by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison,
Parallel translations
- WEB in which he also went and preached to the spirits in prison,
- KJV By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;
- BSB in whom He also went and preached to the spirits in prison
- NASB in which He also went and made proclamation to the spirits in prison,
- NLT So he went and preached to the spirits in prison—
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
In or by the spirit Christ went and made proclamation to 'the spirits in prison.' This verse is debated, but it affirms Christ's victory and authority extending even to the imprisoned spirits.
Overview
This is among the most difficult verses in the New Testament, and faithful Christians have understood it variously. Some take it as the pre-incarnate Christ preaching through Noah to that disobedient generation; others as the risen or descended Christ proclaiming his triumph to spirits (often understood as fallen angels or the disobedient of Noah's day) held in confinement. While the precise reference is uncertain, the clear point is Christ's vindication and sovereign authority following his death, encouraging believers that he reigns even over the unseen realm.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- 1 Pet 4:6For to this end the Good News was preached even to the dead, that they might be judged indeed as men in the flesh, but live as to God in the spirit.
- Isa 61:1The Lord Yahweh’s Spirit is on me; because Yahweh has anointed me to preach good news to the humble. He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to those who are bound;
- Isa 42:7to open the blind eyes, to bring the prisoners out of the dungeon, and those who sit in darkness out of the prison.
- Isa 49:9saying to those who are bound, ‘Come out!’; to those who are in darkness, ‘Show yourselves!’ “They shall feed along the paths, and their pasture shall be on all treeless heights.
- Neh 9:30Yet many years you put up with them, and testified against them by your Spirit through your prophets. Yet would they not give ear. Therefore you gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands.
- Rev 20:7And after the thousand years, Satan will be released from his prison,
- Rev 19:10I fell down before his feet to worship him. He said to me, “Look! Don’t do it! I am a fellow bondservant with you and with your brothers who hold the testimony of Jesus. Worship God, for the testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy.”
- 1 Pet 1:11–12searching for who or what kind of time the Spirit of Christ, which was in them, pointed to, when he predicted the sufferings of Christ, and the glories that would follow them.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The lamb without blemish foreknown before the world, who bore our sins in his body on the tree, by whose wounds we are healed — the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls.
How 1 Peter 3:19 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.