God’s Word Translation
1 Thessalonians 4:16
16The Lord will come from heaven with a command, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet ⌞call⌟ of God. First, the dead who believed in Christ will come back to life.
1 Thessalonians 4:16 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
- New International Version (NIV)For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
- English Standard Version (ESV)For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
- New King James Version (NKJV)For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
Context of 1 Thessalonians 4:16
14We believe that Jesus died and came back to life. We also believe that, through Jesus, God will bring back those who have died. They will come back with Jesus. 15We are telling you what the Lord taught. We who are still alive when the Lord comes will not go ⌞into his kingdom⌟ ahead of those who have already died. The Lord will come from heaven with a command, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet ⌞call⌟ of God. First, the dead who believed in Christ will come back to life. 17Then, together with them, we who are still alive will be taken in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. In this way we will always be with the Lord. 18So then, comfort each other with these words!
Read all of 1 Thessalonians 41 Thessalonians 4:16 word by word
ὅτι αὐτὸς ὁ κύριος ἐν κελεύσματι, ἐν φωνῇ ἀρχαγγέλου καὶ ἐν σάλπιγγι θεοῦ καταβήσεται ἀπ᾽ οὐρανοῦ, καὶ οἱ νεκροὶ ἐν Χριστῷ ἀναστήσονται πρῶτον,Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- Forὅτιhoti · that/since: sinceG3754
- the Lordκύριοςkurios · lord: GodG2962
- himselfαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
- shall descendκαταβαίνωkatabainō · to come/go downG2597
- fromἀπόapo · away fromG575
- heavenοὐρανόςouranos · heavenG3772
- withἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
- a shoutκέλευσμαkeleuma · commandG2752
- the voiceφωνήphōnē · voice/sound: voiceG5456
- of the archangelἀρχάγγελοςarchaggelos · archangelG743
- andκαίkai · andG2532
- the trumpσάλπιγξsalpigx · trumpetG4536
- of Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
- the deadνεκρόςnekros · deadG3498
- ChristΧριστόςChristos · ChristG5547
- shall riseἀνίστημιanistēmi · to ariseG450
- firstπρῶτονprōton · firstG4412
Cross-references for 1 Thessalonians 4:16
- Isaiah 25:8He will swallow up death forever. The Almighty Lord will wipe away tears from every face, and he will remove the disgrace of his people from the whole earth. The Lord has spoken.
- Matthew 16:27The Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory. Then he will pay back each person based on what that person has done.
- Matthew 24:30“Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky. All the people on earth will cry in agony when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds in the sky with power and great glory.
- Matthew 25:31“When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all his angels are with him, he will sit on his glorious throne.
- Matthew 26:64Jesus answered him, “Yes, I am. But I alone can guarantee that from now on you will see the Son of Man in the honored position—the one next to God the Father on the heavenly throne . He will be coming on the clouds of heaven.”
- Acts 1:11They asked, “Why are you men from Galilee standing here looking at the sky? Jesus, who was taken from you to heaven, will come back in the same way that you saw him go to heaven.”
- 2 Thessalonians 1:7It is also right for God to give all of us relief from our suffering. He will do this when the Lord Jesus is revealed, ⌞coming⌟ from heaven with his mighty angels in a blazing fire.
- 2 Peter 3:10The day of the Lord will come like a thief. On that day heaven will pass away with a roaring sound. Everything that makes up the universe will burn and be destroyed. The earth and everything that people have done on it will be exposed.
- Revelation 1:7Look! He is coming in the clouds. Every eye will see him, even those who pierced him. Every tribe on earth will mourn because of him. This is true. Amen.
- Numbers 23:21He doesn’t want any trouble for the descendants of Jacob. He sees no misfortune for the people of Israel. The Lord their God is with them, praised as their king.
- Psalms 47:1Clap your hands, all you people. Shout to God with a loud, joyful song.
- Zechariah 4:7What a high mountain you are! In front of Zerubbabel you will become a plain. He will bring out the topmost stone with shouts of ‘Blessings, blessings on it!’ ”
- Zechariah 9:9Rejoice with all your heart, people of Zion! Shout in triumph, people of Jerusalem! Look! Your King is coming to you: He is righteous and victorious. He is humble and rides on a donkey, on a colt, a young pack animal.
- Jude 1:9When the archangel Michael argued with the devil, they were arguing over the body of Moses. But Michael didn’t dare to hand down a judgment against the devil. Instead, Michael said, “May the Lord reprimand you!”
- Exodus 19:16On the morning of the second day, there was thunder and lightning with a heavy cloud over the mountain, and a very loud blast from a ram’s horn ⌞was heard⌟. All the people in the camp shook with fear.
- Exodus 20:18All the people heard the thunder and saw the lightning. They heard the blast of the ram’s horn and saw the mountain covered with smoke. So they shook with fear and stood at a distance.
Commentaries on 1 Thessalonians 4:16
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 16The Lord himself - That is: Jesus Christ shall descend from heaven; shall descend in like manner as he was seen by his disciples to ascend, i.e. in his human form, but now infinitely more glorious; for thousands of thousands shall minister unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand shall stand before him; for the Son of man shall come on the throne of his glory: but who may abide the day of his coming, or stand when he appeareth? With a shout - Or…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 16For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven - notes, Acts 1:11. With a shout - The word here used ( ́ keleusma), does not elsewhere occur in the New Testament. It properly means a “cry‘ of excitement, or of arging on; an outcry, clamor, or shout, as of sailors at the oar, Luc. Catapl. 19; of soldiers rushing to battle, Thuc. 3:14; of a multitude of people, Diod. Sic. 3:15; of a huntsman to his dogs, Xen. Ven. 6:20. It does not mean here, that the Lord…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 13-18Verses 13-18 Here is comfort for the relations and friends of those who die in the Lord. Grief for the death of friends is lawful; we may weep for our own loss, though it may be their gain. Christianity does not forbid, and grace does not do away, our natural affections. Yet we must not be excessive in our sorrows; this is too much like those who have no hope of a better life. Death is an unknown thing, and we know little about the state after death; yet…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 16with the trumpet of God: God's trumpet will announce the resurrection, just as it once announced Israel's rescue (Zephaniah 1:16; Zechariah 9:14). In the future, it will announce the gathering of God's people from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven (Matthew 24:31; compare 1 Corinthians 15:52).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1616. himself--in all the Majesty of His presence in person, not by deputy. descend--even as He ascended (Ac 1:11). with--Greek, "in," implying one concomitant circumstance attending His appearing. shout--Greek, "signal shout," "war shout." Jesus is represented as a victorious King, giving the word of command to the hosts of heaven in His train for the last onslaught, at His final triumph over sin, death, and Satan (Re 19:11-21). the voice of…Read the comment
Topics related to 1 Thessalonians 4:16
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on 1 Thessalonians 4
- 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
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- 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
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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