35 Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning;

36 And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately.

37 Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them.

38 And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants.

39 And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through.

40 Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.

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35 Keep your loins girded and your lamps burning,

36 And be like men who are waiting for their master to return home from the marriage feast, so that when he returns from the wedding and comes and knocks, they may open to him immediately.

37 Blessed (happy, fortunate, and [a]to be envied) are those servants whom the master finds awake and alert and watching when he comes. Truly I say to you, he will gird himself and have them recline at table and will come and serve them!

38 If he comes in the second watch (before midnight) or the third watch (after midnight), and finds them so, blessed (happy, fortunate, and [b]to be envied) are those servants!

39 But of this be assured: if the householder had known at what time the burglar was coming, he would have been awake and alert and watching and would not have permitted his house to be dug through and broken into.

40 You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour and a [c]moment when you do not anticipate it.

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 12:37 Alexander Souter, Pocket Lexicon.
  2. Luke 12:38 Alexander Souter, Pocket Lexicon.
  3. Luke 12:40 James Moulton and George Milligan, The Vocabulary.

35 “Be prepared—all dressed and ready— 36 for your Lord’s return from the wedding feast. Then you will be ready to open the door and let him in the moment he arrives and knocks. 37 There will be great joy for those who are ready and waiting for his return. He himself will seat them and put on a waiter’s uniform and serve them as they sit and eat! 38 He may come at nine o’clock at night—or even at midnight. But whenever he comes, there will be joy for his servants who are ready!

39 “Everyone would be ready for him if they knew the exact hour of his return—just as they would be ready for a thief if they knew when he was coming. 40 So be ready all the time. For I, the Messiah,[a] will come when least expected.”

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 12:40 the Messiah, literally, “the Son of Man.”