In the resurrection, people will neither marry nor be given in marriage. Instead, they will be like the angels in heaven.
Parallel translations
- WEB For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are like God’s angels in heaven.
- KJV For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.
- NKJV For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven.
- NASB For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.
- NLT For when the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage. In this respect they will be like the angels in heaven.
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
In the resurrection people neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like the angels. Resurrection life transcends earthly marriage.
Overview
Jesus explains that the resurrection state is not a mere continuation of earthly conditions; marriage as now practiced will not characterize it. Being 'like God's angels' refers to deathless, glorified existence, not to becoming angels. This dismantles the Sadducees' puzzle by revealing their wrong assumption about the life to come.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Luke 20:34–36Jesus answered, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage.
- Mark 12:24–25Jesus said to them, “Aren’t you mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God?
- 1 Cor 7:29–31What I am saying, brothers, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they had none;
- John 5:28–29Do not be amazed at this, for the hour is coming when all who are in their graves will hear His voice
- Matt 24:38For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark.
- 1 Jn 3:1–2Behold what manner of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God. And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him.
- Rev 19:10So I fell at his feet to worship him. But he told me, “Do not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who rely on the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”
- Ps 103:20Bless the LORD, all His angels mighty in strength who carry out His word, who hearken to the voice of His command.
- Matt 13:43Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.
- Rev 5:9–11And they sang a new song: “Worthy are You to take the scroll and open its seals, because You were slain, and by Your blood You purchased for God those from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.
- Zech 3:7“This is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘If you walk in My ways and keep My instructions, then you will govern My house and will also have charge of My courts; and I will give you a place among these who are standing here.
- Matt 18:10See that you do not look down on any of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of My Father in heaven.
- Luke 17:27People were eating and drinking, marrying and being given in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 22:30 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.