Matthew 27:64

Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first.

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
Command	κέλευσον keleuson	G2753	"hail" · verb — aorist active imperative, 2nd person singular
therefore	οὖν oun	G3767	(adverbially) certainly · conjunction
that	ἀσφαλισθῆναι asphalisthēnai	G805	to render secure · verb — aorist passive infinitive
sepulchre	τάφον taphon	G5028	a grave (the place of interment) · noun — accusative singular masculine
sure	ἀσφαλίζω asphalízō	G805	to render secure
until	ἕως he'ōs	G2193	a conjunction · preposition
the	ἡμέρας, hēmeras	G2250	day · noun — genitive singular feminine
third	τρίτης tritēs	G5154	third · adjective — genitive singular feminine
day	ἡμέρα hēméra	G2250	day
lest	μήποτε mḗpote	G3379	not ever
his	αὐτοῦ autou	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — genitive singular masculine
disciples	μαθηταὶ mathētai	G3101	a learner · noun — nominative plural masculine
come	ἐλθόντες elthontes	G2064	to come or go (in a great variety of applications · verb — second aorist active participle, nominative plural masculine
night	νυκτὸς nuktos	G3571	"night" (literally or figuratively) · noun — genitive singular feminine
steal	κλέψωσιν klepsōsin	G2813	to filch · verb — aorist active subjunctive, 3rd person plural
away	αὐτὸν auton	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — accusative singular masculine
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
say	εἴπωσιν eipōsin	G2036	to speak or say (by word or writing) · verb — second aorist active subjunctive, 3rd person plural
people	λαῷ· laō	G2992	a people (in general · noun — dative singular masculine
risen	ἠγέρθη ēgerthē	G1453	to waken (transitively or intransitively) · verb — aorist passive indicative, 3rd person singular
from	ἀπὸ apo	G575	"off · preposition
dead	νεκρῶν. nekrōn	G3498	dead (literally or figuratively · adjective — genitive plural masculine
so	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
last	ἐσχάτη eschatē	G2078	farthest · adjective — nominative singular feminine
error	πλάνη planē	G4106	objectively · noun — nominative singular feminine
be	ἔσομαι ésomai	G2071	will be
than	χείρων cheirōn	G5501	from an obsolete equivalent (of uncertain derivation) · adjective — nominative singular feminine, comparative
first	πρώτης.¶ prōtēs	G4413	foremost (in time · adjective — genitive singular feminine

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Matthew 28:13 Saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept.
Matthew 12:45 Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state o…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Matthew 27:64

Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure--by a Roman guard. until the third day--after which, if He still lay in the grave, the imposture of His claims would be manifest to all. and say unto the people, he is risen from the dead--Did they really fear this? so the last error shall be worse than the first--the imposture of His pretended resurrection worse than that of His pretended Messiahship.

John Gill on Matthew 27:64

Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure,.... By this also they own, that he was buried; and they knew in what, and whose sepulchre he was laid, and where it was; and request of Pilate, that as he had given leave to Joseph to take the body and inter it, that he would also give orders that the sepulchre might be watched, that no body might come near it, and remove the body, and that until the third day: not from the time they made this request, but from the time of Christ's death; for no longer did they desire the sepulchre to be guarded; for if he did not rise, and no pretensions could be made to it in that time, they then very likely intended to expose his dead body, and triumph o…

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John Calvin on Matthew 27:62–end

Matthew 27:62-66 Matthew 27:62-66 62. And the next day, which is after the preparation, [297] the chief priests and Pharisees came to Pilate, 63. Saying, Sir, we remember that that impostor said, while he was still alive, After three days I shall rise again. 64. Command, therefore, that the sepulcher be made secure till the third day, lest perhaps his disciples come by night to steal him, and say to the people, He is risen from the dead; and the last error shall be worse than the first. 65. Pilate saith to them, You have a guard; go, make it as secure as you can. 66. And they went and made the sepulcher secures sealing the stone, and posting guards. Matthew 27:62. And the next day. In thi…

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Tyndale Open Study Notes on Matthew 27:62-66

The Church Fathers

It was not enough for the Chief Priests to have crucified the Lord the Saviour, if they did not guard the sepulchre, and do their utmost to lay hands on Him as He rose from the dead.
— Jerome ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Their fear lest the body should be stolen, the setting a watch on the tomb, and sealing it, are marks of folly and unbelief, that they should have sought to seal up the tomb of One at whose bidding they had seen a dead man raised from the tomb.
— Hilary of Poitiers ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day. For Christ's disciples were spiritually thieves; stealing from the unthankful Jews the writings of the New and Old Testament, they bestowed them to be used by the Church; and while they slept, that is, while the Jews were sunk in the lethargy of unbelief, they carried off the promised Saviour, and gave Him to be believed on by the Gentiles. When they say, And the last error will be worse than the first, they utter a truth unwittingly, for their contempt of penitence was worse for the Jews than was their error of ignorance.
— Rabanus Maurus ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Resurrection Of Christ, The · Fraud impossible in — Fraud impossible in

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).