They will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.
Parallel Translations
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They will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.
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which shall geve a comptes to him that is redy to iudge quycke and deed.
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Which shall giue accounts to him, that is readie to iudge quicke and dead.
Cross-references (16)
Passages linked to 1 Peter 4:5 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- James 5:9 Don’t grumble, brothers, against one another, so that you won’t be judged. Behold, the judge stands at the door.
- Acts 10:42 He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that this is he who is appointed by God as the Judge of the living and the dead.
- 2 Timothy 4:1 I command you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at his appearing and his Kingdom:
- Romans 14:10-12 But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, “ ‘As I live,’ says the Lord, ‘to me every knee will bow. Every tongue will confess to God.’ ” So then each one of us will give account of himself to God.
- John 5:22-23 For the Father judges no one, but he has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He who doesn’t honor the Son doesn’t honor the Father who sent him.
- Matthew 12:36 I tell you that every idle word that men speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.
- Acts 17:31 because he has appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom he has ordained; of which he has given assurance to all men, in that he has raised him from the dead.”
- Jude 1:14-15 About these also Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord came with ten thousands of his holy ones, to execute judgment on all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their works of ungodliness which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the hard things which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”
- Psalms 1:6 For Yahweh knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked shall perish.
- Malachi 3:13-15 “Your words have been stout against me,” says Yahweh. “Yet you say, ‘What have we spoken against you?’ You have said, ‘It is vain to serve God;’ and ‘What profit is it that we have followed his instructions, and that we have walked mournfully before Yahweh of Armies? Now we call the proud happy; yes, those who work wickedness are built up; yes, they tempt God, and escape.’
- John 5:28-29 Don’t marvel at this, for the hour comes in which all who are in the tombs will hear his voice, and will come out; those who have done good, to the resurrection of life; and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment.
- 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 Behold, I tell you a mystery. We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed.
- Ecclesiastes 12:14 For God will bring every work into judgment, with every hidden thing, whether it is good, or whether it is evil.
- Ezekiel 18:30 “Therefore I will judge you, house of Israel, everyone according to his ways,” says the Lord Yahweh. “Return, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity will not be your ruin.
- Matthew 25:31-46 “But 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. Before him all the nations will be gathered, and he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will tell those on his right hand, ‘Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry, and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me drink. I was a stranger, and you took me in. I was naked, and you clothed me. I was sick, and you visited me. I was in prison, and you came to me.’ “Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, and feed you; or thirsty, and give you a drink? When did we see you as a stranger, and take you in; or naked, and clothe you? When did we see you sick, or in prison, and come to you?’ “The King will answer them, ‘Most certainly I tell you, because you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ Then he will say also to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you didn’t give me food to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me no drink; I was a stranger, and you didn’t take me in; naked, and you didn’t clothe me; sick, and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’ “Then they will also answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and didn’t help you?’ “Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Most certainly I tell you, because you didn’t do it to one of the least of these, you didn’t do it to me.’ These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
- Luke 16:2 He called him, and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Give an accounting of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (13 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 5 Who shall give account to him that is…
5 Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead.
Ver. 5. Who shall give account] Of their ungodly deeds and hard speeches, Jdg 1:15. Angels did their first execution in the world upon luxurious Sodomites; they will be very active doubtless against such at the last day. See 2Pe 2:10, and mark that word, chiefly.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Who shall give account to him; of their evil…
Who shall give account to him; of their evil speaking as well as of other sins, Jud 1:15; it is a metaphor taken from stewards giving account to their masters, Mat 18:23; Luk 16:2.
That is ready; not only prepared for it, but at hand to do it, Jam 5:9.
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To judge the quick and the dead; those that shall be alive at Christ’s coming, and those that died before, but then shall be raised, and brought to judgment. Hereby he intimates, for their comfort, that though their enemies and ill-willers might outlive them, yet they shall not escape God’s judgment.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Who shall give account to him,.... "To God himself",…
Who shall give account to him,.... "To God himself", as the Syriac version reads; of all their blasphemies, and hard speeches spoken by them against God, Christ, the Gospel, and good men, and receive their just punishment. This the apostle says, to calm the minds of God's people, and make them to sit easy under all censures, reproaches, and calumnies, and not think of avenging themselves, but commit themselves to him that will judge righteously; even to him,
that is ready to judge the quick and the dead; that is, all men, such as will be found alive when he comes, and those that have died before, who will then be raised from the dead, to receive their judgment; and by whom is meant the Lord Jesus Christ, to whom all judgment is committed; and who is ordained to be the Judge of quick and dead, and will judge both at his appearing and kingdom; yea, the day is appointed when this judgment will proceed by him, and he is at the door; so that he may be truly said to be ready for it, as he is every way equal to it, and will finish it with righteousness.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Who shall give account - Of this, as well…
Who shall give account - Of this, as well as all their other ways. To him who is ready - So faith represents him now.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 5. To judge the quick and the dead.]…
Verse 5. To judge the quick and the dead.] They shall give account of these irregularities to Him who is prepared to judge both the Jews and the Gentiles. The Gentiles, previously to the preaching of the Gospel among them, were reckoned to be dead in trespasses and sins, Eph 2:1-5; under the sentence of death, because they had sinned. The Jews had at least, by their religious profession, a name to live; and by that profession were bound to give to God.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Who shall give account - That is, they shall…
Who shall give account - That is, they shall not do this with impunity. They are guilty in this of a groat wrong and they must answer for it to God.
That is ready to judge - That is, “who is prepared to judge” - τῷ ἑτοίμως ἔχοντι tō hetoimōs echonti. See the phrase used in Act 21:13; “I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem.” 2Co 12:14; “the third time I am ready to come to you.” Compare the word “ready” - ἑτοιμος hetoimos - in Mat 22:4, Mat 22:8; Mat 24:44; Mat 25:10; Luk 12:40; Luk 22:33; 1Pe 1:5. The meaning is, not that he was about to do it, or that the day of judgment was near at hand - whatever the apostle may have supposed to be true on that point - but that he was prepared for it; all the arrangements were made with reference to it; there was nothing to hinder it.
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To judge the quick and the dead - The living and the dead; that is, those who shall be alive when he comes, and those in their graves. This is a common phrase to denote all who shall be brought before the bar of God for judgment. See the Act 10:42 note; 1Th 4:16-17 notes; 2Ti 4:1 note. The meaning in this connection seems to be, that they should bear their trials and the opposition which they would meet with patiently, not feeling that they were forgotten, nor attempting to avenge themselves; for the Lord would vindicate them when he should come to judgment, and call those who had injured them to an account for all the wrongs which they had done to the children of God.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain They who now call you to account falsely, shall…
They who now call you to account falsely, shall have to give account themselves for this very evil-speaking (Jde 1:15), and be condemned justly.
ready--very speedily (Pe1 4:7; Pe2 3:10). Christ's coming is to the believer always near.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 5. Give account—Since these profligates and revilers must render…
5. Give account—Since these profligates and revilers must render an account to Christ, his maligned and suffering people may safely leave their vindication in his hands, following his own example, 1Pe_2:23.
Ready to judge—The blessed side of Christ’s readiness for his second advent, St. Peter sets forth in his speech in Solomon’s porch. Act_3:19-20. And he is, on his part, fully prepared to take his seat on the judgment throne, as he has ever been since the apostle wrote. Not the nearness of the event, but its certainty, is intended.
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The quick and the dead—It obviates no difficulty to take these words figuratively. They must, we think, be taken in their usual sense, as in Act_10:42, Rom_14:9, and 2Ti_4:1, meaning those who are living when Christ comes, and those who are then dead.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 5. who shall give account] The phrase is one…
5. who shall give account] The phrase is one of the many echoes in this Epistle of our Lord’s teaching (Luk_16:2). The thought of the Final Judgment from which there will be no appeal is made here, as in 1Co_4:5, a motive for patience and courage under the false accusations and unjust judgments of men. They who now demand an account (chap. 1Pe_3:15) will one day have to render it. Christ holds Himself in readiness to judge both the living and the dead. There is nothing in the context to lead us to any other than a literal interpretation of the familiar phraseology. Commentators who have taken the words of those who are spiritually living and spiritually dead have been led, for the most part, by their unwillingness to accept the natural meaning of the words that follow.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (5) Who shall give account.—Perhaps said with a reference…
(5) Who shall give account.—Perhaps said with a reference to 1Pe_3:15, where these very persons call the Christians to give “account” (the Greek word is the same). The side-purpose of the clause (as in the similar threat, 1Pe_2:8) is to warn the readers against sharing their fate by sharing their sins.
To him that is ready to judge.—This carries on the history of Jesus Christ a step further still. The last thing was His sitting on the right hand of God. This is the order of the Apostles’ Creed. Bengel wisely remarks: “The Apostles, when they are not expressly treating of the date of Christ’s advent, set forth that advent to their longing and devotion as close at hand. Hence Peter includes the slanderers of his day among the living, as just about to be judged.”
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Who shall give account to him that is ready…
Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead. The judgment is at hand; the Judge standeth before the door; all men, quick and dead alike, must give account to him. It is better to suffer now for well-doing than then for evil-doing. Men call you to give account now; (1Pe_3:15) they themselves must give account to God.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 5. Who shall give account. Those sinners, who not…
5. Who shall give account. Those sinners, who not only persist in their unholy lives, but persecute the saints because they will not sin with them. Christ shall judge living and the dead.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
William B. Godbey 1900 · Public Domain 5. This certifies the general judgment, where all living…
ARGUMENT 19
THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO ALL, LIVING AND DEAD
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5. This certifies the general judgment, where all living and dead shall stand before the great white throne.
6. “For unto this was the Gospel also preached to the dead in order that they may be judged according to men in the flesh, and live according to God in the Spirit.” There is no argument here for second probation and not the slightest inference that the Gospel was preached to any one after death, but to the dead generations, while they were living. How is this Christ himself is the Gospel, the true light, “which lighteth every man that cometh into the world” (John 19). The Holy Ghost, who shines on every human soul in all ages and nations, is the Spirit of Christ. Hence Paul says (Romans 1), “The heathens are left without excuse,” as salvation is, and always has been, possible to every human being. 1Jn 1:7, “If we walk in the light... The blood cleanses from all sin,” applies to every human being, regardless of age, race or religion. Those who walk in all the light they have, not only receive pardon, but complete purification from sin and readiness for heaven. In the final judgment, those who have lived under the former dispensation will be judged by the Old Testament only, Christian nations by the whole Bible, while the heathen will only be judged by the laws of nature. Thus the Holy Spirit, the Revelator of Christ, so shines upon every human soul as to leave none with an apology before the judgment bar, where they will only be responsible for the light they have rejected.
William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.