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The Arrival of the Son of Man

29 “Immediately[a] after the suffering[b] of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven will be shaken.[c] 30 Then[d] the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven,[e] and[f] all the tribes of the earth will mourn. They[g] will see the Son of Man arriving on the clouds of heaven[h] with power and great glory. 31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet blast, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven[i] to the other.

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 24:29 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
  2. Matthew 24:29 tn Traditionally, “tribulation.”
  3. 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.
  4. Matthew 24:30 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
  5. Matthew 24:30 tn Or “in the sky”; the Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context.
  6. Matthew 24:30 tn Here τότε (tote, “then”) has not been translated to avoid redundancy in English.
  7. Matthew 24:30 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
  8. Matthew 24:30 sn An allusion to Dan 7:13. Here is Jesus returning with full authority to judge.
  9. Matthew 24:31 tn Or “of the sky”; the Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context.

29 “Soon after the ·trouble [tribulation; distress] of those days,

‘the sun will grow dark,
    and the moon will not give its light.
The stars will fall from ·the sky [heaven].
    And the ·powers of the heavens [celestial bodies] will be shaken [Is. 13:10; 34:4; cf. Ezek. 32:7–8; Joel 2:10, 31].’

30 “At that time, the sign of the Son of Man will appear in ·the sky [or heaven]. Then all the ·peoples [tribes] of the world will ·cry [mourn]. They will see the Son of Man coming on ·clouds in the sky [or the clouds of heaven] with great power and glory. 31 He will use a loud trumpet to send his angels, and they will gather his ·chosen people [elect] ·from every part of the world [L from the four winds, from one end of the sky/heavens to another].

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