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Matthew 28:1-10
New English Translation

The Resurrection

28 Now after the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. 2 Suddenly there was a severe earthquake, for an angel of the Lord[a] descending from heaven came and rolled away the stone and sat on it. 3 His[b] appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4 The[c] guards were shaken and became like dead men because they were so afraid of him. 5 But the angel said[d] to the women, “Do not be afraid; I know[e] that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.[f] 6 He is not here, for he has been raised,[g] just as he said. Come and see the place where he[h] was lying. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead. He[i] is going ahead of you into Galilee. You will see him there.’ Listen, I have told you!” 8 So[j] they left the tomb quickly, with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 But[k] Jesus met them, saying, “Greetings!” They[l] came to him, held on to his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee. They will see me there.”

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 28:2 tn Or “the angel of the Lord.” See the note on the word “Lord” in 1:20.
  2. Matthew 28:3 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
  3. Matthew 28:4 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
  4. Matthew 28:5 tn Grk “But answering, the angel said.” This is somewhat redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation.
  5. Matthew 28:5 tn Grk “for I know.”
  6. Matthew 28:5 sn See the note on crucified in 20:19.
  7. Matthew 28:6 tn The verb here is passive (ἠγέρθη, ēgerthē). This “divine passive” (see ExSyn 437-38) points to the fact that Jesus was raised by God.
  8. Matthew 28:6 tc Expansions on the text, especially when the Lord is the subject, are a common scribal activity. In this instance, since the subject is embedded in the verb, three major variants have emerged to make the subject explicit: ὁ κύριος (ho kurios, “the Lord”; A C D L W Γ 0148 ƒ1,13 565 579 700 1241 M lat), τὸ σῶμα τοῦ κυρίου (to sōma tou kuriou, “the body of the Lord”; 1424), and ὁ ᾿Ιησοῦς (ho Iēsous, “Jesus”; Φ). The reading with no explicit subject, however, is superior on both internal and external grounds, being supported by א B Θ 33 892* co.
  9. Matthew 28:7 tn Grk “And behold he.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).
  10. Matthew 28:8 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the angel’s instructions to tell the disciples.
  11. Matthew 28:9 tn Grk “And behold.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate that the return of the women from the tomb was interrupted by this appearance of Jesus. The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).
  12. Matthew 28:9 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
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John 20:1-18
New English Translation

The Resurrection

20 Now very early on the first day of the week,[a] while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene[b] came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been moved away from the entrance.[c] 2 So she went running[d] to Simon Peter and the other disciple whom Jesus loved and told them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” 3 Then Peter and the other disciple set out to go to the tomb.[e] 4 The two were running together, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter[f] and reached the tomb first.[g] 5 He bent down[h] and saw the strips of linen cloth lying there,[i] but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter, who had been following him, arrived and went right into the tomb. He saw[j] the strips of linen cloth lying there, 7 and the face cloth,[k] which had been around Jesus’ head, not lying with the strips of linen cloth but rolled up in a place by itself.[l] 8 Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, came in, and he saw and believed.[m] 9 (For they did not yet understand[n] the scripture that Jesus[o] must rise from the dead.)[p]

Jesus’ Appearance to Mary Magdalene

10 So the disciples went back to their homes. 11 But Mary stood outside the tomb weeping. As she wept, she bent down and looked into the tomb. 12 And she saw two angels in white sitting where Jesus’ body had been lying, one at the head and one at the feet. 13 They said[q] to her, “Woman,[r] why are you weeping?” Mary replied,[s] “They have taken my Lord away, and I do not know where they have put him!” 14 When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there,[t] but she did not know that it was Jesus.

15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?” Because she[u] thought he was the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will take him.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She[v] turned and said to him in Aramaic,[w] “Rabboni”[x] (which means Teacher).[y] 17 Jesus replied,[z] “Do not touch me, for I have not yet ascended to my Father. Go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” 18 Mary Magdalene came and informed the disciples, “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them[aa] what[ab] Jesus[ac] had said to her.[ad]

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Footnotes

  1. John 20:1 sn The first day of the week would be early Sunday morning. The Sabbath (and in this year the Passover) would have lasted from 6 p.m. Friday until 6 p.m. Saturday. Sunday would thus mark the first day of the following week.
  2. John 20:1 sn John does not mention that Mary Magdalene was accompanied by any of the other women who had been among Jesus’ followers. The synoptic accounts all mention other women who accompanied her (although Mary Magdalene is always mentioned first). Why John does not mention the other women is not clear, but Mary probably becomes the focus of the author’s attention because it was she who came and found Peter and the beloved disciple and informed them of the empty tomb (20:2). Mary’s use of the plural in v. 2 indicates there were others present, in indirect agreement with the synoptic accounts.
  3. John 20:1 tn Grk “from the tomb.”
  4. John 20:2 tn Grk “So she ran and came.”
  5. John 20:3 tn Grk “went out and were coming to the tomb.”
  6. John 20:4 sn The other disciple (the ‘beloved disciple’) ran on ahead more quickly than Peter, so he arrived at the tomb first. This verse has been a chief factor in depictions of John as a young man (especially combined with traditions that he wrote last of all the gospel authors and lived into the reign of Domitian). But the verse does not actually say anything about John’s age, nor is age always directly correlated with running speed.
  7. John 20:4 tn Grk “and came first to the tomb.”
  8. John 20:5 sn In most instances the entrance to such tombs was less than 3 ft (1 m) high, so that an adult would have to bend down and practically crawl inside.
  9. John 20:5 sn Presumably by the time the beloved disciple reached the tomb there was enough light to penetrate the low opening and illuminate the interior of the tomb sufficiently for him to see the strips of linen cloth lying there. The author does not state exactly where the linen wrappings were lying. Sometimes the phrase has been translated “lying on the ground,” but the implication is that the wrappings were lying where the body had been. The most probable configuration for a tomb of this sort would be to have a niche carved in the wall where the body would be laid lengthwise, or a low shelf like a bench running along one side of the tomb, across the back or around all three sides in a U-shape facing the entrance. Thus the graveclothes would have been lying on this shelf or in the niche where the body had been.
  10. John 20:6 tn Grk “And he saw.” The conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has not been translated here in keeping with the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences.
  11. John 20:7 sn The word translated face cloth is a Latin loanword (sudarium). It was a small towel used to wipe off perspiration (the way a handkerchief would be used today). This particular item was not mentioned in connection with Jesus’ burial in John 19:40, probably because this was only a brief summary account. A face cloth was mentioned in connection with Lazarus’ burial (John 11:44) and was probably customary. R. E. Brown speculates that it was wrapped under the chin and tied on top of the head to prevent the mouth of the corpse from falling open (John [AB], 2:986), but this is not certain.
  12. John 20:7 sn Much dispute and difficulty surrounds the translation of the words not lying with the strips of linen cloth but rolled up in a place by itself. Basically the issue concerns the positioning of the graveclothes as seen by Peter and the other disciple when they entered the tomb. Some have sought to prove that when the disciples saw the graveclothes they were arranged just as they were when around the body, so that when the resurrection took place the resurrected body of Jesus passed through them without rearranging or disturbing them. In this case the reference to the face cloth being rolled up does not refer to its being folded, but collapsed in the shape it had when wrapped around the head. Sometimes in defense of this view the Greek preposition μετά (meta, which normally means “with”) is said to mean “like” so that the comparison with the other graveclothes does not involve the location of the face cloth but rather its condition (rolled up rather than flattened). In spite of the intriguing nature of such speculations, it seems more probable that the phrase describing the face cloth should be understood to mean it was separated from the other graveclothes in a different place inside the tomb. This seems consistent with the different conclusions reached by Peter and the beloved disciple (vv. 8-10). All that the condition of the graveclothes indicated was that the body of Jesus had not been stolen by thieves. Anyone who had come to remove the body (whether the authorities or anyone else) would not have bothered to unwrap it before carrying it off. And even if one could imagine that they had (perhaps in search of valuables such as rings or jewelry still worn by the corpse) they would certainly not have bothered to take time to roll up the face cloth and leave the other wrappings in an orderly fashion.
  13. John 20:8 sn What was it that the beloved disciple believed (since v. 7 describes what he saw)? Sometimes it is suggested that what he believed was Mary Magdalene’s report that the body had been stolen. But this could hardly be the case; the way the entire scene is narrated such a trivial conclusion would amount to an anticlimax. It is true that the use of the plural “they” in the following verse applied to both Peter and the beloved disciple, and this appears to be a difficulty if one understands that the beloved disciple believed at this point in Jesus’ resurrection. But it is not an insuperable difficulty, since all it affirms is that at this time neither Peter nor the beloved disciple had understood the scripture concerning the resurrection. Thus it appears the author intends his reader to understand that when the beloved disciple entered the tomb after Peter and saw the state of the graveclothes, he believed in the resurrection, i.e., that Jesus had risen from the dead.
  14. John 20:9 tn Or “yet know.”
  15. John 20:9 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  16. John 20:9 sn Verse 9 is a parenthetical note by the author. The author does not explicitly mention what OT scripture is involved (neither does Paul in 1 Cor 15:4, for that matter). The resurrection of the Messiah in general terms may have been seen in Isa 53:10-12 and Ps 16:10. Specific references may have been understood in Jonah 1:17 and Hos 6:2 because of the mention of “the third day.” Beyond this it is not possible to be more specific.
  17. John 20:13 tn The conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has not been translated here.
  18. John 20:13 sn Woman was a polite form of address (see BDAG 208-9 s.v. γυνή 1), similar to “Madam” or “Ma’am” used in English in different regions. This occurs again in v. 15.
  19. John 20:13 tn Grk “She said to them.”
  20. John 20:14 tn The word “there” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
  21. John 20:15 tn Grk “that one” (referring to Mary Magdalene).
  22. John 20:16 tn Grk “That one.”
  23. John 20:16 tn Grk “in Hebrew.”
  24. John 20:16 sn The Aramaic Rabboni means “my teacher” (a title of respect).
  25. John 20:16 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
  26. John 20:17 tn Grk “Jesus said to her.”
  27. John 20:18 tn The words “she told them” are repeated from the first part of the same verse to improve clarity.
  28. John 20:18 tn Grk “the things.”
  29. John 20:18 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) is specified in the translation for clarity.
  30. John 20:18 tn The first part of Mary’s statement, introduced by ὅτι (hoti), is direct discourse (ἑώρακα τὸν κύριον, heōraka ton kurion), while the second clause switches to indirect discourse (καὶ ταῦτα εἶπεν αὐτῇ, kai tauta eipen autē). This has the effect of heightening the emphasis on the first part of the statement.
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