For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.
Parallel translations
- WEB For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom he desires.
- BSB For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom He wishes.
- NKJV For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will.
- NASB For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes.
- NLT For just as the Father gives life to those he raises from the dead, so the Son gives life to anyone he wants.
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
Just as the Father raises and gives life to the dead, so the Son gives life to whom he wills. Jesus claims divine, life-giving power.
Overview
Raising the dead is a prerogative of God alone, yet Jesus claims to share it fully. The Son gives life sovereignly, 'to whom he desires,' a clear assertion of deity and saving authority. This points to both the spiritual life Christ grants now and the bodily resurrection he will accomplish.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Rom 8:11But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
- Deut 32:39See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.
- John 11:25Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
- Luke 7:14–15And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise.
- Acts 26:8Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should raise the dead?
- John 11:43–44And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.
- John 17:2As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.
- Luke 8:54–55And he put them all out, and took her by the hand, and called, saying, Maid, arise.
- 2 Kgs 5:7And it came to pass, when the king of Israel had read the letter, that he rent his clothes, and said, Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy? wherefore consider, I pray you, and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me.
- 2 Kgs 4:32–35And when Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and laid upon his bed.
- 1 Kgs 17:21And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, I pray thee, let this child’s soul come into him again.
- Rom 4:17–19(As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.
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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 5:21 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.