Matthew 22:13 (LSB)

Passage

Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Nearby Context

Matthew 22:11 “But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes,

Matthew 22:12 and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?’ And the man was speechless.

Matthew 22:13 Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Matthew 22:14 For many are called, but few are chosen.”

Matthew 22:15 Then the Pharisees went and took counsel together about how they might trap Him in what He said.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "darkness", "king", "said", "servants", "bind", "hand", "foot", and "throw". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "darkness" and "king", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 12's "and he said to him Friend how..." into verse 14's "For many are called but few are...", so "darkness" and "king" belong inside that flow. In Matthew context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "darkness" and "king" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.