Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead.
Parallel translations
- WEB who will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.
- BSB But they will have to give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.
- NKJV They will give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.
- NASB but they will give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.
- NLT But remember that they will have to face God, who stands ready to judge everyone, both the living and the dead.
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
Those who slander believers will answer to God, the judge of the living and the dead. It assures the persecuted that final justice belongs to God, not to them.
Overview
Peter answers the slander of verse 4 by pointing to coming judgment. Every person, living or dead, will give account to God, who is 'ready to judge,' a role here closely tied to Christ. This frees believers from the need to retaliate, entrusting vindication to the righteous Judge.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Jas 5:9Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.
- Acts 10:42And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead.
- 2 Tim 4:1I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;
- Rom 14:10–12But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
- John 5:22–23For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son:
- Matt 12:36But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
- Acts 17:31Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.
- Jude 1:14–15And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,
- 1 Cor 15:51–52Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
- Ps 1:6For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.
- John 5:28–29Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
- Mal 3:13–15Your words have been stout against me, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, What have we spoken so much against thee?
- Luke 16:2And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward.
- Matt 25:31–46When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
- Ezek 18:30Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord GOD. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.
- Eccl 12:14For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 4:5 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.