Luke 23 30

Luke 23:30 kjv

Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us.

Luke 23:30 nkjv

Then they will begin 'to say to the mountains, "Fall on us!" and to the hills, "Cover us!" '

Luke 23:30 niv

Then "?'they will say to the mountains, "Fall on us!" and to the hills, "Cover us!"?'

Luke 23:30 esv

Then they will begin to say to the mountains, 'Fall on us,' and to the hills, 'Cover us.'

Luke 23:30 nlt

People will beg the mountains, 'Fall on us,' and plead with the hills, 'Bury us.'

Luke 23 verses

Luke 23 30 Meaning

This verse portrays a scene of ultimate desperation and terror where individuals will yearn for death to escape an even greater, impending catastrophe or divine judgment. It describes a moment when the desire for self-preservation is completely overwhelmed by fear, causing people to prefer immediate annihilation—being crushed or buried by mountains and hills—rather than enduring the unfolding horror before them. It is a powerful prophecy forecasting unbearable suffering that will lead humanity to seek oblivion as a refuge from a greater torment.

Luke 23 30 Context

Luke 23:30 is spoken by Jesus during His arduous journey to Calvary, bearing His cross. A great multitude, including many weeping women, followed Him. Turning to these compassionate women, Jesus delivers a profound warning not to weep for Him, but for themselves and their children (Lk 23:28-29), because of the terrible judgments that awaited Jerusalem and its inhabitants. This verse specifically describes the utter despair they would experience.

Historically, this prophecy finds a significant partial fulfillment in the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. The suffering during the siege and subsequent annihilation of the city was horrific, with many accounts from Josephus detailing extreme starvation, violence, and desperation, leading some to seek refuge in unlikely places or to wish for a quick end. Beyond this immediate historical fulfillment, the verse also looks forward to a grander eschatological fulfillment during the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord, as echoed in the Book of Revelation, where similar cries for concealment from divine wrath are depicted. The prophecy contrasts Jesus' unjust suffering (the "green wood" that burns slowly) with the swift and devastating judgment upon those who reject Him (the "dry wood" ready for instant conflagration, Lk 23:31).

Luke 23 30 Word analysis

• Then (Τότε - Tote): This temporal adverb indicates a specific future moment or period following a prior event or condition. It points to a distinct consequence arising from the historical and spiritual conditions Jesus foretells for Jerusalem and its people. It signifies the commencement of the profound desperation described.
• shall they begin (ἄρξονται - arxontai): A future passive or middle indicative verb. "They" refers to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and, by extension, humanity during future times of great tribulation. "Begin" suggests the commencement of this intense plea, implying a sustained period of terror rather than a momentary cry.
• to say (λέγειν - legein): The present active infinitive. It emphasizes the active, vocalized nature of their despair. This isn't just a fleeting thought but an urgent, desperate utterance, a public manifestation of their fear.
• to the mountains (τοῖς ὄρεσι - tois oresi): Dative case, indicating direction or recipient of the address. Mountains in the biblical context often symbolize stability, power, and refuge (Ps 121:1), but here they are desperately implored for destruction. This highlights a complete reversal of their traditional symbolic role as places of security.
• Fall (πέσατε - pesate): Aorist active imperative. It's an urgent command, a direct plea to geological features. It speaks to a desire for sudden, overwhelming obliteration, a longing for an instantaneous end to their torment.
• on us (ἐφ᾽ ἡμᾶς - eph' hēmas): Prepositional phrase, indicating the direction of the fall. The request is for direct and personal impact, wishing for the earth itself to become their grave.
• and to the hills (καὶ τοῖς βουνοῖς - kai tois bounois): A parallel construction that emphasizes the scope of their plea, encompassing both major (mountains) and minor (hills) elevations. It shows they seek any form of natural cover or destruction, wherever they might be.
• Cover us (καλύψατε ἡμᾶς - kalupsate hēmas): Aorist active imperative. This is a plea for total concealment and obliteration. "Cover" implies being buried or hidden completely, serving as an escape from an external horror so great that death is seen as preferable.

Words-group analysis

• "Then shall they begin to say": This phrase establishes a future point in time when this extreme human reaction commences. It suggests a cascade of events leading to this desperate plea, emphasizing the progression of God's judgment and its escalating severity. The future tense implies the certainty of this event unfolding.
• "to the mountains... and to the hills": This personifies inanimate geographical features, treating them as entities capable of receiving and acting upon desperate commands. This underscores the profound extremity of the situation, where rational human response is overridden by a raw, primal urge to escape. It implies that there is no other refuge or escape to turn to, even from other humans or spiritual help.
• "Fall on us; and... Cover us": These two parallel commands encapsulate the dual aspects of their desired escape: instantaneous death ("Fall on us") and total obliteration/concealment from the perceived horror ("Cover us"). It's a prayer of anti-salvation, longing for the absence of existence to avoid unbearable suffering and the unveiling of God's wrath. This direct quote from Hosea 10:8 (and later echoed in Revelation 6:16) reveals a recurring prophetic pattern of humanity's ultimate fear in the face of divine judgment.

Luke 23 30 Bonus section

• Paradox of Refuge: Mountains, often symbols of steadfastness and refuge in Scripture (Ps 121:1, Isa 32:2), are here sought not as places to hide in, but as instruments to be hidden by, via destruction. This signifies the unprecedented nature of the coming calamity where usual sources of security become the objects of suicidal pleas.
• The Unbearable Presence of God's Wrath: The desire to be covered by mountains illustrates that the terror experienced is ultimately derived from God's righteous judgment, from which there is no natural hiding place (Ps 139:7-12). Humans are literally wishing for the ground to consume them to escape the face of an enraged, holy God.
• Dual Fulfillment: This prophecy, like many others concerning judgment on Jerusalem, has both an immediate, historical fulfillment in the catastrophic destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 by the Romans, and an ultimate, eschatological fulfillment during the Great Tribulation preceding the Second Coming of Christ, as further depicted in the Book of Revelation. The desperation witnessed in A.D. 70 serves as a powerful preview of a universal anguish yet to come.
• The Power of Rejecting Christ: In its context, this warning is a profound testament to the devastating consequences of rejecting the Son of God. If the innocent Messiah faced such suffering, the unrepentant will face infinitely greater anguish.

Luke 23 30 Commentary

Luke 23:30 is a chilling prophetic utterance by Jesus, signifying a time of unparalleled distress that will cause people to wish for immediate death and oblivion rather than face the terrors of divine judgment. Spoken on His way to the cross, this warning contrasts His present suffering as an innocent "green tree" with the terrible future awaiting those who reject God, depicted as a "dry tree" destined for swift destruction (Lk 23:31). This verse is profoundly unsettling because it shows the ultimate reversal of human instinct: the deep-seated desire to live replaced by an overwhelming urge for annihilation. The plea to mountains and hills reveals an desperate hope for geology itself to become their undoing or their final hiding place, indicating that all conventional forms of refuge have vanished, and the source of terror is so profound that even immediate death is seen as a mercy. It points to a coming wrath of God so fearsome that humanity will find no comfort, no hiding place, and no escape save for a plea to be crushed and buried, away from His devastating presence.