Luke 12 · Verse 59

Luke 12:59

I tell thee, thou shalt not depart thence, till thou hast paid the very last mite.

Luke 12:59, King James Version

Luke 12:59 in other translations

BSB	I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the very last penny.”
WEB	I tell you, you will by no means get out of there until you have paid the very last penny.”
ASV	I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou have paid the very last mite.
YLT	I say to thee, thou mayest not come forth thence till even the last mite thou mayest give back.'
DARBY	I say unto thee, Thou shalt in no wise come out thence until thou hast paid the very last mite.
BBE	I say to you, You will not come out of it till you have made payment to the very last farthing.
Webster	I tell thee, thou shalt not depart thence, till thou hast paid the very last mite.

What does Luke 12:59 mean?

Barnes' Notes

Verses 58,59. Mt 5:25. Mt 5:26.

Verse 59.

(6) "mite" Mk 12:42

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 59 Till thou hast paid the very last mite - And when can this be, if we understand the text spiritually? Can weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth, pay to Divine justice the debt a sinner has contracted? This is impossible: let him who readeth understand. The subject of the 47th and 48th verses has been greatly misunderstood, and has been used in a very dangerous manner. Many have thought that their ignorance of Divine things would be a sufficient excuse for their crimes; and, that they might have but few stripes, they voluntarily continued in ignorance. But such persons should know that God will judge them for the knowledge they might have received, but refused to acquire. No criminal is excused because he has been ignorant of the laws of his country, and so transgressed them, when it can be proved that those very laws have been published throughout the land. Much knowledge is a dangerous thing if it be not improved; as this will greatly aggravate the condemnation of its possessor. Nor will it avail a person, in the land of light and information, to be ignorant, as he shall be judged for what he might have known; and, perhaps, in this case, the punishment of this voluntarily ignorant man will be even greater than that of the more enlightened; because his crimes are aggravated by this consideration, that he refused to have the light, that he might neither be obliged to walk in the light, nor account for the possession of it. So we find that the plea of ignorance is a mere refuge of lies, and none can plead it who has the book of God within his reach, and lives in a country blessed with the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Luke 12:54-59

Christ would have the people to be as wise in the concerns of their souls as they are in outward affairs. Let them hasten to obtain peace with God before it is too late. If any man has found that God has set himself against him concerning his sins, let him apply to him as God in Christ reconciling the world to himself. While we are alive, we are in the way, and now is our time.

Read the full comment on Luke 12:54-59 →

Luke 12:59 in the original Greek

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

λέγωlegōI sayG3004

σοι·soito you;G4771

οὐoucertainlyG3756

μὴmēnotG3361

ἐξέλθῃςexelthēsshall you come outG1831

ἐκεῖθενekeithenfrom thereG1564

ἕωςhe'ōsuntilG2193

καὶkaievenG2532

τὸtotheG3588

ἔσχατονeschatonlastG2078

λεπτὸνleptonleptonG3016

ἀποδῷς.¶apodōsyou may have paid.G591

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Luke 12:59

Mark 12:42
And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing.
Matthew 18:34
And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.
Matthew 25:46
And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
Matthew 25:41
Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
2 Thessalonians 1:3
We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth;
Luke 16:26
And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

thou shalt.
16:26; Mt 18:34; 25:41,46; 2Th 1:3
mite.
Mr 12:42; *marg:

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

Luke 12:58
When thou goest with thine adversary to the magistrate, as thou art in the way, give diligence that thou mayest be delivered from him; lest he hale thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and the officer cast thee into prison.
Luke 12:59
I tell thee, thou shalt not depart thence, till thou hast paid the very last mite.

Read all of Luke 12

Luke 12:59 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Te digo que no saldrás de allá, hasta que hayas pagado hasta el último maravedí.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Je te dis que tu ne sortiras point de là, que tu n’aies payé jusqu’à la dernière pite.
German Elberfelder 1871	Ich sage dir: Du wirst nicht von dannen herauskommen, bis du auch den letzten Heller bezahlt hast.
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Dico tibi, non exies inde, donec etiam novissimum minutum reddas.