New King James Version
1 Thessalonians 4:16
16For 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.
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 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 if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. 15For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. 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. 17Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 18Therefore comfort 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, And the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces; The rebuke of His people He will take away from all the earth; For the Lord has spoken.
- Matthew 16:27For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.
- Matthew 24:30Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will 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 holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.
- Matthew 26:64Jesus said to him, “It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
- Acts 1:11who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”
- 2 Thessalonians 1:7and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels,
- 2 Peter 3:10But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.
- Revelation 1:7Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.
- Numbers 23:21“He has not observed iniquity in Jacob, Nor has He seen wickedness in Israel. The Lord his God is with him, And the shout of a King is among them.
- Psalms 47:1Oh, clap your hands, all you peoples! Shout to God with the voice of triumph!
- Zechariah 4:7‘Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain! And he shall bring forth the capstone With shouts of “Grace, grace to it!” ’ ”
- Zechariah 9:9“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.
- Jude 1:9Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”
- Exodus 19:16Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled.
- Exodus 20:18Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off.
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries