John 5:28-29

5:28 “Do not be amazed at this, because a time ¹  is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice 5:29 and will come out – the ones who have done what is good to the resurrection resulting in life, and the ones who have done what is evil to the resurrection resulting in condemnation. ² 

Psalms 17:15

17:15 As for me, because I am innocent I will see your face; ³ 

when I awake you will reveal yourself to me. ⁴ 

Psalms 49:14-15

49:14 They will travel to Sheol like sheep, ⁵ 

with death as their shepherd. ⁶ 

The godly will rule ⁷  over them when the day of vindication dawns; ⁸ 

Sheol will consume their bodies and they will no longer live in impressive houses. ⁹ 

49:15 But ¹⁰  God will rescue ¹¹  my life ¹²  from the power ¹³  of Sheol;

certainly ¹⁴  he will pull me to safety. ¹⁵  (Selah)

Isaiah 25:8

25:8 he will swallow up death permanently. ¹⁶ 

The sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from every face,

and remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth.

Indeed, the Lord has announced it! ¹⁷ 

Isaiah 26:19

26:19 ¹⁸ Your dead will come back to life;

your corpses will rise up.

Wake up and shout joyfully, you who live in the ground! ¹⁹ 

For you will grow like plants drenched with the morning dew, ²⁰ 

and the earth will bring forth its dead spirits. ²¹ 

Ezekiel 37:1-10

The Valley of Dry Bones

37:1 The hand ²²  of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and placed ²³  me in the midst of the valley, and it was full of bones. 37:2 He made me walk all around among them. ²⁴  I realized ²⁵  there were a great many bones in the valley and they were very dry. 37:3 He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I said to him, “Sovereign Lord, you know.” 37:4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and tell them: ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. 37:5 This is what the sovereign Lord says to these bones: Look, I am about to infuse breath ²⁶  into you and you will live. 37:6 I will put tendons ²⁷  on you and muscles over you and will cover you with skin; I will put breath ²⁸  in you and you will live. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”

37:7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. There was a sound when I prophesied – I heard ²⁹  a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to bone. 37:8 As I watched, I saw ³⁰  tendons on them, then muscles appeared, ³¹  and skin covered over them from above, but there was no breath ³²  in them.

37:9 He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, ³³  – prophesy, son of man – and say to the breath: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these corpses so that they may live.’” 37:10 So I prophesied as I was commanded, and the breath came into them; they lived and stood on their feet, an extremely great army.

Daniel 12:2-3

12:2 Many of those who sleep

in the dusty ground will awake –

some to everlasting life,

and others to shame and everlasting abhorrence. ³⁴ 

12:3 But the wise will shine

like the brightness of the heavenly expanse.

And those bringing many to righteousness

will be like the stars forever and ever.

Hosea 6:2

6:2 He will restore ³⁵  us in a very short time; ³⁶ 

he will heal us in a little while, ³⁷ 

so that we may live in his presence.

Hosea 13:14

The Lord Will Not Relent from the Threatened Judgment

13:14 Will I deliver them from the power of Sheol? No, I will not! ³⁸ 

Will I redeem them from death? No, I will not!

O Death, bring on your plagues! ³⁹ 

O Sheol, bring on your destruction! ⁴⁰ 

My eyes will not show any compassion! ⁴¹ 

Matthew 22:23-32

Marriage and the Resurrection

22:23 The same day Sadducees ⁴²  (who say there is no resurrection) ⁴³  came to him and asked him, ⁴⁴  22:24 “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies without having children, his brother must marry the widow and father children ⁴⁵  for his brother.’ ⁴⁶  22:25 Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died, and since he had no children he left his wife to his brother. 22:26 The second did the same, and the third, down to the seventh. 22:27 Last ⁴⁷  of all, the woman died. 22:28 In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had married her.” ⁴⁸  22:29 Jesus ⁴⁹  answered them, “You are deceived, ⁵⁰  because you don’t know the scriptures or the power of God. 22:30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels ⁵¹  in heaven. 22:31 Now as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, ⁵²  22:32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? ⁵³  He is not the God of the dead but of the living!” ⁵⁴ 

Luke 14:14

14:14 Then ⁵⁵  you will be blessed, ⁵⁶  because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid ⁵⁷  at the resurrection of the righteous.”

Acts 17:31-32

17:31 because he has set ⁵⁸  a day on which he is going to judge the world ⁵⁹  in righteousness, by a man whom he designated, ⁶⁰  having provided proof to everyone by raising ⁶¹  him from the dead.”

17:32 Now when they heard about ⁶²  the resurrection from the dead, some began to scoff, ⁶³  but others said, “We will hear you again about this.”

Acts 23:6-9

23:6 Then when Paul noticed ⁶⁴  that part of them were Sadducees ⁶⁵  and the others Pharisees, ⁶⁶  he shouted out in the council, ⁶⁷  “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. I am on trial concerning the hope of the resurrection ⁶⁸  of the dead!” 23:7 When he said this, ⁶⁹  an argument ⁷⁰  began ⁷¹  between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. 23:8 (For the Sadducees say there is no resurrection, or angel, or spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.) ⁷²  23:9 There was a great commotion, ⁷³  and some experts in the law ⁷⁴  from the party of the Pharisees stood up ⁷⁵  and protested strongly, ⁷⁶  “We find nothing wrong ⁷⁷  with this man. What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?”

Acts 24:15

24:15 I have ⁷⁸  a hope in God (a hope ⁷⁹  that ⁸⁰  these men ⁸¹  themselves accept too) that there is going to be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous. ⁸² 

Hebrews 11:35

11:35 and women received back their dead raised to life. ⁸³  But others were tortured, not accepting release, to obtain resurrection to a better life. ⁸⁴ 

[5:28]  ¹ tn Grk “an hour.”

[5:29]  ² tn Or “a resurrection resulting in judgment.”

[17:15]  ³ tn Heb “I, in innocence, I will see your face.” To “see” God’s “face” means to have access to his presence and to experience his favor (see Ps 11:7; see also Job 33:26 [where רָאָה (ra’ah), not חָזַה (khazah), is used]). Here, however, the psalmist may be anticipating a mystical experience. See the following note on the word “me.”

[17:15]  ⁴ tn Heb “I will be satisfied, when I awake, [with] your form.” The noun תְּמוּנָה (tÿmunah) normally carries the nuance “likeness” or “form.” In Job 4:16 it refers to a ghostlike spiritual entity (see v. 15) that revealed itself to Eliphaz during the night. The psalmist may anticipate a mystical encounter with God in which he expects to see a manifestation of God’s presence (i.e., a theophany), perhaps in conjunction with an oracle of deliverance. During the quiet darkness of the night, God examines the psalmist’s inner motives and finds them to be pure (see v. 3). The psalmist is confident that when he awakens, perhaps sometime during the night or in the morning, he will be visited by God and assured of vindication.

[49:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “like sheep to Sheol they are appointed.” The verb form שַׁתּוּ (shatu) is apparently derived from שָׁתַת (shatat), which appears to be a variant of the more common שִׁית (shiyt, “to place; to set”; BDB 1060 s.v. שָׁתַת and GKC 183 §67.ee). Some scholars emend the text to שָׁחוּ (shakhu; from the verbal root שׁוּח [shukh, “sink down”]) and read “they descend.” The present translation assumes an emendation to שָׁטוּ (shatu; from the verbal root שׁוּט [shut, “go; wander”]), “they travel, wander.” (The letter tet [ט] and tav [ת] sound similar; a scribe transcribing from dictation could easily confuse them.) The perfect verbal form is used in a rhetorical manner to speak of their destiny as if it were already realized (the so-called perfect of certitude or prophetic perfect).

[49:14]  ⁶ tn Heb “death will shepherd them,” that is, death itself (personified here as a shepherd) will lead them like a flock of helpless, unsuspecting sheep to Sheol, the underworld, the land of the dead.

[49:14]  ⁷ tn The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive carries the same force as the perfect verbal form in v. 14a. The psalmist speaks of this coming event as if it were already accomplished.

[49:14]  ⁸ tn Heb “will rule over them in the morning.” “Morning” here is a metaphor for a time of deliverance and vindication after the dark “night” of trouble (see Pss 30:5; 46:5; 59:16; 90:14; 143:8; Isa 17:14). In this context the psalmist confidently anticipates a day of vindication when the Lord will deliver the oppressed from the rich (see v. 15) and send the oppressors to Sheol.

[49:14]  ⁹ tn Heb “their form [will become an object] for the consuming of Sheol, from a lofty residence, to him.” The meaning of this syntactically difficult text is uncertain. The translation assumes that צוּר (tsur, “form”; this is the Qere [marginal] reading; the Kethib has צִירָם [tsiram, “their image”]) refers to their physical form or bodies. “Sheol” is taken as the subject of “consume” (on the implied “become” before the infinitive “to consume” see GKC 349 §114.k). The preposition מִן (min) prefixed to “lofty residence” is understood as privative, “away from; so as not.” The preposition -ל (lamed) is possessive, while the third person pronominal suffix is understood as a representative singular.

[49:15]  ¹⁰ tn Or “certainly.”

[49:15]  ¹¹ tn Or “redeem.”

[49:15]  ¹² tn Or “me.” The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) with a pronominal suffix is often equivalent to a pronoun, especially in poetry (see BDB 660 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ 4.a).

[49:15]  ¹³ tn Heb “hand.”

[49:15]  ¹⁴ tn Or “for.”

[49:15]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “he will take me.” To improve the poetic balance of the verse, some move the words “from the power of Sheol” to the following line. The verse would then read: “But God will rescue my life; / from the power of Sheol he will certainly deliver me” (cf. NEB).

[25:8]  ¹⁶ sn The image of the Lord “swallowing” death would be especially powerful, for death was viewed in Canaanite mythology and culture as a hungry enemy that swallows its victims. See the note at 5:14.

[25:8]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “has spoken” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[26:19]  ¹⁸ sn At this point the Lord (or prophet) gives the people an encouraging oracle.

[26:19]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “dust” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[26:19]  ²⁰ tn Heb “for the dew of lights [is] your dew.” The pronominal suffix on “dew” is masculine singular, like the suffixes on “your dead” and “your corpses” in the first half of the verse. The statement, then, is addressed to collective Israel, the speaker in verse 18. The plural form אוֹרֹת (’orot) is probably a plural of respect or magnitude, meaning “bright light” (i.e., morning’s light). Dew is a symbol of fertility and life. Here Israel’s “dew,” as it were, will soak the dust of the ground and cause the corpses of the dead to spring up to new life, like plants sprouting up from well-watered soil.

[26:19]  ²¹ sn It is not certain whether the resurrection envisioned here is intended to be literal or figurative. A comparison with 25:8 and Dan 12:2 suggests a literal interpretation, but Ezek 37:1-14 uses resurrection as a metaphor for deliverance from exile and the restoration of the nation (see Isa 27:12-13).

[37:1]  ²² tn Or “power.”

[37:1]  ²³ tn Heb “caused me to rest.”

[37:2]  ²⁴ tn Heb “and he made me pass over them, around, around.”

[37:2]  ²⁵ tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and is here translated as “I realized” because it results from Ezekiel’s recognition of the situation around him. In Hebrew, the exclamation is repeated in the following sentence.

[37:5]  ²⁶ tn Heb “I am about to bring a spirit.”

[37:6]  ²⁷ tn The exact physiological meaning of the term is uncertain. In addition to v. 8, the term occurs only in Gen 32:33; Job 10:11; 40:17; and Jer 48:4.

[37:6]  ²⁸ tn Or “a spirit.”

[37:7]  ²⁹ tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.

[37:8]  ³⁰ tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.

[37:8]  ³¹ tn Heb “came up.”

[37:8]  ³² tn Or “spirit.”

[37:9]  ³³ tn Or “spirit,” and several times in this verse.

[12:2]  ³⁴ sn This verse is the only undisputed reference to a literal resurrection found in the Hebrew Bible.

[6:2]  ³⁵ tn The Piel of חָיָה (khayah) may mean: (1) to keep/preserve persons alive from the threat of premature death (1 Kgs 20:31; Ezek 13:18; 18:27); (2) to restore the dead to physical life (Deut 32:39; 1 Sam 2:6; cf. NCV “will put new life in us”); or (3) to restore the dying back to life from the threat of death (Ps 71:20; BDB 311 s.v. חָיָה).

[6:2]  ³⁶ tn Heb “after two days” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV). The expression “after two days” is an idiom meaning “after a short time” (see, e.g., Judg 11:4; BDB 399 s.v. יוֹם 5.a).

[6:2]  ³⁷ tn Heb “on the third day” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV), which parallels “after two days” and means “in a little while.” The “2-3” sequence is an example of graded numerical parallelism (Prov 30:15-16, 18-19, 21-23, 24-28, 29-31). This expresses the unrepentant overconfidence of Israel that the Lord’s discipline of Israel would be relatively short and that he would restore them quickly.

[13:14]  ³⁸ tn The translation of the first two lines of this verse reflects the interpretation adopted. There are three interpretive options to v. 14: (1) In spite of Israel’s sins, the Lord will redeem them from the threat of death and destruction (e.g., 11:8). However, against this view, the last line of 13:14 probably means that the Lord will not show compassion to Israel. (2) The Lord announces the triumphant victory over death through resurrection (cf. KJV, ASV, NIV). However, although Paul uses the wording of Hosea 13:14 as an illustration of victory over death, the context of Hosea’s message is the imminent judgment in 723-722 b.c. (3) The first two lines of 13:14 are rhetorical questions without explicit interrogative markers, implying negative answers: “I will not rescue them!” (cf. NAB, NASB, NCV, NRSV, TEV, CEV, NLT). The next two lines in 13:14 are words of encouragement to Death and Sheol to destroy Israel. The final line announces that the Lord will not show compassion on Israel; he will not spare her.

[13:14]  ³⁹ tn Heb “Where, O Death, are your plagues?” (so NIV).

[13:14]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “Where, O Sheol, is your destruction?” (NRSV similar).

[13:14]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “Compassion will be hidden from my eyes” (NRSV similar; NASB “from my sight”).

[22:23]  ⁴² sn See the note on Sadducees in 3:7.

[22:23]  ⁴³ sn This remark is best regarded as a parenthetical note by the author.

[22:23]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “and asked him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[22:24]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “and raise up seed,” an idiom for fathering children (L&N 23.59).

[22:24]  ⁴⁶ sn A quotation from Deut 25:5. This practice is called levirate marriage (see also Ruth 4:1-12; Mishnah, m. Yevamot; Josephus, Ant. 4.8.23 [4.254-256]). The levirate law is described in Deut 25:5-10. The brother of a man who died without a son had an obligation to marry his brother’s widow. This served several purposes: It provided for the widow in a society where a widow with no children to care for her would be reduced to begging, and it preserved the name of the deceased, who would be regarded as the legal father of the first son produced from that marriage.

[22:27]  ⁴⁷ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[22:28]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “For all had her.”

[22:29]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “And answering, Jesus said to them.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation.

[22:29]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “mistaken” (cf. BDAG 822 s.v. πλανάω 2.c.γ).

[22:30]  ⁵¹ tc Most witnesses have “of God” after “angels,” although some mss read ἄγγελοι θεοῦ (angeloi qeou; א L ˹³ {28} 33 892 1241 1424 al) while others have ἄγγελοι τοῦ θεοῦ (angeloi tou qeou; W 0102 0161 Ï). Whether with or without the article, the reading “of God” appears to be motivated as a natural expansion. A few important witnesses lack the adjunct (B D Θ {0233} ˹ 700 {sa}); this coupled with strong internal evidence argues for the shorter reading.

[22:31]  ⁵² tn Grk “spoken to you by God, saying.” The participle λέγοντος (legontos) is redundant here in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[22:32]  ⁵³ sn A quotation from Exod 3:6.

[22:32]  ⁵⁴ sn He is not God of the dead but of the living. Jesus’ point was that if God could identify himself as God of the three old patriarchs, then they must still be alive when God spoke to Moses; and so they must be raised.

[14:14]  ⁵⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate that this follows from the preceding action. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[14:14]  ⁵⁶ sn You will be blessed. God notes and approves of such generosity.

[14:14]  ⁵⁷ sn The passive verb will be repaid looks at God’s commendation.

[17:31]  ⁵⁸ tn Or “fixed.”

[17:31]  ⁵⁹ sn The world refers to the whole inhabited earth.

[17:31]  ⁶⁰ tn Or “appointed.” BDAG 723 s.v. ὁρίζω 2.b has “of persons appoint, designate, declare: God judges the world ἐν ἀνδρὶ ᾧ ὥρισεν through a man whom he has appointed Ac 17:31.”

[17:31]  ⁶¹ tn The participle ἀναστήσας (anasthsa") indicates means here.

[17:32]  ⁶² tn The participle ἀκούσαντες (akousante") has been taken temporally.

[17:32]  ⁶³ tn L&N 33.408 has “some scoffed (at him) Ac 17:32” for ἐχλεύαζον (ecleuazon) here; the imperfect verb has been translated as an ingressive imperfect (“began to scoff”).

[23:6]  ⁶⁴ tn BDAG 200 s.v. γινώσκω 4 has “to be aware of someth., perceive, notice, realize”; this is further clarified by section 4.c: “w. ὅτι foll….Ac 23:6.”

[23:6]  ⁶⁵ sn See the note on Sadducees in 4:1.

[23:6]  ⁶⁶ sn See the note on Pharisee in 5:34.

[23:6]  ⁶⁷ tn Grk “the Sanhedrin” (the Sanhedrin was the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews).

[23:6]  ⁶⁸ tn That is, concerning the hope that the dead will be resurrected. Grk “concerning the hope and resurrection.” BDAG 320 s.v. ἐλπίς 1.b.α states, “Of Israel’s messianic hope Ac 23:6 (ἐ. καὶ ἀνάστασις for ἐ. τῆς ἀν. [obj. gen] as 2 Macc 3:29 ἐ. καὶ σωτηρία).” With an objective genitive construction, the resurrection of the dead would be the “object” of the hope.

[23:7]  ⁶⁹ tn The participle εἰπόντος (eiponto") has been translated temporally.

[23:7]  ⁷⁰ tn Or “a dispute” (BDAG 940 s.v. στάσις 3).

[23:7]  ⁷¹ tn Grk “there came about an argument.” This has been simplified to “an argument began”

[23:8]  ⁷² tn BDAG 55 s.v. ἀμφότεροι 2 has “all, even when more than two are involved…Φαρισαῖοι ὁμολογοῦσιν τὰ ἀ. believe in them all 23:8.” On this belief see Josephus, J. W. 2.8.14 (2.163); Ant. 18.1.3 (18.14).

[23:9]  ⁷³ tn Or “clamor” (cf. BDAG 565 s.v. κραυγή 1.a, which has “there arose a loud outcry” here, and Exod 12:30).

[23:9]  ⁷⁴ tn Or “and some scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 4:5.

[23:9]  ⁷⁵ tn Grk “standing up.” The participle ἀναστάντες (anastante") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:9]  ⁷⁶ tn Grk “protested strongly, saying.” L&N 39.27 has “διαμάχομαι: to fight or contend with, involving severity and thoroughness – ‘to protest strongly, to contend with.’…‘some scribes from the party of the Pharisees protested strongly’ Ac 23:9.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant and has not been translated.

[23:9]  ⁷⁷ sn “We find nothing wrong with this man.” Here is another declaration of innocence. These leaders recognized the possibility that Paul might have the right to make his claim.

[24:15]  ⁷⁸ tn Grk “having.” The participle ἔχων (ecwn) has been translated as a finite verb and a new sentence begun at this point in the translation because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence.

[24:15]  ⁷⁹ sn This mention of Paul’s hope sets up his appeal to the resurrection of the dead. At this point Paul was ignoring the internal Jewish dispute between the Pharisees (to which he had belonged) and the Sadducees (who denied there would be a resurrection of the dead).

[24:15]  ⁸⁰ tn Grk “a hope in God (which these [men] themselves accept too).” Because the antecedent of the relative pronoun “which” is somewhat unclear in English, the words “a hope” have been repeated at the beginning of the parenthesis for clarity.

[24:15]  ⁸¹ tn Grk “that they”; the referent (these men, Paul’s accusers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[24:15]  ⁸² tn Or “the unjust.”

[11:35]  ⁸³ tn Grk “received back their dead from resurrection.”

[11:35]  ⁸⁴ tn Grk “to obtain a better resurrection.”