Matthew 24:4-31

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Matthew 24:4 tn Grk “answering, Jesus said to them.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation.
2. Matthew 24:4 tn Or “Be on guard.”
3. Matthew 24:5 tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”sn See the note on Christ in 1:16.
4. Matthew 24:6 tn Grk “it is not yet the end.”
5. Matthew 24:7 tn For the translation “rise up in arms” see L&N 55.2.
6. Matthew 24:7 tc Most witnesses (C Γ Δ Θ 0102 ƒ^1,13 700 1241 1424 M) have “and plagues” (καὶ λοιμοί, kai loimoi) between “famines” (λιμοί, limoi) and “earthquakes” (σεισμοί, seismoi), while others have “plagues and famines and earthquakes” (L W 33 lat). The similarities between λιμοί and λοιμοί could explain how καὶ λοιμοί might have accidentally dropped out, but since the Lukan parallel (Luke 21:11) has both terms (and W lat have the order λοιμοὶ καὶ λιμοί there too, as they do in Matthew), it seems more likely that scribes added the phrase here. The shorter reading does not enjoy overwhelming support ([א] B D 892 sa, and other Greek and versional witnesses), but it is nevertheless significant; coupled with the internal evidence it should be given preference.
7. Matthew 24:7 sn See Isa 5:13-14; 13:6-16; Hag 2:6-7; Zech 14:4.
8. Matthew 24:8 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
9. Matthew 24:9 tn Or “all the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “nations” or “Gentiles”).
10. Matthew 24:9 sn See Matt 5:10-12; 1 Cor 1:25-31.
11. Matthew 24:10 tn Or “many will fall away.” This could also refer to apostasy.
12. Matthew 24:11 tn Or “and lead many astray.”
13. Matthew 24:13 sn But the person who endures to the end will be saved. Jesus was not claiming here that salvation is by works. He was simply arguing that genuine faith evidences itself in persistence through even the worst of trials.
14. Matthew 24:14 tn Or “all the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “nations” or “Gentiles”).
15. Matthew 24:15 sn The reference to the abomination of desolation is an allusion to Dan 9:27. Though some have seen the fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy in the actions of Antiochus IV (or a representative of his) in 167 b.c., the words of Jesus seem to indicate that Antiochus was not the final fulfillment, but that there was (from Jesus’ perspective) still another fulfillment yet to come. Some argue that this was realized in a.d. 70, while others claim that it refers specifically to Antichrist and will not be fully realized until the period of the great tribulation at the end of the age (cf. Mark 13:14, 19, 24; Rev 3:10).
16. Matthew 24:15 sn This parenthetical comment is generally regarded as a command by the author made directly to the readers, not as part of Jesus’ original speech. For this reason the statement is not placed within quotation marks.
17. Matthew 24:16 sn Fleeing to the mountains is a key OT image: Gen 19:17; Judg 6:2; Isa 15:5; Jer 16:16; Zech 14:5.
18. Matthew 24:17 sn On the roof. Most of the roofs in the NT were flat roofs made of pounded dirt, sometimes mixed with lime or stones, supported by heavy wooden beams. They generally had an easy means of access, either a sturdy wooden ladder or stone stairway, sometimes on the outside of the house.
19. Matthew 24:17 sn The swiftness and devastation of the judgment will require a swift escape. There will be no time to come down from the roof and pick up anything from inside one’s home.
20. Matthew 24:19 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
21. Matthew 24:20 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
22. Matthew 24:21 tn Traditionally, “great tribulation.”
23. Matthew 24:21 sn Suffering unlike anything that has happened. Some refer this event to the destruction of Jerusalem in a.d. 70. While the events of a.d. 70 may reflect somewhat the comments Jesus makes here, the reference to the scope and severity of this judgment strongly suggest that much more is in view. Most likely Jesus is referring to the great end-time judgment on Jerusalem in the great tribulation.
24. Matthew 24:23 tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”sn See the note on Christ in 1:16.
25. Matthew 24:24 tn Or “false christs”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”
26. Matthew 24:25 tn Or “Pay attention!” Grk “Behold.”
27. Matthew 24:26 tn Grk “they say.” The third person plural is used here as an indefinite and translated “someone” (ExSyn 402).
28. Matthew 24:26 tn Or “in the desert.”
29. Matthew 24:27 sn The Son of Man’s coming in power will be sudden and obvious like lightning. No one will need to point it out.
30. Matthew 24:28 tn The same Greek term can refer to “eagles” or “vultures” (L&N 4.42; BDAG 22 s.v. ἀετός), but in this context it must mean vultures because the gruesome image is one of dead bodies being consumed by scavengers.sn Jesus’ answer is that when the judgment comes, the scenes of death will be obvious and so will the location of the judgment. See also Luke 17:37.
31. Matthew 24:28 tn Grk “will be gathered.” The passive construction has been translated as an active one in English.
32. Matthew 24:29 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
33. Matthew 24:29 tn Traditionally, “tribulation.”
34. Matthew 24:29 sn An allusion to Isa 13:10; 34:4 (LXX); Joel 2:10. The heavens were seen as the abode of heavenly forces, so their shaking indicates distress in the spiritual realm. Although some take the powers as a reference to bodies in the heavens (like stars and planets, “the heavenly bodies,” NIV) this is not as likely.
35. Matthew 24:30 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
36. Matthew 24:30 tn Or “in the sky”; the Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context.
37. Matthew 24:30 tn Here τότε (tote, “then”) has not been translated to avoid redundancy in English.
38. Matthew 24:30 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
39. Matthew 24:30 sn An allusion to Dan 7:13. Here is Jesus returning with full authority to judge.
40. Matthew 24:31 tn Or “of the sky”; the Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context.