God’s Word Translation
Matthew 27:53
53They came out of the tombs after he had come back to life, and they went into the holy city where they appeared to many people.
Matthew 27:53 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.
- New International Version (NIV)They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people.
- English Standard Version (ESV)and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many.
- New King James Version (NKJV)and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.
Context of Matthew 27:53
51Suddenly, the curtain in the temple was split in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, and the rocks were split open. 52The tombs were opened, and the bodies of many holy people who had died came back to life. They came out of the tombs after he had come back to life, and they went into the holy city where they appeared to many people. 54An army officer and those watching Jesus with him saw the earthquake and the other things happening. They were terrified and said, “Certainly, this was the Son of God!” 55Many women were there watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee and had always supported him.
Read all of Matthew 27Matthew 27:53 word by word
καὶ ἐξελθόντες ἐκ τῶν μνημείων μετὰ τὴν ἔγερσιν αὐτοῦ εἰσῆλθον εἰς τὴν ἁγίαν πόλιν καὶ ἐνεφανίσθησαν πολλοῖς.¶Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Andκαίkai · andG2532
- came outἐξέρχομαιexerchomai · to go outG1831
- ofἐκek ex · out fromG1537
- the gravesὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- the gravesμνημεῖονmnēmeion · graveG3419
- afterμετάmeta · with/afterG3326
- hisαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
- resurrectionἔγερσιςegersis · resurrectionG1454
- and wentεἰσέρχομαιeiserchomai · to enterG1525
- intoεἰςeis · towardG1519
- theπόλιςpolis · cityG4172
- holyἅγιοςhagios · holyG40
- appearedἐμφανίζωemphanizō · to showG1718
- unto manyπολύςpolus polos · muchG4183
Cross-references for Matthew 27:53
- Matthew 4:5Then the devil took him into the holy city and had him stand on the highest part of the temple.
- Nehemiah 11:1The leaders of the people settled in Jerusalem. The rest of the people drew lots to bring one out of every ten to live in Jerusalem, the holy city. The remaining nine-tenths were supposed to live in the other cities.
- Isaiah 48:2You call yourselves ⌞citizens⌟ of the holy city. You depend on the God of Israel. His name is the Lord of Armies.
- Daniel 9:24“Seventy sets of seven time periods have been assigned for your people and your holy city. These time periods will serve to bring an end to rebellion, to stop sin, to forgive wrongs, to usher in everlasting righteousness, to put a seal on a prophet’s vision, and to anoint the Most Holy One.
- Revelation 11:2But do not measure the temple courtyard. Leave that out, because it is given to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for 42 months.
- Revelation 21:2Then I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, dressed like a bride ready for her husband.
- Revelation 22:19If anyone takes away any words from this book of prophecy, God will take away his portion of the tree of life and the holy city that are described in this book.
Commentaries on Matthew 27:53
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 53And came out of the graves after his resurrection - Not Before, as some have thought, for Christ was himself the First Fruits of them who slept, 1 Corinthians 15:20. The graves were opened at his death, by the earthquake, and the bodies came out at his resurrection. And appeared unto many - Thus establishing the truth of our Lord's resurrection in particular, and of the resurrection of the body in general, by many witnesses. Quesnel's reflections on these…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 53And came out of the graves after his resurrection - The narrative of Matthew does not determine whether they came to life before Jesus rose, and remained in the tombs, or came to life after he died. The latter is probably the correct opinion. There is nothing said of the reason why they were raised. It is not improbable to suppose that it was, amid the other wonders attending the death of Jesus, to convince the Jews that he was the Messiah. Perhaps some…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
Topics related to Matthew 27:53
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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