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And He ordered us to preach to the people, and to testify solemnly that this is the One who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead.
Acts 10:42 · New American Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that this is he who is appointed by God as the Judge of the living and the dead.
  • KJV And 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.
  • BSB And He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that He is the One appointed by God to judge the living and the dead.
  • NKJV And He commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that it is He who was ordained by God to be Judge of the living and the dead.
  • NLT And he ordered us to preach everywhere and to testify that Jesus is the one appointed by God to be the judge of all—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

Jesus commanded the apostles to preach and testify that He is appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead. The risen Christ is also the coming Judge of all.

Overview

The same Jesus who saves will judge every person, living and dead (2 Timothy 4:1). This sobering truth gives weight to the call to repent and believe. Peter's preaching is not optional advice but a commissioned testimony about the One before whom all must finally stand.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 20

  • 2 Cor 5:10For we must all be revealed before the judgment seat of Christ; that each one may receive the things in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
  • 1 Pet 4:5who will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.
  • 2 Tim 4:1I command you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at his appearing and his Kingdom:
  • Rom 14:9–10For to this end Christ died, rose, and lived again, that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.
  • Acts 17:31because he has appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom he has ordained; of which he has given assurance to all men, in that he has raised him from the dead.”
  • Matt 28:19–20Go, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
  • Rev 20:11–15I saw a great white throne, and him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. There was found no place for them.
  • Rev 22:12“Behold, I come quickly. My reward is with me, to repay to each man according to his work.
  • Mark 16:15–16He said to them, “Go into all the world, and preach the Good News to the whole creation.
  • Acts 1:2until the day in which he was received up, after he had given commandment through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen.
  • Acts 4:19–20But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, judge for yourselves,
  • Matt 25:31–46“But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory.
  • Rev 1:7Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, including those who pierced him. All the tribes of the earth will mourn over him. Even so, Amen.
  • Luke 24:47–48and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
  • Acts 5:20“Go stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life.”
  • Acts 1:8But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. You will be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth.”
  • Acts 5:29–32But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men.
  • 2 Tim 4:8From now on, there is stored up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that day; and not to me only, but also to all those who have loved his appearing.
  • John 5:22–29For the Father judges no one, but he has given all judgment to the Son,
  • John 21:21–22Peter seeing him, said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?”

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Acts videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Acts 10:42YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on ActsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Acts is the risen Christ continuing his work by the Spirit through the church, as the apostles preach that there is salvation in no other name under heaven.

How Acts 10:42 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.