Ready for the Master’s Return

35 “Be ready for service[a] and have your lamps lit.(A) 36 You are to be like people waiting for their master(B) to return from the wedding banquet(C) so that when he comes and knocks, they can open the door for him at once.(D) 37 Blessed will be those servants the master finds alert(E) when he comes. Truly I tell you, he will get ready,[b] have them recline at the table, then come and serve them.(F) 38 If he comes in the middle of the night, or even near dawn,[c] and finds them alert, blessed are those servants. 39 But know this: If the homeowner had known at what hour the thief was coming,(G) he would not have let his house be broken into. 40 You also be ready,(H) because the Son of Man(I) is coming at an hour you do not expect.”(J)

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Footnotes

  1. 12:35 Lit “Let your loins be girded; an idiom for tying up loose outer clothing in preparation for action; Ex 12:11
  2. 12:37 Lit will gird himself
  3. 12:38 Lit even in the second or third watch

Warning about being prepared

35 “Be dressed for service and keep your lamps lit. 36 Be like people waiting for their master to come home from a wedding celebration, who can immediately open the door for him when he arrives and knocks on the door. 37 Happy are those servants whom the master finds waiting up when he arrives. I assure you that, when he arrives, he will dress himself to serve, seat them at the table as honored guests, and wait on them. 38 Happy are those whom he finds alert, even if he comes at midnight or just before dawn.[a] 39 But know this, if the homeowner had known what time the thief was coming, he wouldn’t have allowed his home to be broken into. 40 You also must be ready, because the Human One[b] is coming at a time when you don’t expect him.”

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 12:38 Or in the second or third watch
  2. Luke 12:40 Or Son of Man