New International Version
1 Thessalonians 4:16
16For 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.
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:
- 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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves.
Context of 1 Thessalonians 4:16
14For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 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. 17After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18Therefore encourage one another 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 Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth. The Lord has spoken.
- Matthew 16:27For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.
- Matthew 24:30“Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.
- Matthew 25:31“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne.
- Matthew 26:64“You have said so,” Jesus replied. “But I say to all of you: From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
- Acts 1:11“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”
- 2 Thessalonians 1:7and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels.
- 2 Peter 3:10But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.
- Revelation 1:7“Look, he is coming with the clouds,” and “every eye will see him, even those who pierced him”; and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.” So shall it be! Amen.
- Numbers 23:21“No misfortune is seen in Jacob, no misery observed in Israel. The Lord their God is with them; the shout of the King is among them.
- Psalms 47:1Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy.
- Zechariah 4:7“What are you, mighty mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become level ground. Then he will bring out the capstone to shouts of ‘God bless it! God bless it!’ ”
- Zechariah 9:9Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
- Jude 1:9But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not himself dare to condemn him for slander but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”
- Exodus 19:16On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled.
- Exodus 20:18When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed 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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