Luke 20:18
in Luke 20Everyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Every one that falleth on that stone shall be broken to pieces; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will scatter him as dust.
KJV
Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.
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This verse in Luke 20
Commentary
14 notes on this verseThe Lord speaks here of a twofold destruction. One is the destruction of their souls, which they suffered because they were scandalized. For everyone who falls on this stone will be broken. The other is the destruction from the captivity which this stone brought upon …
This site's exposition
Jesus looked directly at them
on Luke 20:17-18
Jesus quotes the psalm the crowd sang at His entry in 19:38: The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone, from Psalm 118:22. The saying on the falling stone echoes Isaiah 8:14-15 and Daniel 2:34-35.
This site's exposition
will be broken to pieces
The stone of Psalm 118 becomes a stone of judgment. Bede reads the one who falls on the stone as a sinner who believes, shaken and saved by penitence.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
A commentator
Ephrem the SyrianCOMMENTARY ON TATIAN'S DIATESSARON 16.20 · Written before 373.
proposed
He led them to the point of judging themselves, saying, "What do the vinedressers deserve?" They made a pronouncement concerning themselves, saying, "Let him destroy the evil ones with evil." He then explained this, saying, "Have you not read that the stone which the builders …
The Medieval Church4 voices
(in Marc. 12.) Or understanding it morally; to every one of the faithful is let out a vineyard to cultivate, in that the mystery of baptism is entrusted to him to work out. One servant is sent, a second and a third, when the Law, the Psalms, and the Prophets are read. But the servant who is sent is said to be treated despitefully or beaten, when the word heard is despised or blasphemed. The heir who is sent that man kills as far as he can, who by sin tramples under foot the Son of God. (Heb. 6:6.) The wicked husbandman being destroyed, the vineyard is given to another, when with the gift of grace, which the proud man spurned, the humble are enriched.
Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken. Upon whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder. It is one thing to stumble against Christ through evil deeds, another to deny Him through impiety. Whoever is a sinner and yet believes in Him …
He mentions two condemnations or destructions of them, one indeed of their souls, which they suffered being offended in Christ. And He touches this when He says, Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be shaken to pieces. But the other of their captivity and extermination, which the Stone that was despised by them brought upon them. And He points to this when He says, But upon whomsoever it shall fall, it shall grind him to powder, or winnow him. For so were the Jews winnowed through the whole world, as the straw from the threshing floor. And mark the order of things; for first comes the wickedness committed against Him, then follows the just vengeance of God.
Or else, He who is a sinner, yet believes on Christ, falls indeed upon the stone and is shaken, for he is preserved by penitence unto salvation. But upon whomsoever it shall fall, that is, upon whom the stone itself has come down because he denied it, it shall grind him to powder, so that not even a broken piece of a vessel shall be left, in which may be drunk a little water. Or, He means by those who fall upon Him, such as only despise Him, and therefore do not yet utterly perish, but are shaken violently so that they cannot walk upright. But upon whom it falls, upon them shall He come in judgment with everlasting punishment, therefore shall it grind them to powder, that they may be as the dust which the wind scatters from the face of the earth. (Ps. 1:4.)
6 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church1 voice
And therefore he adds: Everyone who falls upon that stone shall be broken, through the corruption of sin; but upon whomever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder, through the vengeance of the future judgment. For fault renders nature weak, but eternal punishment …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Whosoever shall fall on that stone, shall be broken,....
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Luke (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1858)
The parable we have now read, is one of the very few which are recorded more than once by the Gospel writers. Matthew, Mark, and Luke — all give it at full length. This three-fold repetition is alone sufficient to point out the importance of its contents. The parable, no doubt, was specially intended for the Jews to whom it was addressed. But we must not confine its application to them. It contains lessons which should be remembered in all churches of Christ, as long as the world stands.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
written--(in Ps 118:22, 23. The Kingdom of God is here a Temple, in the erection of which a certain stone, rejected as unsuitable by the spiritual builders, is, by the great Lord of the House, made the keystone of the whole.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Luke (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1858)
proposed
The parable we have now read, is one of the very few which are recorded more than once by the Gospel writers. Matthew, Mark, and Luke — all give it at full length. This three-fold repetition is alone sufficient to point out the importance of its contents. The parable, no doubt, was specially intended for the Jews to whom it was addressed. But we must not confine its application to them. It contains lessons which should be remembered in all churches of Christ, as long as the world stands. In the first place — the parable shows us the deep corruption of human nature. The conduct of the wicked "farmers" is a vivid representation of man's dealings with God. It is a faithful picture of the history of the Jewish church. In spite of privileges, such as no nation ever had; in the face of warnings such as no people ever received — the Jews rebelled against God's lawful authority, refused to give Him His rightful due, rejected the counsel of His prophets, and at length crucified His only-begotten Son. It is a no less faithful picture of the history of all the Gentile churches. Called as they were out of heathen darkness by infinite mercy — they have done nothing worthy of the vocation with which they were called. On the contrary, they have allowed false doctrines and wicked practices to spring up rankly among them, and have crucified Christ afresh. It is a mournful fact that in hardness, unbelief, superstition, and self-righteousness — the Christian churches, as a whole, are little better than the Jewish church of our Lord's time. Both are described with painful correctness in the story of the wicked farmers. In both, we may point to countless privileges misused, and countless warnings despised. Let us often pray that we may thoroughly understand the sinfulness of man's heart.
Grind him to powder - See on Mat 21:44 (note).
The words behind it
15 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| πᾶς | pas | Everyone | G3956 → | 1235 times |
| ὁ | ho | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| πεσὼν | peson | falling | G4098 → | 90 times |
| ἐπ᾽ | ep᾽ | on | G1909 → | 883 times |
| ἐκεῖνον | ekeinon | that [very] | G1565 → | 260 times |
| τὸν | ton | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| λίθον | lithon | stone | G3037 → | 58 times |
| συνθλασθήσεται· | sunthlasthesetai | will be broken; | G4917 → | |
| ἐφ᾽ | eph᾽ | on | G1909 → | 883 times |
| ὃν | hon | whomever | G3739 → | 1405 times |
| δ᾽ | d᾽ | but | G1161 → | 2765 times |
| ἂν | an | maybe | G302 → | 165 times |
| πέσῃ, | pese | it may fall, | G4098 → | 90 times |
| λικμήσει | likmesei | it will grind into powder | G3039 → | |
| αὐτόν.¶ | auton | him. | G846 → | 5565 times |
πᾶςEveryone
pasG3956 →1235 times
ὁ<the>
hoG3588 →19766 times
πεσὼνfalling
pesonG4098 →90 times
ἐπ᾽on
ep᾽G1909 →883 times
ἐκεῖνονthat [very]
ekeinonG1565 →260 times
τὸν<the>
tonG3588 →19766 times
λίθονstone
lithonG3037 →58 times
συνθλασθήσεται·will be broken;
sunthlasthesetaiG4917 →
ἐφ᾽on
eph᾽G1909 →883 times
ὃνwhomever
honG3739 →1405 times
δ᾽but
d᾽G1161 →2765 times
ἂνmaybe
anG302 →165 times
πέσῃ,it may fall,
peseG4098 →90 times
λικμήσειit will grind into powder
likmeseiG3039 →
αὐτόν.¶him.
autonG846 →5565 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Matthew 21:44He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.”
it leads to
- Daniel 2:34–35
As you watched, a stone was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay, and crushed them.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 8:14–15
And He will be a sanctuary—but to both houses of Israel a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, to the dwellers of Jerusalem a trap and a snare.
- 1 Peter 2:8
and, “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word—and to this they were appointed.
- Daniel 2:44–45
In the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will shatter all these kingdoms…
- Romans 9:33
as it is written: “See, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense; and the one who believes in Him will never be put to shame.”
- Daniel 2:34–35
Through
Zechariah 12:3On that day, when all the nations of the earth gather against her, I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who would heave it away will be severely injured.
it leads to
- Matthew 21:44
He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.”
- Zechariah 14:2–4
For I will gather all the nations for battle against Jerusalem, and the city will be captured, the houses looted, and the women ravished. Half of the city will go into exile, but the…
- Isaiah 66:14–16
When you see, you will rejoice, and you will flourish like grass; then the hand of the LORD will be revealed to His servants, but His wrath will be shown to His enemies.
- Matthew 21:44
Where this verse is studied
About Luke
This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bede, On the Gospel of Luke; Bede, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Bonaventure, Commentary on Luke, Chapter 20; Ephrem the Syrian, COMMENTARY ON TATIAN'S DIATESSARON 16.20; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Luke (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Luke and Theophylact of Ohrid, Catena Aurea by Aquinas.