New Living Translation
1 Thessalonians 4:16
16For 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.
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
14For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died. 15We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. 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. 17Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. 18So encourage 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 Sovereign Lord will wipe away all tears. He will remove forever all insults and mockery against his land and people. The Lord has spoken!
- Matthew 16:27For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father and will judge all people according to their deeds.
- Matthew 24:30And then at last, the sign that the Son of Man is coming will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning among all the peoples of the earth. And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
- Matthew 25:31“But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne.
- Matthew 26:64Jesus replied, “You have said it. And in the future you will see the Son of Man seated in the place of power at God’s right hand and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
- Acts 1:11“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!”
- 2 Thessalonians 1:7And God will provide rest for you who are being persecuted and also for us when the Lord Jesus appears from heaven. He will come with his mighty angels,
- 2 Peter 3:10But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment.
- Revelation 1:7Look! He comes with the clouds of heaven. And everyone will see him— even those who pierced him. And all the nations of the world will mourn for him. Yes! Amen!
- Numbers 23:21No misfortune is in his plan for Jacob; no trouble is in store for Israel. For the Lord their God is with them; he has been proclaimed their king.
- Psalms 47:1Come, everyone! Clap your hands! Shout to God with joyful praise!
- Zechariah 4:7Nothing, not even a mighty mountain, will stand in Zerubbabel’s way; it will become a level plain before him! And when Zerubbabel sets the final stone of the Temple in place, the people will shout: ‘May God bless it! May God bless it!’”
- Zechariah 9:9Rejoice, O people of Zion! Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and victorious, yet he is humble, riding on a donkey— riding on a donkey’s colt.
- Jude 1:9But even Michael, one of the mightiest of the angels, did not dare accuse the devil of blasphemy, but simply said, “The Lord rebuke you!” (This took place when Michael was arguing with the devil about Moses’ body.)
- Exodus 19:16On the morning of the third day, thunder roared and lightning flashed, and a dense cloud came down on the mountain. There was a long, loud blast from a ram’s horn, and all the people trembled.
- Exodus 20:18When the people heard the thunder and the loud blast of the ram’s horn, and when they saw the flashes of lightning and the smoke billowing from the mountain, they stood at a distance, trembling with fear.
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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