Matthew 12:40

Translations

Modern

For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Traditional

For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Literal

For just as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights.

Latin

Sicut enim fuit Jonas in ventre ceti tribus diebus, et tribus noctibus, sic erit Filius hominis in corde terræ tribus diebus et tribus noctibus.

Original

Greek

English

For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Notes

Matthew 12:39–40

To demand a sign shows a lack of faith.

The sign of the prophet Jonah was his "resurrection" from the large fish after three days and nights. It also referred to his preaching (12:41; Luke 11:32). This was similar to the burial, resurrection, and preaching of Jesus. Jesus compared Jonah's experience to what he would experience. He was not predicting the exact timing of his death and resurrection.
Heart of the earth is another way of saying "the grave."

Matthew 12:22–45

The Pharisees, the teachers of religious law, and many people of his generation rejected the Messiah.

Theme notes and profiles

The Pharisees Faith and Good Deeds Symbolic Numbers The Son of Man The Stone the Builders Rejected

Events

Blind and Dumb Demoniac and Following Discoursec. AD 28

Related verses

Jonah 1:17
Now the LORD had appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah spent three days and three nights in the belly of the fish.
Matthew 27:63–64
“Sir,” they said, “we remember that while He was alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’
John 2:19
Jesus answered, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up again.”
Matthew 17:23
They will kill Him, and on the third day He will be raised to life.” And the disciples were deeply grieved.
Matthew 16:21
From that time on Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and that He must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
Matthew 27:40
…and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross!”
Jonah 2:2–6
…saying: “In my distress I called to the LORD, and He answered me. From the belly of Sheol I called for help, and You heard my voice.
Psalm 63:9
But those who seek my life to destroy it will go into the depths of the earth.
Matthew 8:20
Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.”

Parallels

Jonah 3:1–10 Luke 11:29–32

People

Jonah: Prophet swallowed by fish, preached to Nineveh

Glossary

Book of Jonah Gospel of Matthew Heart Jonas Miracle Nineveh, Ninevite Numbers and Numerology Prophecy Sign Son of Man Whale

Topics

Fish: Miracles Connected With: Jonah Swallowed By Fishes: Whale Good Friday Jesus, the Christ: Death of Jesus, the Christ: Rejected Jesus, the Christ: Replies to the Scribes and Pharisees Who Seek a Sign from Him (In Galilee) Jesus, the Christ: Resurrection of Jesus, the Christ: Revelations by: His Death and Resurrection Jonah: Repentance and Deliverance of Resurrection: Typified: Jonah Running Away from God The Resurrection of Christ: Typified: Jonah Types of Christ: Jonah Types of the Saviour: Jonah Whales

Matthew 12:40

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