Matthew 27:52

Matthew 27:52 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,
• New International Version (NIV)and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life.
• English Standard Version (ESV)The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised,
• New Living Translation (NLT)and tombs opened. The bodies of many godly men and women who had died were raised from the dead.

Context of Matthew 27:52

50And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. 51Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; 53and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many. 54So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

Matthew 27:52 word by word

καὶ τὰ μνημεῖα ἀνεῴχθησαν, καὶ πολλὰ σώματα τῶν κεκοιμημένων ἁγίων ἠγέρθησαν,Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Andκαίkai · andG2532
• the gravesὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• the gravesμνημεῖονmnēmeion · graveG3419
• were openedἀνοίγωanoigō · to openG455
• manyπολύςpolus polos · muchG4183
• bodiesσῶμαsōma · bodyG4983
• of the saintsἅγιοςhagios · holy: saintG40
• which sleptκοιμάωkoimaō · to sleepG2837
• aroseἐγείρωegeirō · to ariseG1453

Cross-references for Matthew 27:52

• 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.
• Isaiah 26:19Your dead shall live; Together with my dead body they shall arise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in dust; For your dew is like the dew of herbs, And the earth shall cast out the dead.
• Hosea 13:14“I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. O Death, I will be your plagues! O Grave, I will be your destruction! Pity is hidden from My eyes.”
• John 5:25Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live.
• 1 Corinthians 15:20But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
• Daniel 12:2And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some to everlasting life, Some to shame and everlasting contempt.
• 1 Corinthians 11:30For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep.
• 1 Corinthians 15:51Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—
• 1 Thessalonians 4:14For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.
• 1 Thessalonians 5:10who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.

Commentaries on Matthew 27:52

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 52And the graves were opened - By the earthquake; and many bodies of saints which slept, i.e. were dead, sleep being a common expression for death in the Scriptures.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 52And the graves were opened - “Graves” or sepulchres were most commonly made, among the Jews, in solid rocks or in caves of rocks. The rending of the rocks, therefore, would lay them open. The graves were opened by this earthquake, but the dead in them did not rise until after his resurrection. And many bodies of the saints arose - Of course, it is not known who these were, nor what became of them. It is probable that they were persons who had recently…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
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 5252. And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose--These sleeping saints (see on 1Th 4:14) were Old Testament believers, who--according to the usual punctuation in our version--were quickened into resurrection life at the moment of their Lord's death, but lay in their graves till His resurrection, when they came forth. But it is far more natural, as we think, and consonant with other Scriptures, to understand that only the…Read the comment

Topics related to Matthew 27:52

• Death
• Jesus Continued
• Jesus, the Christ
• Resurrection

In the dictionaries

• Accusation
• Notable
• Plat
• Saint
• Seal
• Wag
• Watch
• Wont
• Earthquake
• Jesus Christ

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