Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.
Parallel translations
- WEB Most certainly I tell you, there are some standing here who will in no way taste of death, until they see the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom.”
- BSB Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”
- NKJV “Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”
- NASB “Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”
- NLT And I tell you the truth, some standing here right now will not die before they see the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom.”
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 says some standing there will not die before seeing the Son of Man coming in his kingdom. It matters because it promises a near display of his royal glory.
Overview
Jesus assures his hearers that some will witness the Son of Man's kingly power before death. Faithful interpreters understand this variously—as the Transfiguration that immediately follows, the resurrection, Pentecost, or the kingdom's powerful advance—rather than the final return. The immediately following Transfiguration gives a strong, natural fulfillment of seeing his glory. The saying assures the disciples that Christ's kingdom would soon be unmistakably revealed.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Luke 9:27But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God.
- Mark 9:1And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.
- John 8:52Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death.
- Matt 26:64Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.
- Matt 10:23But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.
- Luke 21:27–28And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
- Mark 13:26And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.
- Luke 2:26And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.
- Heb 2:9But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.
- Matt 24:3And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
- Matt 24:42Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
- 1 Th 1:10And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.
- Matt 24:27–31For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
- Luke 18:8I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
How Matthew 16:28 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.