Matthew 12:40

Matthew 12:40 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
• New International Version (NIV)For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
• English Standard Version (ESV)For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
• New King James Version (NKJV)For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Context of Matthew 12:40

38Then some teachers of God's Law and some Pharisees said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, we want to see you do something powerful. This will show us that God has really sent you.’ 39Jesus replied, ‘The people who are alive today are very bad. They do not obey God, but they want God to show them something powerful. But God will not do this for them. They will only see the same powerful thing that God did for his prophet Jonah. Jonah stayed inside a big fish for three days and three nights. In the same way, the Son of Man will remain in the ground for three days and three nights. 41When God judges everyone, the people who lived in Nineveh will be there. They will stand up and they will speak against you. They will show that the people who are alive today are bad. When Jonah spoke to the people in Nineveh long ago, they stopped doing bad things. But look! There is someone here now who is greater than Jonah was. 42Also, the Queen of Sheba travelled a long way to meet King Solomon. She wanted to hear his wise words. When God judges everyone, she will stand up. She will speak against you who are alive today. She will show that you are bad people. She listened to King Solomon. But look! There is someone here now who is greater than Solomon was. But you are not listening to me.’

Matthew 12:40 word by word

ὥσπερ γὰρ ἦν Ἰωνᾶς ἐν τῇ κοιλίᾳ τοῦ κήτους τρεῖς ἡμέρας καὶ τρεῖς νύκτας, οὕτως ἔσται ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ τῆς γῆς τρεῖς ἡμέρας καὶ τρεῖς νύκτας.¶Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Forγάρgar · forG1063
• asὥσπερhōsper · just asG5618
• JonasἸωνᾶςIōnas · JonahG2495
• wasεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• threeτρεῖςtreis tria · ThreeG5140
• daysἡμέραhēmera · dayG2250
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• nightsνύξnux · nightG3571
• inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• the whale’sὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• the whale’sκῆτοςkētos · sea monsterG2785
• bellyκοιλίαkoilia · belly/womb/stomachG2836
• soοὕτωςhoutō · thus(-ly)G3779
• the Sonυἱόςuihos · sonG5207
• of manἄνθρωποςanthrōpos · a humanG444
• the heartκαρδίαkardia · heartG2588
• of the earthγῆgē · earth: planetG1093

Cross-references for Matthew 12:40

• Jonah 1:17But the Lord sent a great fish to swallow Jonah. Jonah was inside the fish's stomach for three days and three nights.
• Matthew 16:21After this, Jesus began to explain everything to his disciples. He told them, ‘I must go to Jerusalem. There, I will suffer in many ways. The important Jews, the leaders of the priests, and the teachers of God's Law will hurt me. Then people will kill me. But three days later, God will cause me to become alive again.’
• Matthew 17:23They will kill him. But three days after that, he will become alive again.’ When the disciples heard that, they were very sad.
• Matthew 27:40and they said, ‘You said that you could destroy the temple and then build it again in three days. If you really are the Son of God, save yourself. Come down from the cross.’
• John 2:19Jesus answered them, ‘If you destroy this house of God, I will build it up again in three days.’
• Psalms 63:9My enemies are trying to kill me, but I know that they themselves will die. They will go down into the deep hole of death.
• Jonah 2:2He said, ‘When I was in trouble, I called out to the Lord, and he answered my prayer. Yes, I called out to you for help from the deep hole of death, and you heard my prayer.

Commentaries on Matthew 12:40

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 40Three days and three nights - Our Lord rose from the grave on the day but one after his crucifixion: so that, in the computation in this verse, the part of the day on which he was crucified, and the part of that on which he rose again, are severally estimated as an entire day; and this, no doubt, exactly corresponded to the time in which Jonah was in the belly of the fish. Our Lord says, As Jonah was, so shall the Son of man be, etc. Evening and morning…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 38-42Verses 38-42 We would see a sign from thee - See Luke 11:16, Luke 11:29-32. A “sign” commonly signifies a miracle - that is, a sign that God was with the person or had sent him. Compare the notes at Isaiah 7:11. Luke adds that this was done “tempting him;” that is, trying him, doubting if he had the power to do it. If these persons had been present with him for any considerable time, they had already seen sufficient proofs that he was what he claimed to…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 38-45Verses 38-45 Though Christ is always ready to hear and answer holy desires and prayers, yet those who ask amiss, ask and have not. Signs were granted to those who desired them to confirm their faith, as Abraham and Gideon; but denied to those who demanded them to excuse their unbelief. The resurrection of Christ from the dead by his own power, called here the sign of the prophet Jonah, was the great proof of Christ's being the Messiah. As Jonah was three…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 39-40To demand a sign shows a lack of faith. The sign of the prophet Jonah was his "resurrection" from the large fish after three days and nights. It also referred to his preaching (12:41; Luke 11:32). This was similar to the burial, resurrection, and preaching of Jesus. Jesus compared Jonah's experience to what he would experience. He was not predicting the exact timing of his death and resurrection. Heart of the earth is another way of saying "the grave."Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 4040. For as Jonas was--"a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation" (Lu 11:30). For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly--(Jon 1:17). so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth--This was the second public announcement of His resurrection three days after His death. (For the first, see Joh 2:19). Jonah's case was analogous to this, as being a signal judgment of…Read the comment

Topics related to Matthew 12:40

• Fish
• Jesus Continued
• Jesus, the Christ
• Jonah
• Resurrection
• Types

In the dictionaries

• Son of man
• Adulterous
• Condemn
• Desolation
• Idle
• Jonah, Book of
• Jonas
• Judgment
• Restore
• Sin

Commentaries on Matthew 12

• 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
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• 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