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Signs of the End of the Age

As[a] he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, his disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will these things[b] happen? And what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” Jesus answered them,[c] “Watch out[d] that no one misleads you. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’[e] and they will mislead many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. Make sure that you are not alarmed, for this must happen, but the end is still to come.[f] For nation will rise up in arms[g] against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines and earthquakes[h] in various places.[i] All[j] these things are the beginning of birth pains.

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 24:3 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
  2. Matthew 24:3 sn Because the phrase these things is plural, more than the temple’s destruction is in view. The question may presuppose that such a catastrophe signals the end.
  3. Matthew 24:4 tn Grk “answering, Jesus said to them.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation.
  4. Matthew 24:4 tn Or “Be on guard.”
  5. 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.
  6. Matthew 24:6 tn Grk “it is not yet the end.”
  7. Matthew 24:7 tn For the translation “rise up in arms” see L&N 55.2.
  8. Matthew 24:7 tc Most witnesses (C Γ Δ Θ 0102 ƒ1,13 700 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.
  9. Matthew 24:7 sn See Isa 5:13-14; 13:6-16; Hag 2:6-7; Zech 14:4.
  10. Matthew 24:8 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? What is the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age?”

Jesus answered them, “Be careful that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will lead many astray. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you aren’t troubled, for all this must happen, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there will be famines, plagues, and earthquakes in various places. But all these things are the beginning of birth pains.

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