While they were greatly perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling clothing.
Parallel Translations
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While they were greatly perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling clothing.
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And it happened as they were amased therat: Beholde two men stode by them in shynynge vestures.
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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.
Cross-references (5)
Passages linked to Luke 24:4 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Mark 16:5 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 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 sitting, one at the head, and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.
- Acts 1:10 While they were looking steadfastly into the sky as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white clothing,
- Matthew 28:2-6 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, and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. For fear of him, the guards shook, and became like dead men. The angel answered the women, “Don’t be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus, who has been crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, just like he said. Come, see the place where the Lord was lying.
- Genesis 18:2 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 bowed himself to the earth,
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (10 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 4 And it came to pass, as they were…
4 And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments:
Ver. 4. Two men stood] Two angels in the guise of men.
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 These two men were two angels in human shape.…
These two men were two angels in human shape. See Poole on "Mat 28:5" and following verses to Mat 28:7.
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 And as they were afraid,.... That is, the women…
And as they were afraid,.... That is, the women were afraid of these angels; these bright appearances and majestic forms, as it was usual for good men and women to be, as appears from the cases of Zacharias, the Virgin Mary, and others:
and bowed down their faces to the earth, through great fear and reverence of these heavenly spirits, and as not being able to bear the lustre of their countenances and garments:
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they said unto them, that is, the angels:
why seek ye the living among the dead? intimating, that Christ, though he had been dead, was now living, and not to be sought for in a sepulchre; a way of speaking, much like this, is used in a parable of R. Levi's, concerning Pharaoh's not finding the name of God among the gods of the nations, upon searching for it. Moses and Aaron said to Pharaoh,
"thou fool, is it usual for the dead to "seek" them among the living? , "or ever the living among the dead?" our God is living, these thou speakest of are dead (i).''
Nor is Christ to be found among dead sinners, or lifeless professors, but among living saints, and among the churches of the living God; nor is life to be found among the dead works of the law, or to be obtained by lifeless performances on the dead letter of the law.
(i) Shemot Rabba, sect. 5. fol. 95. 3.
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 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.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 4. much perplexed] The word means ‘utterly at a…
4. much perplexed] The word means ‘utterly at a loss.’
in shining garments] Literally, “flashing as with lightning,which recalls the expression of Mat_28:3; comp. Luk_9:29.
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 (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 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 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 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 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.