They entered in, and didn’t find the Lord Jesus’ body. While they were greatly perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling clothing.
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Luke 24:3-4 sits inside this longer paragraph.
But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they and some others came to the tomb, bringing the spices which they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb. They entered in, and didn’t find the Lord Jesus’ body. While they were greatly perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling clothing. Becoming terrified, they bowed their faces down to the earth. They said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?
Parallel Translations
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They entered in, and didn’t find the Lord Jesus’ body.
While they were greatly perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling clothing.
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and went in: but founde not the body of the Lorde Iesu.
And it happened as they were amased therat: Beholde two men stode by them in shynynge vestures.
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And went in, but found not the body of the Lord Iesus.
And it came to passe, that as they were amased thereat, beholde, two men suddenly stood by them in shining vestures.
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Contradictions (4)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
- When did the women discover that Jesus's body was missing?
- Were the men or angels sitting or standing?
- Were the men or angels inside or outside the tomb when the women arrived?
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Cross-references (7)
- Mark 16:5 (v4) Entering into the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were amazed.
- John 20:11-12 (v4) But Mary was standing outside at the tomb weeping. So as she wept, she stooped and looked into the tomb, and she saw two angels in white…
- Luke 24:23 (v3) and when they didn’t find his body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive.
- Acts 1:10 (v4) While they were looking steadfastly into the sky as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white clothing,
- Matthew 28:2-6 (v4) Behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from the sky, and came and rolled away the stone from the door,…
Show all 7 cross-references
- John 20:6-7 (v3) Then Simon Peter came, following him, and entered into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying, and the cloth that had been on his head,…
- Genesis 18:2 (v4) He lifted up his eyes and looked, and saw that three men stood near him. When he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and…
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (11 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv3–4 3 And they entered in, and found not the…
3 And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.
Ver. 3. Found not the body] But the grave clothes only, Joh 20:6. As Samson, shut up in Gaza, took the gates on his shoulders, and went his way in despite of his enemies; so did Christ here. These women came first, by a wonderful providence, before the apostles, to confute that impudent lie made by the priests, that the disciples had stolen away the body.
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 On vv3–4 Probably when they entered in they saw no angels,…
Probably when they entered in they saw no angels, for one may reasonably suppose, that if they had they would hardly have adventured to enter in; but at their coming out, being satisfied that the body was not there, the angels made themselves visible to them; for it followeth, (see Luk 24:4-8).
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 On vv3–4 And it came to pass as they were much…
And it came to pass as they were much perplexed thereabout,.... About the body of Christ, and its being gone, what should become of it, whither it was removed, and by what means, and by whom; whether by a friend, or foe, for they had no thought, nor expectation of a resurrection;
behold, two men stood by them in shining garments; who were angels in the form of men; and as these were the first witnesses of Christs resurrection, there were two of them; for by the mouth of two or three witnesses every thing is established. Matthew and Mark take notice but of one; but John makes mention of two, as here, seen by Mary Magdalene, though in a different posture; they were sitting, the one at the head, the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain; but when the rest of the women came, they were risen up, and stood close by them, on a sudden, at an unawares, being arrayed in white raiment, as white as snow, as a token of their purity and innocence, and as bringers of good tidings; and as joining in the triumph of their Lord's resurrection: their garments were bright and glittering like lightning, to set forth the glory and majesty of these celestial spirits, and that they might be known to be what they were.
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 On v4 Behold two - Angels in the form of men.…
Behold two - Angels in the form of men. Mary had seen them a little before. They had disappeared on these women's coming to the sepulchre, but now appeared again. St. Matthew and Mark mention only one of them, appearing like a young man.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On v3 Verse 3. And found not the body of the…
Verse 3. And found not the body of the Lord] His holy soul was in Paradise, Lu 23:43; and the evangelist mentions the body particularly, to show that this only was subject to death. It is, I think, evident enough, from these and other words of Luke, that the doctrine of the materiality of the soul, made no part of his creed.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv3–4 3. found not the body] Even advanced sceptics admit…
3. found not the body] Even advanced sceptics admit this circumstance as indisputable, nor has one of them been able to invent the most remotely plausible explanation of the fact by natural causes. For the white-robed angel or angels in the tomb, see Mar_16:5; Joh_20:11-12. On the mention, omission, and numbers of these angels Van Oosterzee quotes a very striking remark from Lessing. “Cold discrepancy-mongers, do ye not then see that the Evangelists do not count the angels?...There were not only two angels, there were millions of them. They appeared not always one and the same, not always the same two; sometimes this one appeared, sometimes that; sometimes on this place, sometimes on that; sometimes alone, sometimes in company; sometimes they said this, sometimes they said that.”
of the Lord Jesus] These words are omitted in D. The combination ‘Lord Jesus’ would however naturally begin at this point, as it is common in the Acts and Epistles, where ‘Lord Jesus Christ’ occurs about 40 times, though not found in the Gospels.
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 On v4 (4) Two men stood by them.—St. Mark and St.…
(4) Two men stood by them.—St. Mark and St. Matthew mention one only. Had St. Matthew given the two, it might have been urged by adverse critics that this duplication of phenomena, as in the case of the demoniacs (Mat_8:28), and the blind men at Jericho (Mat_20:30), was an idiosyncrasy of his. As it is, we must suppose that each set of informants—the two Maries, and the “others” from whom it seems probable that St. Luke’s report was derived—described what they themselves had seen. At such moments of terror and astonishment, perception and memory are not always very definite in their reports.
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 On v4 And it came to pass, as they were much…
And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. To one company of women one angel appeared: to another, two. Mary Magdalene, a little later, saw two angels in white sitting, as it were keeping watch and ward over the sepulchre for a short time after the sacred form had left it. The words which these beings from another sphere spoke to the mourning women were slightly different, but the teaching was the same in each case: "He is not here, but is risen. Do you not remember what he told you when he was yet with you?" Van Oosterzee and Farrar repeat a beautiful passage from Lessing on this: "Cold discrepancy-mongers, do you not, then, see that the evangelists do not count the angels?... There were not only two angels there were millions of them. They appeared not always one and the same, not always the same two; sometimes this one appeared, sometimes that; sometimes on this place, sometimes on that; sometimes alone, sometimes in company; sometimes they said this, sometimes they said that."
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
William B. Godbey 1900 · Public Domain On v4 Mat 28:5-7; Luk 24:4-8; Mar 16:5-7 : “Having come…
ANGELS AT THE SEPULCHER
Mat 28:5-7; Luk 24:4-8; Mar 16:5-7 : “Having come to the sepulcher, they saw a young man sitting on the right, clothed with a white robe; and they were affrighted. And he says to them, Be not alarmed; you are seeking Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified; He is risen; He is not here; behold the place where they laid Him. But go tell His disciples, and Peter, that He goes before you into Galilee; and there you shall see Him, as He said to you.” Luke: “And it came to pass, while they were at a loss concerning Him, and two men stood before them in shining apparel, they being afraid, and inclining their face toward the ground, he said to them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen. Remember how He spoke to you, being yet in Galilee, saying that it behooves the Son of man to be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and to be crucified, and to arise the third day; and they remembered His words.” These were angels in human form, and it is highly probable that Gabriel, who announced His conception, was one of them. We see here that these holy women were much alarmed, as in all ages it has been very trying to mortal nerves to meet glorified spirits. In this there is nothing condemnatory, but a demonstration of the simple fact of decisive, angelic superiority, so that their presence, when seen with mortal eyes, inundates us with the realization that we are actually in contact with the eternal world, and hence overawed, and even panic-stricken, by the certainty of the heavenly inhabitants literally present and looking us in the face. Here we observe an especial message sent to Peter, doubtless from the fact of the unhappy notoriety he gave himself by denying the Lord while under prosecution.
William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v4 General Information:
General Information:
Two angels appear and begin speaking to the women.
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It happened
This phrase is used here to mark an important event in the story. If your language has a way for doing this, you could consider using it here.
were filled with fear
"became afraid"
bowed down their faces to the earth
"bowed low to the ground." This action expresses their humility and submission to the men. (See: Symbolic Action)
Why do you seek the living among the dead?
The men use a question to mildly criticize the women for looking in a tomb for a living person. AT: "You are looking for a living person among dead people!" or "You should not be looking for someone who is alive in a place where they bury dead people!" (See: Rhetorical Question)
Why do you seek
Here "you" is plural, referring to the women who came. (See: Forms of You)
translationWords
fear
bow
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v4 24:4 two men suddenly appeared: Angels often appear as…
24:4 two men suddenly appeared: Angels often appear as young men in Scripture (Gen 18:2; 19:1, 10; Josh 5:13; Judg 13:6-11; Heb 13:2). Dazzling white robes symbolize purity and holiness (Dan 10:5-6; Acts 1:10; Rev 4:4; 19:14).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.