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So there they laid Jesus, because of the Jews’ Preparation Day, for the tomb was nearby.
John 19:42 · New King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB Then because of the Jews’ Preparation Day (for the tomb was near at hand) they laid Jesus there.
  • KJV There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews’ preparation day; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand.
  • BSB And because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and the tomb was nearby, they placed Jesus there.
  • NASB Therefore because of the Jewish day of preparation, since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.
  • NLT And so, because it was the day of preparation for the Jewish Passover and since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.

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

Because of the Preparation Day, Jesus is buried quickly in the nearby tomb. His burial is real and witnessed.

Overview

With the Sabbath approaching, the nearness of the tomb allowed a hasty but proper burial before sundown. John's attention to time and place grounds the account in history. The burial completes the humiliation of Christ and prepares for the glory of the resurrection to be revealed on the first day of the week.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 10

  • John 19:14Now it was the Preparation Day of the Passover, at about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, “Behold, your King!”
  • John 19:31Therefore the Jews, because it was the Preparation Day, so that the bodies wouldn’t remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a special one), asked of Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.
  • Isa 53:9They made his grave with the wicked, and with a rich man in his death; although he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.
  • John 19:41Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden. In the garden was a new tomb in which no man had ever yet been laid.
  • Col 2:12having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.
  • 1 Cor 15:4that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
  • Ps 22:15My strength is dried up like a potsherd. My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You have brought me into the dust of death.
  • Acts 13:29When they had fulfilled all things that were written about him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a tomb.
  • Matt 12:40For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
  • John 19:20Therefore many of the Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — John videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

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

  • VideoWatch teaching on John 19:42YouTube · 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 JohnMatthew 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

John declares him plainly: the eternal Word made flesh, the Lamb of God, the great 'I AM' — bread, light, door, shepherd, way, truth, life, resurrection — that you may believe and have life in his name.

How John 19:42 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.