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and they will rise again. Those who have done good will rise to experience eternal life, and those who have continued in evil will rise to experience judgment.
John 5:29 · New Living Translation
Parallel translations
  • WEB and will come out; those who have done good, to the resurrection of life; and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment.
  • KJV And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.
  • BSB and come out—those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.
  • NKJV and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.
  • NASB and will come out: those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the bad deeds to a resurrection of judgment.

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 did good will rise to life, and those who did evil to judgment. There is a final resurrection unto two destinies.

Overview

Jesus teaches a twofold resurrection: to life or to judgment, according to the moral direction of one's life. Read with the rest of John, the good and evil here flow from whether one has believed in Christ, the source of life. This sobering truth presses the urgency of faith in the Son who is both Savior and Judge.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 9

  • Dan 12:2–3Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
  • Rom 2:6–10who “will pay back to everyone according to their works:”
  • Acts 24:15having hope toward God, which these also themselves look for, that there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.
  • Luke 14:14and you will be blessed, because they don’t have the resources to repay you. For you will be repaid in the resurrection of the righteous.”
  • 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.
  • Gal 6:8–10For he who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption. But he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.
  • 1 Tim 6:18that they do good, that they be rich in good works, that they be ready to distribute, willing to communicate;
  • Heb 13:16But don’t forget to be doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
  • 1 Pet 3:11Let him turn away from evil, and do good. Let him seek peace, and pursue it.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (5)

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 5:29YouTube · 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 5:29 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.