American Standard Version
Matthew 27:52
52and the tombs were opened; and many bodies of the saints that had fallen asleep were raised;
Matthew 27:52 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,
- New International Version (NIV)and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life.
- English Standard Version (ESV)The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised,
- New King James Version (NKJV)and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised;
Context of Matthew 27:52
50And Jesus cried again with a loud voice, and yielded up his spirit. 51And behold, the veil of the temple was rent in two from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake; and the rocks were rent; and the tombs were opened; and many bodies of the saints that had fallen asleep were raised; 53and coming forth out of the tombs after his resurrection they entered into the holy city and appeared unto many. 54Now the centurion, and they that were with him watching Jesus, when they saw the earthquake, and the things that were done, feared exceedingly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.
Read all of Matthew 27Matthew 27:52 word by word
καὶ τὰ μνημεῖα ἀνεῴχθησαν, καὶ πολλὰ σώματα τῶν κεκοιμημένων ἁγίων ἠγέρθησαν,Read the interlinear
Cross-references for Matthew 27:52
- Isaiah 25:8He hath swallowed up death for ever; and the Lord Jehovah will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the reproach of his people will he take away from off all the earth: for Jehovah hath spoken it.
- Isaiah 26:19Thy dead shall live; my dead bodies shall arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in the dust; for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast forth the dead.
- Hosea 13:14I will ransom them from the power of Sheol; I will redeem them from death: O death, where are thy plagues? O Sheol, where is thy destruction? repentance shall be hid from mine eyes.
- John 5:25Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour cometh, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and they that hear shall live.
- 1 Corinthians 15:20But now hath Christ been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of them that are asleep.
- Daniel 12:2And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
- 1 Corinthians 11:30For this cause many among you are weak and sickly, and not a few sleep.
- 1 Corinthians 15:51Behold, I tell you a mystery: We all shall not sleep, but we shall all be changed,
- 1 Thessalonians 4:14For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also that are fallen asleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:10who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.
Commentaries on Matthew 27:52
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 52And the graves were opened - By the earthquake; and many bodies of saints which slept, i.e. were dead, sleep being a common expression for death in the Scriptures.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 52And the graves were opened - “Graves” or sepulchres were most commonly made, among the Jews, in solid rocks or in caves of rocks. The rending of the rocks, therefore, would lay them open. The graves were opened by this earthquake, but the dead in them did not rise until after his resurrection. And many bodies of the saints arose - Of course, it is not known who these were, nor what became of them. It is probable that they were persons who had recently…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 51-56Verses 51-56 The rending of the veil signified that Christ, by his death, opened a way to God. We have an open way through Christ to the throne of grace, or mercy-seat now, and to the throne of glory hereafter. When we duly consider Christ's death, our hard and rocky hearts should be rent; the heart, and not the garments. That heart is harder than a rock that will not yield, that will not melt, where Jesus Christ is plainly set forth crucified. The graves…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 52-53The tombs broke open: At the moment of the death of Jesus, God’s kingdom broke into the world in a new way. His death destroyed the power of death and began the promise of final resurrection (see Isaiah 26:19; Daniel 12:2; 1 Corinthians 15:1–58; Colossians 1:18; Hebrews 2:14–15). Some holy people were raised to life. But they may not have entered Jerusalem until after Jesus rose from the dead. Another view is that they were not raised until after the…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 5252. And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose--These sleeping saints (see on 1Th 4:14) were Old Testament believers, who--according to the usual punctuation in our version--were quickened into resurrection life at the moment of their Lord's death, but lay in their graves till His resurrection, when they came forth. But it is far more natural, as we think, and consonant with other Scriptures, to understand that only the…Read the comment
Topics related to Matthew 27:52
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Matthew 27
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Catena Aurea
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- John Lightfoot Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- The People’s New Testament
- Robertson’s Word Pictures
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
American Standard Version — 1901 — Public Domain
Commentaries