What Does Luke 23:43 Mean?

Luke 23:43Luke 23:43 · King James VersionAnd Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.Luke 23:43 · King James VersionOpen source in the King James is Jesus’ promise to the man beside him: “To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.” The New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible) moves the comma and reads “Truly I tell you today, you will be with me in Paradise.” Their study note says the earliest manuscripts have no punctuation, that the main Greek editions put the comma before “today,” and that the comma depends on what the Bible as a whole teaches. Jesus is God. Where they say the dead are is Do the Dead Cease to Exist?.

Key Points

• Luke 23:42Luke 23:42 · King James VersionAnd he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.Luke 23:42 · King James VersionOpen source (3) is the request: “Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.”
• Luke 23:43Luke 23:43 · King James VersionAnd Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.Luke 23:43 · King James VersionOpen source (2) answers, “Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.”
• The New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible) of Luke 23:43Luke 23:43 · New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible)And he said to him: “Truly I tell you today, you will be with me in Paradise.”Luke 23:43 · New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible)Open source (1) says, “Truly I tell you today, you will be with me in Paradise.”
• The study note says Westcott and Hort, Nestle and Aland, and the United Bible Societies put a comma before “today.”
• The same note quotes Hesychius: some read “Truly I tell you today,” and then “You will be with me in Paradise.”
• Their Paradise note says this criminal had not been “born from water and spirit,” so the promise is not the heavenly paradise. Who they say must be born again is What Does Born Again Mean?.

What Luke 23:43 Says

The man has just said, “Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.” The answer in the New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible)Luke 23:43 · New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible)And he said to him: “Truly I tell you today, you will be with me in Paradise.”Luke 23:43 · New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible)Open source (1) is:

And he said to him: “Truly I tell you today, you will be with me in Paradise.”

New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible) · New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible)

Luke 23:43Luke 23:43 · King James VersionAnd Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.Luke 23:43 · King James VersionOpen source (2) in the King James says, “And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.” “Verily I say unto thee” is the formula. “To day” is the next word, after the comma, and it belongs to “shalt thou be with me.” John 3:3John 3:3 · King James VersionJesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.John 3:3 · King James VersionOpen source uses the doubled formula, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee,” and it does not attach “today” to the formula. The paradise sentence is the one place their Bible glues “today” to “I tell you.”

Where the Editions Put the Comma

The study note “Truly I tell you today” says the earliest manuscripts are capitals, without the spaces and punctuation of a modern book, so a translator’s comma is a decision. It then says the grammar allows a comma before or after “today,” and it names the editions:

Scholarly editions of the Greek text like the ones prepared by Westcott and Hort, Nestle and Aland, and the United Bible Societies put a comma before the Greek word rendered “today.”

The note says the punctuation depends on how translators understand Jesus and on what the Bible as a whole teaches. That is an open admission. The comma is not in the manuscript. The decision is doctrinal. They cite the Curetonian Syriac, in Burkitt’s 1904 edition, “Amen, I say to thee to-day that with me thou shalt be in the Garden of Eden.” They also quote Hesychius of Jerusalem: “Some indeed read in this manner: ‘Truly I tell you today,’ and put a comma; then they follow: ‘You will be with me in Paradise.’” Hesychius is describing a reading some people used. He is not saying the Greek editions put the comma there. A real concession is his: the words can be pointed either way if the only question is a missing comma. The Christian claim is the one the editions they name actually print, and the one the formula “I say unto thee” has everywhere else: today is when the man will be with Jesus.

What Their Note Says About Paradise

The Paradise note says paradeisos is a park or a garden, and that this promise is not “the paradise of God” in Revelation 2:7, because that promise is for “the one who conquers.” The note then says:

This criminal was not a conqueror of the world with Jesus Christ; nor had he been “born from water and spirit.” (Joh 3:5; 16:33) He will evidently be one of “the unrighteous” who are resurrected as earthly subjects of the Kingdom when Christ rules over the Paradise earth for a thousand years.

The delay is required by two other teachings: the dead are unconscious, and the man was not one of the born-again rulers. Do the Dead Cease to Exist? quotes their pages on the soul. What Does Born Again Mean? quotes the 144,000 limit. Luke 23:43Luke 23:43 · King James VersionAnd Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.Luke 23:43 · King James VersionOpen source (2) itself names a day, a person, and paradise, in answer to a man who asked to be remembered when Jesus came into his kingdom. Jesus is God. To be with him that day is to be with God.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Does Luke 23:32–43 Say?

Luke 23:33Luke 23:33 · King James VersionAnd when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left.Luke 23:33 · King James VersionOpen source says they came to Calvary and crucified him, with the malefactors on the right and on the left. Verse 42 is the request. Verse 43 is the promise. The instrument is Did Jesus Die on a Cross or a Stake?.

Where Does the Soul Go When You Die?

This verse says the man would be with Jesus in paradise that day. Their reading postpones the paradise and treats the dead as unconscious until a resurrection. The wider argument is Do the Dead Cease to Exist?.

What Is Psalm 43?

Psalm 43 is a different chapter, a prayer for vindication. It is not Luke 23:43.

What Was the Second Saying From the Cross?

Luke 23:43Luke 23:43 · King James VersionAnd Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.Luke 23:43 · King James VersionOpen source (2) is the promise of paradise. Other sentences from that day are Luke 23:34Luke 23:34 · King James VersionThen said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.Luke 23:34 · King James VersionOpen source, John 19:26John 19:26 · King James VersionWhen Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son!John 19:26 · King James VersionOpen source, Matthew 27:46Matthew 27:46 · King James VersionAnd about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?Matthew 27:46 · King James VersionOpen source, John 19:28John 19:28 · King James VersionAfter this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst.John 19:28 · King James VersionOpen source, John 19:30John 19:30 · King James VersionWhen Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.John 19:30 · King James VersionOpen source, and Luke 23:46Luke 23:46 · King James VersionAnd when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.Luke 23:46 · King James VersionOpen source.

What Does the Bible Say About Homosexuality?

Luke 23:43 is a promise to a dying man. It is not a verse about sexual intimacy. That subject is What Does the Bible Say About Homosexuality?.

What Color Is Heaven?

The verse names paradise and a day. It does not name a color.

Keep Reading

• Do the Dead Cease to Exist?
• What Does Born Again Mean?
• Did Jesus Die on a Cross or a Stake?
• Is Jesus God?