Immortality

Most of these verses speak of eternal life rather than the word immortality, which appears only a few times. John gives the best-known statement: “whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Jesus tells Martha that whoever believes in him “shall never die.” Paul writes that “this mortal must put on immortality,” and that Christ has brought “life and immortality to light through the gospel.” Daniel hints at it long before, speaking of those who awake from the dust. Christians describe the details in different ways, but the passages agree that death is not the end. First Corinthians 15 is the longest treatment.

299 verses

Genesis

Genesis 5:24

And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.

Genesis 22:13

And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.

2 Samuel

2 Samuel 12:23

But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.

2 Kings

2 Kings 2:11

And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

Nehemiah

Nehemiah 9:5

Then the Levites, Jeshua, and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabniah, Sherebiah, Hodijah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said, Stand up and bless the LORD your God for ever and ever: and blessed be thy glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise.

Job

Job 4:17

Shall mortal man be more just than God? shall a man be more pure than his maker?

Job 4:18

Behold, he put no trust in his servants; and his angels he charged with folly:

Job 4:19

How much less in them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, which are crushed before the moth?

Job 4:20

They are destroyed from morning to evening: they perish for ever without any regarding it.

Job 4:21

Doth not their excellency which is in them go away? they die, even without wisdom.

Job 14:12

So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep.

Job 14:13

O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me!

Job 14:14

If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come.

Job 14:15

Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee: thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands.

Job 19:25

For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:

Job 19:26

And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:

Job 19:27

Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.

Psalms

Psalms 16:9

Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope.

Psalms 16:10

For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

Psalms 16:11

Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

Psalms 17:15

As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.

Psalms 21:4

He asked life of thee, and thou gavest it him, even length of days for ever and ever.

Psalms 22:26

The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the LORD that seek him: your heart shall live for ever.

Psalms 23:6

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Psalms 31:5

Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O LORD God of truth.

Psalms 36:9

For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.

Psalms 37:18

The LORD knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever.

Psalms 37:27

Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore.

Psalms 49:7

None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him:

Psalms 49:8

(For the redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceaseth for ever:)

Psalms 49:9

That he should still live for ever, and not see corruption.

Psalms 49:14

Like sheep they are laid in the grave; death shall feed on them; and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their beauty shall consume in the grave from their dwelling.

Psalms 49:15

But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall receive me. Selah.

Psalms 73:26

My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.

Psalms 86:12

I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore.

Psalms 102:4

My heart is smitten, and withered like grass; so that I forget to eat my bread.

Psalms 102:25

Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands.

Psalms 102:26

They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed:

Psalms 102:27

But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end.

Psalms 102:28

The children of thy servants shall continue, and their seed shall be established before thee.

Psalms 121:8

The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.

Psalms 133:3

As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.

Psalms 145:1

David's Psalm of praise. I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever.

Psalms 145:2

Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever.

Proverbs

Proverbs 14:32

The wicked is driven away in his wickedness: but the righteous hath hope in his death.

Ecclesiastes

Ecclesiastes 3:21

Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?

Ecclesiastes 12:7

Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

Isaiah

Isaiah 14:9

Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.

Isaiah 25:8

He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it.

Isaiah 26:19

Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.

Isaiah 38:18

For the grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth.

Isaiah 38:19

The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day: the father to the children shall make known thy truth.

Ezekiel

Ezekiel 32:31

Pharaoh shall see them, and shall be comforted over all his multitude, even Pharaoh and all his army slain by the sword, saith the Lord GOD.

Ezekiel 37:1

The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones,

Ezekiel 37:2

And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry.

Ezekiel 37:3

And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest.

Ezekiel 37:4

Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.

Ezekiel 37:5

Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live:

Ezekiel 37:6

And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.

Ezekiel 37:7

So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone.

Ezekiel 37:8

And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them.

Ezekiel 37:9

Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.

Ezekiel 37:10

So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.

Ezekiel 37:11

Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.

Ezekiel 37:12

Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.

Ezekiel 37:13

And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves,

Ezekiel 37:14

And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD.

Daniel

Daniel 12:2

And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

Daniel 12:3

And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.

Daniel 12:13

But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.

Hosea

Hosea 13:14

I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes.

Jonah

Jonah 2:10

And the LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.

Matthew

Matthew 10:28

And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Matthew 16:26

For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

Matthew 19:16

And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?

Matthew 19:17

And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.

Matthew 22:23

The same day came to him the Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection, and asked him,

Matthew 22:24

Saying, Master, Moses said, If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.

Matthew 22:25

Now there were with us seven brethren: and the first, when he had married a wife, deceased, and, having no issue, left his wife unto his brother:

Matthew 22:26

Likewise the second also, and the third, unto the seventh.

Matthew 22:27

And last of all the woman died also.

Matthew 22:28

Therefore in the resurrection whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all had her.

Matthew 22:29

Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.

Matthew 22:30

For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.

Matthew 22:31

But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying,

Matthew 22:32

I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.

Matthew 24:31

And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Matthew 25:1

Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.

Matthew 25:2

And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.

Matthew 25:3

They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:

Matthew 25:4

But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.

Matthew 25:5

While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.

Matthew 25:6

And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.

Matthew 25:7

Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.

Matthew 25:8

And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.

Matthew 25:9

But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.

Matthew 25:10

And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.

Matthew 25:11

Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.

Matthew 25:12

But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.

Matthew 25:13

Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

From Easton's Bible Dictionary

Matthew George Easton, 1897

Perpetuity of existence. The doctrine of immortality is taught in the Old Testament. It is plainly implied in the writings of Moses (Gen. 5:22, 24; 25:8; 37:35; 47:9; 49:29, comp. Heb. 11:13-16; Ex. 3:6, comp. Matt. 22:23). It is more clearly and fully taught in the later books (Isa. 14:9; Ps. 17:15; 49:15; 73:24). It was thus a doctrine obviously well known to the Jews.

With the full revelation of the gospel this doctrine was “brought to light” (2 Tim. 1:10; 1 Cor. 15; 2 Cor. 5:1-6; 1 Thess. 4:13-18).

Based on Nave's Topical Bible by Orville J. Nave (1896). Dictionary entries from Easton's Bible Dictionary. Public domain. KJV scripture text, public domain.