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Monday, April 28th, 2025
the Second Week after Easter
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Read the Bible

Simplified Cowboy Version

Matthew 28:2

All of a sudden there was a violent earthquake. A winged rider from heaven had flown down and rolled the boulder out of the way so they could see inside.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Angel (a Spirit);   Colors;   Earthquakes;   Friendship;   Jesus, the Christ;   Love;   Thompson Chain Reference - Angel;   Angels;   Appearances;   Dead, the;   Earthquakes;   Mortality-Immortality;   Resurrection;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Angels;   Earthquakes;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Miracle;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Angels;   Earthquake;   Heaven;   Mary;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Angel;   Appear, Appearance;   Burial;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Angel;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Resurrection of Christ;   Tombs;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Angels;   Burial;   New Testament;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Earthquake;   Mary;   Matthew, the Gospel of;   Resurrection of Jesus Christ;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Earthquake;   Resurrection;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Angels;   Angels (2);   Earthquake;   Heaven ;   Stone;   Young Man;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Angels;   Earthquake;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Angel;   Chief parables and miracles in the bible;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Angels;   Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types - Earthquake;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Mary;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Jesus of Nazareth;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Angel;   Descend;   Desire of All Nations;   Earthquake;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Tombs;  

Devotionals:

- Every Day Light - Devotion for October 15;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
There was a violent earthquake, because an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and approached the tomb. He rolled back the stone and was sitting on it.
King James Version (1611)
And behold, there was a great earthquake, for the Angel of the Lord descended from heauen, and came and rolled backe the stone from the doore, and sate vpon it.
King James Version
And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.
English Standard Version
And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it.
New American Standard Bible
And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone, and sat upon it.
New Century Version
At that time there was a strong earthquake. An angel of the Lord came down from heaven, went to the tomb, and rolled the stone away from the entrance. Then he sat on the stone.
Amplified Bible
And a great earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone [from the opening of the tomb], and sat on it.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it.
Legacy Standard Bible
And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it.
Berean Standard Bible
Suddenly there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, rolled away the stone, and sat on it.
Contemporary English Version
Suddenly a strong earthquake struck, and the Lord's angel came down from heaven. He rolled away the stone and sat on it.
Complete Jewish Bible
Suddenly there was a violent earthquake, for an angel of Adonai came down from heaven, rolled away the stone and sat on it.
Darby Translation
And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of [the] Lord, descending out of heaven, came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it.
Easy-to-Read Version
Suddenly an angel of the Lord came from the sky, and there was a huge earthquake. The angel went to the tomb and rolled the stone away from the entrance. Then he sat on top of the stone.
Geneva Bible (1587)
And behold, there was a great earthquake: for the Angel of the Lorde descended from heauen, and came and rolled backe the stone from the doore, and sate vpon it.
George Lamsa Translation
And behold, a great earthquake took place; for the angel of the Lord came down from heaven, and went up and rolled away the stone from the door, and sat on it.
Good News Translation
Suddenly there was a violent earthquake; an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled the stone away, and sat on it.
Lexham English Bible
And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came up and rolled away the stone and sat down on it.
Literal Translation
And, behold! A great earthquake occurred! For descending from Heaven and coming near, an angel of the Lord rolled away the stone from the door and was sitting on it.
American Standard Version
And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled away the stone, and sat upon it.
Bible in Basic English
And there was a great earth-shock; for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, rolling back the stone, took his seat on it.
Hebrew Names Version
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.
International Standard Version
Suddenly there was a powerful earthquake. For an angel of the Lord had come down from heaven, stepped forward, rolled the stone away, and was sitting on it.Mark 16:5; Luke 24:4; John 20:12;">[xr]
Etheridge Translation
And, behold, there was a great earthquake; for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven and drew near, rolled the stone from the door, and sat upon it.
Murdock Translation
And lo, there was a great earthquake: for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled away the stone from the door, and sat upon it.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And behold, there was a great earthquake, for the Angell of the Lorde descended from heauen, and came & roulled backe the stone from the doore, and sate vpon it.
English Revised Version
And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled away the stone, and sat upon it.
World English Bible
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.
Wesley's New Testament (1755)
And behold, there had been a great earthquake, and an angel of the Lord descending from heaven, had come and rolled away the stone from the door and sat upon it.
Weymouth's New Testament
But to their amazement there had been a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord had descended from Heaven, and had come and rolled back the stone, and was sitting upon it.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And lo! ther was maad a greet ertheschakyng; for the aungel of the Lord cam doun fro heuene, and neiyede, and turnede awei the stoon, and sat theron.
Update Bible Version
And look, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled away the stone, and sat on it.
Webster's Bible Translation
And behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.
New English Translation
Suddenly there was a severe earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descending from heaven came and rolled away the stone and sat on it.
New King James Version
And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, [fn] and sat on it.
New Living Translation
Suddenly there was a great earthquake! For an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled aside the stone, and sat on it.
New Life Bible
At once the earth shook and an angel of the Lord came down from heaven. He came and pushed back the stone from the door and sat on it.
New Revised Standard
And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And lo! a great commotion occurred, - for, a messenger of the Lord, descending out of heaven, and coming near, had rolled away the stone, and was sitting upon it.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And behold there was a great earthquake. For an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and coming rolled back the stone and sat upon it.
Revised Standard Version
And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone, and sat upon it.
Tyndale New Testament (1525)
And beholde ther was a greate erth quake. For the angell of ye lorde descended from heven: and came and rowlled backe the stone from the dore and sate apon it.
Young's Literal Translation
and lo, there came a great earthquake, for a messenger of the Lord, having come down out of heaven, having come, did roll away the stone from the door, and was sitting upon it,
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And beholde, there was made a greate earthquake: for the angell of the LORDE descended from heauen, and came and rolled backe ye stone from the dore, and sat vpon it.
Mace New Testament (1729)
now there had been a great earthquake; for an angel of the lord descending from heaven, was come, and had rolled away the stone from the door, and was sitting upon it.

Contextual Overview

1After the day of rest, at sunrise of the first day of the week, the two Marys went to visit Jesus's grave. 2All of a sudden there was a violent earthquake. A winged rider from heaven had flown down and rolled the boulder out of the way so they could see inside. 3This angel looked like he was made of livin' lightnin' and his trail gear was as white as snow. 4The deputies saw him and got so dad-gummed scared that they fell down like dead men. 5The winged rider said, "Y'all don't be scared. I know y'all are lookin' for Jesus who was strung up and killed on that cross. 6But he ain't here! He has ridden back from the dead just like he said he would. Y'all come take a look and see that I ain't pullin' your leg. 7Once yer satisfied that he ain't here, run and tell his cowboys, 'He has ridden back from the dead and has struck a long trot for Galilee. There is where you'll meet him.' I've said what I came to say." 8So the two ladies ran away from the grave. They were afraid, but at the same time they were plumb happy. They ran as fast as they could toward where the cowboys were camped. 9Suddenly they came upon Jesus sittin' there and he said, "Howdy!" They screamed for joy and fell down at his boots and worshiped him. 10Then Jesus told 'em, "Don't be scared. Go and tell the boys of my outfit to meet me in Galilee."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

there: Matthew 27:51-53, Acts 16:26, Revelation 11:19

was: or, had been

for: Mark 16:3-5, Luke 24:2-5, John 20:1, John 20:12, John 20:13, 1 Timothy 3:16, 1 Peter 1:12

Reciprocal: 2 Samuel 22:8 - the earth 1 Kings 19:11 - an earthquake Job 37:1 - General Psalms 18:7 - earth Psalms 21:11 - are not Psalms 57:3 - send Psalms 77:18 - earth Psalms 97:4 - the earth Isaiah 8:12 - fear ye Nahum 1:5 - mountains Matthew 4:11 - behold Matthew 27:60 - a great Mark 15:46 - and rolled Mark 16:4 - they saw Luke 24:4 - two men Acts 3:15 - whom Acts 10:40 - General Romans 6:4 - by the Revelation 6:12 - there

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And behold there was a great earthquake,.... Or "there had been one"; which, how far it reached, and whether further than the spot of ground in which the sepulchre was, is not certain: it was an emblem of the shaking of the earth by the preaching of the Gospel, the sound of which was now to go after Christ's resurrection to the ends of the world; and a prelude of the general resurrection, when the earth shall be shaken, and the graves opened, and the dead come forth; and was a symbol and token of the presence and majesty of Christ, at whose rising, as at his death, the earth shook and trembled. Think whether the watch could now be asleep, as they afterwards gave out, Matthew 28:13. The Persic version renders it very wrongly; "and there was great consternation and fear"; which was the consequence of the earthquake, and the descent of the angel, and was so great that it was not possible for the keepers to sleep, if ever so much inclined:

for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven; perhaps Gabriel, who brought the news of the conception of Christ to the virgin, and of his incarnation to the shepherds, and might be the same angel that strengthened him in the garden: nor is this any contradiction to the other evangelists, which speak of two angels, Luke 24:4, for Matthew does not say there were no more than one, though he makes mention but of one.

And came and rolled back the stone from the door; of the sepulchre, which by Joseph, or his orders, was put there, and was sealed by the Jews. This might be done, that way might be made for the risen body of Christ to pass out of the sepulchre; for to suppose, as some do, that he penetrated through this stone with his risen body, is not to be credited: it is true, he could have caused the stone to have given way, or removed it himself, and put it in the place again; as he caused the doors of the house in which the disciples were, to open and shut so quick, that they could not discern it when he appeared in the midst of them, John 20:19; see Acts 12:10, but he might choose to do it by the ministry of an angel, which is no ways derogatory to his power and majesty, but rather agreeable. Moreover, this might be done, that the women might have access to the sepulchre, and enter into it, which was the thing they were concerned about by the way, who should roll away the stone for them. Besides, this the angel did, as a token that Christ was risen, and to let the guard know as much, who, if they thought fit, might come and see what was done; but chiefly the stone was rolled away by the angel, as an emblem of the acquittance and discharge of Christ, as the surety of his people. He had taken upon him their sins; he had bore them in his body on the tree; he had suffered and died for them, and was laid as a prisoner in the grave; and now full satisfaction being made, an angel is sent from heaven to roll away the stone; thereby signifying, that the debt was fully paid, and he was now legally discharged. It is added,

and sat upon it; thereby showing who it was that rolled it away; that it was done by him, not by the earthquake, nor by any human power: he sat there defying the guard of soldiers to come nigh; and waiting for the coming of the women, to tell them the good news, that their Lord was risen; and as the keeper of the sepulchre, that no corpse might be brought and laid in the room of Christ, and it be said that he was not risen. This posture of the angel does not contradict what other evangelists say of this, and the other angel, that they stood by the women, and also were sitting in the sepulchre, Mark 16:5, for each was true: when the women first came, the angel sat upon the stone; after that, with the other, stood by them; when having invited them to the grave, placed themselves, sitting the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Christ had lain.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

There was a great earthquake - Rather there “had been.” It does not mean that this was while they were there, or while they were going, but that there “had been” so violent a commotion as to remove the stone. The word rendered here as “earthquake” does not of necessity mean that the convulsion extended to the earth, but only that there had been such a concussion as to remove the stone.

And sat upon it - Sat upon it when the keepers saw him, Matthew 28:4. It is not said that he was sitting when he appeared to the women. From Luke it would rather appear that he was standing.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Matthew 28:2. A great earthquake — σεισμος, a shaking or commotion of any kind: probably the word means no more than the confusion caused among the guards by the angel's appearance. All this had taken place before the women reached the sepulchre.

The angel of the Lord descended from heaven — Matthew is very particular in this, to show that the word angel is not to be taken in the sense of an ordinary messenger, who might have come from Joseph of Arimathea, or from any other; but in the sense of an extraordinary messenger, who descended from GOD, out of heaven, for this very purpose. It is likely that the angel had descended, rolled away the stone, and was sitting on it, before the women reached the tomb.


 
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