have in the Scripture a more certain agent of spiritual renewal than would be provided by even the apparition of the dead. [source]

Chapter Summary: Luke 16

1  The parable of the unjust steward
14  Jesus reproves the hypocrisy of the covetous Pharisees
19  The parable of the rich man and Lazarus the beggar

Greek Commentary for Luke 16:17

One tittle [μιαν κερεαν]
See note on Matthew 5:18. [source]
Tittle []
See on sa40" translation="">Matthew 5:18.sa40 [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Luke 16:17

1 Corinthians 13:8 Faileth [ἐκπίπει]
Falls off ( ἐκ ) like a leaf or flower, as James 1:11; 1 Peter 1:24. In classical Greek it was used of an actor who was hissed off the stage. But the correct reading is πίπτει fallsin a little more general sense, as Luke 16:17. Love holds its place. [source]
1 Corinthians 13:8 Love never faileth [η αγαπη ουδεποτε πιπτει]
New turn for the perpetuity of love. Πιπτει — Piptei correct text, not εκπιπτει — ekpiptei as in Luke 16:17. Love survives everything. [source]

What do the individual words in Luke 16:17 mean?

Easier for however it is the heaven and the earth to pass away than of the law one stroke of a pen to fail
εὐκοπώτερον δέ ἐστιν τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν παρελθεῖν ἢ τοῦ νόμου μίαν κεραίαν πεσεῖν

εὐκοπώτερον  Easier  for 
Parse: Adjective, Nominative Neuter Singular, Comparative
Root: εὔκοπος  
Sense: with easy labour.
δέ  however 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: δέ  
Sense: but, moreover, and, etc.
ἐστιν  it  is 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: εἰμί  
Sense: to be, to exist, to happen, to be present.
οὐρανὸν  heaven 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Masculine Singular
Root: οὐρανός  
Sense: the vaulted expanse of the sky with all things visible in it.
γῆν  earth 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: γῆ  
Sense: arable land.
παρελθεῖν  to  pass  away 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Infinitive Active
Root: παρέρχομαι  
Sense: to go past, pass by.
ἢ  than 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: ἤ  
Sense: either, or, than.
τοῦ  of  the 
Parse: Article, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: ὁ  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
νόμου  law 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: νόμος  
Sense: anything established, anything received by usage, a custom, a law, a command.
μίαν  one 
Parse: Adjective, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: εἷς  
Sense: one.
κεραίαν  stroke  of  a  pen 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: κεραία  
Sense: a little horn.
πεσεῖν  to  fail 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Infinitive Active
Root: πίπτω 
Sense: to descend from a higher place to a lower.

What are the major concepts related to Luke 16:17?

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Similar Scriptures for Luke 16:17

Matthew 5:18 [11]
Luke 21:33 [8]
Isaiah 40:8 [6]
1 Peter 1:25 [5]
Romans 3:31 [4]
Isaiah 51:6 [3]
Psalms 102:25-27 [2]
2 Peter 3:10 [1]
Revelation 21:1 [1]
Revelation 21:4 [1]
Revelation 20:11 [1]
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