Matthew
King James Version (KJV)

“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.”
King James Version (KJV)
For as Ionas was three dayes and three nights in the whales belly: so shal the sonne of man be three daies and three nights in the heart of the earth.
- King James Version (1611) - View 1611 Bible Scan
for just as JONAH WAS THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS IN THE BELLY OF THE SEA MONSTER, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
- New American Standard Version (1995)
for as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
- American Standard Version (1901)
For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the stomach of the great fish, so will the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
- Basic English Bible
For even as Jonas was in the belly of the great fish three days and three nights, thus shall the Son of man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights.
- Darby Bible
For as Jonah 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.
- Webster's Bible
For just as Jonah was three days in the sea-monster's belly, so will the Son of Man be three days in the heart of the earth.
- Weymouth Bible
For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
- World English Bible
For as Jonas was in the wombe of a whal thre daies and thre nyytis, so mannus sone shal be in the herte of the erthe thre daies and thre nyytis.
- Wycliffe Bible
for, as Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights, so shall the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights.
- Youngs Literal Bible
12:40 Three days and three nights - It was customary with the eastern nations to reckon any part of a natural day of twenty - four hours, for the whole day. Accordingly they used to say a thing was done after three or seven days, if it was done on the third or seventh day, from that which was last mentioned. Instances of this may be seen, #1Kings 20:29|; and in many other places. And as the Hebrews had no word to express a natural day, they used night and day, or day and night for it. So that to say a thing happened after three days and three nights, was with them the very same, as to say, it happened after three days, or on the third day. See #Esther 4:16|; 5:1; Gen 7:4,12; Exod 24:18; 34:28. #Jonah 2:1|.
Mt 12:40 As Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly. See Jon 1:17. The great fish was probably not a whale (the Greek is "ketos", "sea monster"), but a white shark, which abounds in the Mediterranean, and is said to swallow a horse whole. The miracle was the preservation of the life of Jonah during his living burial. This was a type of the burial and resurrection of Christ. So shall the Son of man be three days and three nights. Jesus says that he will "be raised again the third day" (Mt 16:21). Hence, in Jewish usage "the third day" must mean the same as "three days and three nights". It was and is customary with the Orientals to make any part of the day stand for the whole twenty-four hours. Compare Mt 16:21 Mr 8:31 2Ch 10:5 10:12 Es 4:16 Ge 7:4,12 Ex 24:18 34:28. A traveler in the East writes: ``At length the tenth morning arrived--the tenth morning because, though we performed nominally ten days quarantine, yet it was, really, only eight days. We landed at nine o'clock in the evening of the first day, and were liberated at six o'clock in the morning of the tenth day, but it was held to be ten days according to the custom of the East.'' Christ was buried Friday evening, lay in the grave Saturday, and rose Sunday, parts of three days, rose "on the third day", and was in the grave the space of time meant in eastern usage by three days and three nights. In the heart of the earth. In the sepulcher.
John 17:5 And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.
John 17:21-22 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe thou has sent me.
(22) And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that we may be one, even as we are one.
Ephesians 4:13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith (of the Holy Ghost), and the knowledge of the Son of God (Holy Ghost), unto a perfect (mature) man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ (Holy Ghost)
1 Corinthians 15:34 Awake to righteousness, and sin not, for some have not the knowledge of God (Holy Ghost): I speak this to your shame.
We can't identify a particular time that Jesus, by His Spirit, did this. Many understand it to be after he rose from the grave & went & declared His victory over sin & death, but the Scripture in question doesn't clearly indicate this. One could then ask: why did Jesus do this at this particular time & not at any other time, or, what was the necessity of going specifically to those held captive to preach to them? I get the sense that this was done at some time after Jesus' resurrection as an announcement to them, but that is not certain as we don't get any more details of that event.
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