1
Καὶ ἐξελθὼν ὁ Ἰησοῦς ⸂ἀπὸ τοῦ ἱεροῦ ἐπορεύετο⸃, καὶ προσῆλθον οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ ἐπιδεῖξαι αὐτῷ τὰς οἰκοδομὰς τοῦ ἱεροῦ·
And Jesus went out from the temple and was going away, and his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple.
The buildings — the disciples point them out as he leaves.
first here Jesus Ἰησοῦς Iēsous
pronoun his = Jesus
pronoun him = Jesus
2
ὁ δὲ ⸀ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· Οὐ βλέπετε ⸂ταῦτα πάντα⸃; ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, οὐ μὴ ἀφεθῇ ὧδε λίθος ἐπὶ λίθον ὃς οὐ καταλυθήσεται.
But answering he said to them, “Do you not see all these? Amen I say to you, there will not be left here stone upon stone that will not be thrown down.”
Stone upon stone — the Greek doubles the negative for force.
pronoun he = Jesus
pronoun them = the disciples
pronoun you = the disciples — both times
pronoun these = the buildings
pronoun I = Jesus
3
Καθημένου δὲ αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τοῦ Ὄρους τῶν Ἐλαιῶν προσῆλθον αὐτῷ οἱ μαθηταὶ κατ’ ἰδίαν λέγοντες· Εἰπὸν ἡμῖν πότε ταῦτα ἔσται, καὶ τί τὸ σημεῖον τῆς σῆς παρουσίας ⸀καὶ συντελείας τοῦ αἰῶνος.
And as he sat on the Mount of Olives the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what is the sign of your coming and of the completion of the age?”
Coming renders παρουσία (parousia), a presence or arrival — this book alone uses the word in the four Gospels, four times in this chapter. Completion of the age (συντέλεια, synteleia) is also this book's own.
pronoun he = Jesus
pronoun him = Jesus
pronoun us = the disciples
pronoun your = Jesus
pronoun these things = the throwing down of the buildings
Why this rendering
Matt.24.3 Observation
Syntactic observation
What the disciples ask differs between the books. Mark 13:4 asks one thing — πότε ταῦτα ἔσται καὶ τί τὸ σημεῖον ὅταν μέλλῃ ταῦτα συντελεῖσθαι πάντα, when will these things be, and what is the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished. Matthew 24:3 binds three into one question — when, and the sign of your παρουσία and of the συντέλεια of the αἰών. Both words are Matthew's. παρουσία occurs four times in all four Gospels, all four in Matthew (24:3, 27, 37, 39). συντέλεια likewise occurs five times in the four Gospels, all five in Matthew (13:39, 40, 49, 24:3, 28:20) — Mark 13:4 uses not the noun but the verb συντελεῖσθαι. So the question is one Matthew has rebuilt with two words of his own, and ch. 24 answers them: παρουσία returns three times at vv.27, 37, 39, each with a comparison attached — like lightning, like the days of Noah. And συντέλεια binds together the three parables of ch. 13 and the last sentence of the book at 28:20.
Rendering options · 2
Adopted “your coming” and “the completion of the age” — the two kept apart
Basis παρουσία is not ἔρχομαι, and the rendering must differ if Matthew's four are to be counted; συντέλεια is likewise not τέλος (end, 24:6, 13, 14), so it is kept as completion.
“the second coming” and “the end of the world”
Basis The reader knows at once what is meant.
Rejected The text has neither second nor world — αἰών is not κόσμος; and the settled terms import a later fixed sense in advance.
4
καὶ ἀποκριθεὶς ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· Βλέπετε μή τις ὑμᾶς πλανήσῃ·
And answering, Jesus said to them, “See that no one deceives you.
Deceives (πλανάω, planaō) is to lead off the road — the word runs through verses 4, 5, 11 and 24.
pronoun them = the disciples
pronoun you = the disciples
5
πολλοὶ γὰρ ἐλεύσονται ἐπὶ τῷ ὀνόματί μου λέγοντες· Ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ χριστός, καὶ πολλοὺς πλανήσουσιν.
For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,' and they will deceive many.
I am the Christ — this book puts the title in; Mark 13:6 has only “I am he”.
first here Christ Χριστός Christos
pronoun my = Jesus
pronoun I = the many who come
pronoun they = the many who come
6
μελλήσετε δὲ ἀκούειν πολέμους καὶ ἀκοὰς πολέμων· ὁρᾶτε, μὴ θροεῖσθε· δεῖ ⸀γὰρ γενέσθαι, ἀλλ’ οὔπω ἐστὶν τὸ τέλος.
And you will hear of wars and rumours of wars. See that you are not alarmed; it must happen, but the end is not yet.
It must happen — the Greek says only “it is necessary”, and does not say why.
pronoun you = the disciples — both times
7
ἐγερθήσεται γὰρ ἔθνος ἐπὶ ἔθνος καὶ βασιλεία ἐπὶ βασιλείαν, καὶ ἔσονται ⸀λιμοὶ καὶ σεισμοὶ κατὰ τόπους·
For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places.
Famines and earthquakes — this book puts famine first.
8
πάντα δὲ ταῦτα ἀρχὴ ὠδίνων.
But all these are the beginning of birth pangs.
Birth pangs (ὠδῖνες, ōdines) — the picture is a beginning, not an end.
pronoun these = the wars, famines and earthquakes
9
Τότε παραδώσουσιν ὑμᾶς εἰς θλῖψιν καὶ ἀποκτενοῦσιν ὑμᾶς, καὶ ἔσεσθε μισούμενοι ὑπὸ πάντων τῶν ἐθνῶν διὰ τὸ ὄνομά μου.
Then they will hand you over to affliction and will kill you, and you will be hated by all the nations because of my name.
Affliction (θλῖψις, thlipsis) is the pressing-word of 13:21.
pronoun they = unnamed
pronoun you = the disciples — every “you” here is the disciples
pronoun my = Jesus
10
καὶ τότε σκανδαλισθήσονται πολλοὶ καὶ ἀλλήλους παραδώσουσιν καὶ μισήσουσιν ἀλλήλους·
And then many will stumble and will hand one another over and hate one another.
Hand one another over — the verb used of Judas, turned on each other.
11
καὶ πολλοὶ ψευδοπροφῆται ἐγερθήσονται καὶ πλανήσουσιν πολλούς·
And many false prophets will arise and will deceive many.
False prophets — the warning of 7:15.
12
καὶ διὰ τὸ πληθυνθῆναι τὴν ἀνομίαν ψυγήσεται ἡ ἀγάπη τῶν πολλῶν.
And because lawlessness is multiplied, the love of many will grow cold.
Lawlessness (ἀνομία, anomia) is the word of 7:23 and 23:28. Grow cold (ψύχομαι, psychomai) is used once in the four Gospels.
13
ὁ δὲ ὑπομείνας εἰς τέλος οὗτος σωθήσεται.
But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.
Endures (ὑπομένω, hypomenō) is built on the remaining-verb of John 15.
pronoun he = the one who endures
14
καὶ κηρυχθήσεται τοῦτο τὸ εὐαγγέλιον τῆς βασιλείας ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ οἰκουμένῃ εἰς μαρτύριον πᾶσιν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν, καὶ τότε ἥξει τὸ τέλος.
And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed in the whole inhabited world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.
Inhabited world renders οἰκουμένη (oikoumenē), the settled earth.
pronoun this = the gospel of the kingdom
15
Ὅταν οὖν ἴδητε τὸ βδέλυγμα τῆς ἐρημώσεως τὸ ῥηθὲν διὰ Δανιὴλ τοῦ προφήτου ⸀ἑστὸς ἐν τόπῳ ἁγίῳ, ὁ ἀναγινώσκων νοείτω,
So when you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in a holy place — let the reader understand —
Let the reader understand is the writer speaking to the reader, not Jesus to the disciples. Standing in a holy place — Mark 13:14 says “where he ought not”.
first here Daniel Δανιήλ Daniēl
pronoun you = the disciples
Why this rendering
Matt.24.15 Observation
Syntactic observation
The phrase βδέλυγμα τῆς ἐρημώσεως stands once each in Matthew and Mark, matching word for word. Luke 21:20 does not use the phrase at all — it has κυκλουμένην ὑπὸ στρατοπέδων Ἰερουσαλήμ, Jerusalem surrounded by armies, and says at once ἤγγικεν ἡ ἐρήμωσις αὐτῆς, her desolation has come near. στρατόπεδον is unique in the four Gospels, and ἐρήμωσις stands once in each of the three books, but Luke alone uses it without βδέλυγμα. Between Matthew and Mark, two things differ. First, Matthew gives the source — τὸ ῥηθὲν διὰ Δανιὴλ τοῦ προφήτου, spoken through Daniel the prophet. Mark 13:14 has no such clause; τὸ ῥηθὲν διά… is a frame Matthew uses repeatedly. Second, the standing place is named differently — Mark says ὅπου οὐ δεῖ, where it ought not, obliquely; Matthew says ἐν τόπῳ ἁγίῳ, in a holy place, directly. So where Mark leaves things veiled Matthew names them twice over: whose words, and which place. And Luke takes a third path — neither veiling nor naming, but dropping the phrase and saying what would be seen. What follows diverges too — in Mark, let those in Judea flee to the mountains continues in the same verse, while Matthew breaks it off into v.16. The clause between, ὁ ἀναγινώσκων νοείτω, let the reader understand, is identical in both, and neither book says whose words it is.
Rendering options · 2
Adopted “the abomination of desolation” and “in a holy place” — kept apart from Mark
Basis The phrase is shared, so the rendering is one; the two clauses that diverge are each rendered as the base text has them.
Render as “in the temple”, naming the place
Basis Lets the reader know what the holy place is.
Rejected Neither ἱερόν nor ναός is in the text; Matthew says more than Mark but not that much, and the translation does not fill the remaining gap.
16
τότε οἱ ἐν τῇ Ἰουδαίᾳ φευγέτωσαν ⸀ἐπὶ τὰ ὄρη,
then let those in Judea flee to the mountains;
Flee to the mountains — the instruction is practical, not figurative.
first here Judea Ἰουδαία Ioudaia
17
ὁ ἐπὶ τοῦ δώματος μὴ ⸀καταβάτω ἆραι τὰ ἐκ τῆς οἰκίας αὐτοῦ,
let the one on the housetop not go down to take the things out of his house;
The housetop was flat and reached by an outside stair.
pronoun his = the one on the housetop
18
καὶ ὁ ἐν τῷ ἀγρῷ μὴ ἐπιστρεψάτω ὀπίσω ἆραι ⸂τὸ ἱμάτιον⸃ αὐτοῦ.
and let the one in the field not turn back to take his garment.
His garment — the outer cloak, laid aside for work.
pronoun his = the one in the field
19
οὐαὶ δὲ ταῖς ἐν γαστρὶ ἐχούσαις καὶ ταῖς θηλαζούσαις ἐν ἐκείναις ταῖς ἡμέραις.
And woe to those who are pregnant and those nursing in those days.
Woe (οὐαί, ouai) is a cry, not a curse.
20
προσεύχεσθε δὲ ἵνα μὴ γένηται ἡ φυγὴ ὑμῶν χειμῶνος μηδὲ σαββάτῳ·
And pray that your flight may not happen in winter, nor on a sabbath.
Nor on a sabbath — only this book adds it; Mark 13:18 has winter alone.
pronoun your = the disciples
Why this rendering
Matt.24.20 Observation
Syntactic observation
Mark 13:18 names only winter — προσεύχεσθε δὲ ἵνα μὴ γένηται χειμῶνος. Matthew adds μηδὲ σαββάτῳ, nor on a sabbath. It is a clause Matthew alone has. σάββατον itself is common to all four books (twenty in Luke, thirteen in John, twelve in Mark, eleven in Matthew — Luke has the most), so this is not a rare word but an added one. Luke 21:21-23 has neither winter nor sabbath: χειμών, winter, stands twice in Matthew, once in Mark, once in John, and never in Luke. Where the sabbath is at issue in Matthew is above all ch. 12 — the grainfields (12:1-8) and the man with the withered hand (12:9-14), where it occurs eight times and the phrase lord of the sabbath appears. Matthew also builds the sentence differently: he supplies the noun φυγή, flight — that your flight may not happen — where Mark has no noun and says only that it may not happen in winter.
Rendering options · 2
Adopted “neither in winter nor on a sabbath” — the added clause kept
Basis Renders what stands in the base text; that it differs from Mark is what is visible here.
Render sabbath as “rest day”
Basis The reader gets the sense at once.
Rejected σάββατον occurs thirty-six times in the four Gospels and the disputes of ch. 12 hang on it; rendering it differently here makes it uncountable.
21
ἔσται γὰρ τότε θλῖψις μεγάλη οἵα οὐ γέγονεν ἀπ’ ἀρχῆς κόσμου ἕως τοῦ νῦν οὐδ’ οὐ μὴ γένηται.
For then there will be great affliction, such as has not happened from the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will.
Great affliction — the noun of verse 9, now with “great”.
22
καὶ εἰ μὴ ἐκολοβώθησαν αἱ ἡμέραι ἐκεῖναι, οὐκ ἂν ἐσώθη πᾶσα σάρξ· διὰ δὲ τοὺς ἐκλεκτοὺς κολοβωθήσονται αἱ ἡμέραι ἐκεῖναι.
And unless those days were cut short, no flesh would be saved; but for the sake of the chosen those days will be cut short.
No flesh is a Semitic turn for no one. Cut short stands twice.
23
τότε ἐάν τις ὑμῖν εἴπῃ· Ἰδοὺ ὧδε ὁ χριστός, ἤ· Ὧδε, μὴ πιστεύσητε·
Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ,' or ‘Here,' do not believe it.
Do not believe it — the warning of verse 4 put again.
pronoun you = the disciples
pronoun it = what is said
24
ἐγερθήσονται γὰρ ψευδόχριστοι καὶ ψευδοπροφῆται, καὶ δώσουσιν σημεῖα μεγάλα καὶ τέρατα ὥστε ⸀πλανῆσαι εἰ δυνατὸν καὶ τοὺς ἐκλεκτούς·
For false christs and false prophets will arise and will give great signs and wonders, so as to deceive, if possible, even the chosen.
If possible, even the chosen — the line leaves the possibility open and does not settle it.
25
ἰδοὺ προείρηκα ὑμῖν.
Behold, I have told you beforehand.
Beforehand — the whole speech is put as forewarning.
pronoun I = Jesus
pronoun you = the disciples
26
ἐὰν οὖν εἴπωσιν ὑμῖν· Ἰδοὺ ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ ἐστίν, μὴ ἐξέλθητε· Ἰδοὺ ἐν τοῖς ταμείοις, μὴ πιστεύσητε·
So if they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,' do not go out; ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,' do not believe it.
Inner rooms is the storeroom-word of 6:6.
pronoun they = those who say it
pronoun you = the disciples
pronoun he = the Christ — both times
pronoun it = what they say
27
ὥσπερ γὰρ ἡ ἀστραπὴ ἐξέρχεται ἀπὸ ἀνατολῶν καὶ φαίνεται ἕως δυσμῶν, οὕτως ⸀ἔσται ἡ παρουσία τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου·
For as the lightning comes out from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
As the lightning — the coming is said to need no announcing.
28
⸀ὅπου ἐὰν ᾖ τὸ πτῶμα, ἐκεῖ συναχθήσονται οἱ ἀετοί.
Wherever the corpse is, there the eagles will be gathered.
Eagles (ἀετοί, aetoi) is the Greek word for eagle, which also covers the vulture. The saying is left as bare as the Greek leaves it.
29
Εὐθέως δὲ μετὰ τὴν θλῖψιν τῶν ἡμερῶν ἐκείνων ὁ ἥλιος σκοτισθήσεται, καὶ ἡ σελήνη οὐ δώσει τὸ φέγγος αὐτῆς, καὶ οἱ ἀστέρες πεσοῦνται ἀπὸ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, καὶ αἱ δυνάμεις τῶν οὐρανῶν σαλευθήσονται.
And immediately after the affliction of those days the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its radiance, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
Immediately after — only this book joins the two so tightly.
pronoun its = the moon
30
καὶ τότε φανήσεται τὸ σημεῖον τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐν ⸀τῷ οὐρανῷ, καὶ τότε κόψονται πᾶσαι αἱ φυλαὶ τῆς γῆς καὶ ὄψονται τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐρχόμενον ἐπὶ τῶν νεφελῶν τοῦ οὐρανοῦ μετὰ δυνάμεως καὶ δόξης πολλῆς·
And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will beat their breasts, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
Beat their breasts renders κόπτω (koptō), the mourner's gesture. The sign of the Son of Man is this book's own phrase.
pronoun they = all the tribes of the earth — both times
pronoun their = the same
31
καὶ ἀποστελεῖ τοὺς ἀγγέλους αὐτοῦ μετὰ ⸀σάλπιγγος μεγάλης, καὶ ἐπισυνάξουσιν τοὺς ἐκλεκτοὺς αὐτοῦ ἐκ τῶν τεσσάρων ἀνέμων ἀπ’ ἄκρων οὐρανῶν ἕως ⸀τῶν ἄκρων αὐτῶν.
And he will send his angels with a great trumpet, and they will gather his chosen from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
A great trumpet — the manuscripts differ over whether “of a trumpet” or “with a trumpet” stands.
pronoun he = the Son of Man
pronoun his = the Son of Man — both times
pronoun they = his angels
32
Ἀπὸ δὲ τῆς συκῆς μάθετε τὴν παραβολήν· ὅταν ἤδη ὁ κλάδος αὐτῆς γένηται ἁπαλὸς καὶ τὰ φύλλα ἐκφύῃ, γινώσκετε ὅτι ἐγγὺς τὸ θέρος·
Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts out leaves, you know that summer is near.
The parable from the fig tree — the tree of 21:19 returns as a sign.
pronoun its = the fig tree
pronoun you = the disciples
33
οὕτως καὶ ὑμεῖς, ὅταν ἴδητε ⸂πάντα ταῦτα⸃, γινώσκετε ὅτι ἐγγύς ἐστιν ἐπὶ θύραις.
So also you, when you see all these things, know that he is near, at the doors.
He is near — the Greek has no subject, and can also be read “it is near”.
pronoun you = the disciples — both times
pronoun these things = what has been described
pronoun he = the one who comes — the Greek does not name a subject
34
ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν ⸀ὅτι οὐ μὴ παρέλθῃ ἡ γενεὰ αὕτη ἕως ἂν πάντα ταῦτα γένηται.
Amen I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things happen.
This generation — the hardest line in the chapter, and it is left as it stands.
pronoun I = Jesus
pronoun you = the disciples
pronoun these things = what has been described
35
ὁ οὐρανὸς καὶ ἡ γῆ ⸀παρελεύσεται, οἱ δὲ λόγοι μου οὐ μὴ παρέλθωσιν.
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
My words — set against heaven and earth.
pronoun my = Jesus
36
Περὶ δὲ τῆς ἡμέρας ἐκείνης καὶ ὥρας οὐδεὶς οἶδεν, οὐδὲ οἱ ἄγγελοι τῶν οὐρανῶν ⸂οὐδὲ ὁ υἱός⸃, εἰ μὴ ὁ ⸀πατὴρ μόνος.
But concerning that day and hour no one knows — not the angels of the heavens, nor the Son — but the Father alone.
Nor the Son — the manuscripts differ over whether these words stand, and this edition follows its base text in keeping them.
Why this rendering
Matt.24.36 Observation
Syntactic observation
SBLGNT prints οὐδὲ ὁ υἱός, nor the Son, in the text and marks it ⸂⸃ — a place where the manuscripts divide. At Mark 13:32 the phrase stands without division. Luke does not have the saying at all — Luke 21 goes straight from heaven and earth passing away (21:33) to the charge to watch (21:34), with no sentence about no one knowing the day and hour. Set the two verses side by side and other things diverge: Mark joins day and hour with ἤ, or; Matthew with καί, and. Mark has οἱ ἄγγελοι ἐν οὐρανῷ, the angels in heaven; Matthew οἱ ἄγγελοι τῶν οὐρανῶν, the angels of the heavens — the plural heavens of this book's kingdom of the heavens. And the endings differ: Mark stops at εἰ μὴ ὁ πατήρ, while Matthew adds μόνος, only. So Matthew's form narrows further to the Father alone — and the manuscript division falls on the clause just before it.
Rendering options · 2
Adopted Keep nor the Son in the text; record the division in the variants
Basis Rendered as the base text prints it. Since the phrase stands undivided in Mark, the manuscripts lacking it in Matthew look like the smoothed side — but that judgement is recorded in the variants, and the text follows the base.
Render without nor the Son
Basis Follows the manuscripts that lack it.
Rejected By our base-text decision we follow SBLGNT; and the direction runs one way — a hard clause being dropped is easy to imagine, one being added is not.
37
ὥσπερ ⸀γὰρ αἱ ἡμέραι τοῦ Νῶε, οὕτως ⸀ἔσται ἡ παρουσία τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου·
For as the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
The days of Noah — only this book and Luke 17:26 use the comparison.
first here Noah Νῶε Nōe
38
⸀ὡς γὰρ ἦσαν ἐν ταῖς ⸀ἡμέραις ταῖς πρὸ τοῦ κατακλυσμοῦ τρώγοντες καὶ πίνοντες, γαμοῦντες καὶ ⸀γαμίζοντες, ἄχρι ἧς ἡμέρας εἰσῆλθεν Νῶε εἰς τὴν κιβωτόν,
For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark,
Eating and drinking, marrying — the charge is not wickedness but not noticing.
pronoun they = those before the flood
39
καὶ οὐκ ἔγνωσαν ἕως ἦλθεν ὁ κατακλυσμὸς καὶ ἦρεν ἅπαντας, οὕτως ἔσται ⸀καὶ ἡ παρουσία τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου.
and they did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will be the coming of the Son of Man.
Took them all away renders αἴρω (airō), to lift and carry off.
pronoun they = those before the flood
pronoun them = those before the flood
40
τότε ⸂δύο ἔσονται⸃ ἐν τῷ ἀγρῷ, ⸀εἷς παραλαμβάνεται καὶ ⸁εἷς ἀφίεται·
Then two will be in the field: one is taken along and one is left.
Taken along (παραλαμβάνω, paralambanō) — the Greek says only that, and does not say to what.
pronoun one = one of the two in the field — both times
41
δύο ἀλήθουσαι ἐν τῷ ⸀μύλῳ, μία παραλαμβάνεται καὶ μία ἀφίεται.
Two women grinding at the mill: one is taken along and one is left.
Two women grinding at the mill — the pair matches the two men in the field.
pronoun one = one of the two women — both times
Why this rendering
Matt.24.41 Observation
Syntactic observation
μύλος, millstone, occurs twice in Matthew, the other at 18:6 as μύλος ὀνικός, a donkey's millstone — the thing hung on the neck of one who makes another stumble. Here the same word is the everyday tool two women sit at. ἀλήθω, to grind, stands at two places in the four Gospels, the other Luke 17:35, where too two women grind together and the feminine forms match (ἡ μία … ἡ ἑτέρα) — but the pair set before it differs. Matthew's v.40 has two in a field; Luke 17:34 has δύο ἐπὶ κλίνης μιᾶς, two on one bed. The paired sentences of vv.40-41 divide by gender in the grammar: v.40 has δύο … εἷς … εἷς, masculine; v.41 δύο ἀλήθουσαι … μία … μία, feminine. Neither Korean nor English marks it, so two and one stand there without gender. And two passive verbs are paired — παραλαμβάνεται, is taken along, and ἀφίεται, is left. ἀφίημι is also the four Gospels's word for forgive (it is the word of ch. 18), so it arrives here wearing another face. Mark 13 has nothing corresponding to vv.40-41 — the paired sentences stand in Matthew and Luke only, and the two books set a different pair before them.
Rendering options · 2
Adopted “two women grinding at the mill” — μύλος the same word as at 18:6
Basis The Greek pins v.41 to the feminine, so naming women is information the text carries; μύλος stays millstone/mill, joining it to 18:6.
Leave it genderless, “two”, as in v.40
Basis It pairs with v.40, so the form is matched.
Rejected The Greek deliberately divides the two verses by gender; matching them discards a distinction the text makes — one that English and Korean can in fact carry here.
Lost in translation
the gender of v.40 Verse 41 can be carried over, since its participle is feminine; but the εἷς … εἷς of v.40 is masculine and becomes a genderless one … one. The pairing of the two verses as men and women survives only by half.
Survives in · this edition — 5 of the nine carry it (not this language)
42
γρηγορεῖτε οὖν, ὅτι οὐκ οἴδατε ποίᾳ ⸀ἡμέρᾳ ὁ κύριος ὑμῶν ἔρχεται.
So stay awake, because you do not know on what day your Lord comes.
Keep watch (γρηγορέω, grēgoreō) is to stay awake — the word of 26:38.
pronoun you = the disciples
pronoun your = the disciples
43
ἐκεῖνο δὲ γινώσκετε ὅτι εἰ ᾔδει ὁ οἰκοδεσπότης ποίᾳ φυλακῇ ὁ κλέπτης ἔρχεται, ἐγρηγόρησεν ἂν καὶ οὐκ ἂν εἴασεν διορυχθῆναι τὴν οἰκίαν αὐτοῦ.
But know this: if the master of the house had known in what watch the thief comes, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into.
In what watch — the night was divided into watches.
pronoun this = what follows
pronoun he = the master of the house
pronoun his = the master of the house
44
διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ὑμεῖς γίνεσθε ἕτοιμοι, ὅτι ᾗ ⸂οὐ δοκεῖτε ὥρᾳ⸃ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἔρχεται.
For this reason you also be ready, because at an hour you do not expect the Son of Man comes.
At an hour you do not expect — the ground of the watching.
pronoun you = the disciples — both times
45
Τίς ἄρα ἐστὶν ὁ πιστὸς δοῦλος καὶ φρόνιμος ὃν κατέστησεν ὁ ⸀κύριος ἐπὶ τῆς ⸀οἰκετείας αὐτοῦ τοῦ ⸀δοῦναι αὐτοῖς τὴν τροφὴν ἐν καιρῷ;
Who then is the faithful and prudent slave whom the master set over his household, to give them their sustenance at the right time?
Prudent (φρόνιμος, phronimos) is practical good sense — the word of 7:24 and 25:2.
pronoun whom = the faithful and prudent slave
pronoun his = the slave
pronoun them = the household
pronoun their = the household
46
μακάριος ὁ δοῦλος ἐκεῖνος ὃν ἐλθὼν ὁ κύριος αὐτοῦ εὑρήσει ⸂οὕτως ποιοῦντα⸃·
Blessed is that slave whom his master, coming, will find doing so.
Doing so — found at the work, not waiting idle.
pronoun whom = that slave
pronoun his = that slave
47
ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι ἐπὶ πᾶσιν τοῖς ὑπάρχουσιν αὐτοῦ καταστήσει αὐτόν.
Amen I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions.
Over all his possessions — the reward is more of the same work.
pronoun I = Jesus
pronoun you = the disciples
pronoun he = his master
pronoun him = that slave
pronoun his = the master
48
ἐὰν δὲ εἴπῃ ὁ κακὸς δοῦλος ἐκεῖνος ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ αὐτοῦ· Χρονίζει ⸂μου ὁ κύριος⸃,
But if that wicked slave says in his heart, ‘My master is delayed,'
Says in his heart — the delay is not stated as fact but as what he tells himself.
pronoun his = that wicked slave
pronoun My = that slave
49
καὶ ἄρξηται τύπτειν τοὺς συνδούλους ⸂αὐτοῦ, ἐσθίῃ δὲ καὶ πίνῃ⸃ μετὰ τῶν μεθυόντων,
and begins to beat his fellow slaves and to eat and drink with the drunkards,
His fellow slaves — the beating is inside the household.
pronoun his = that slave
50
ἥξει ὁ κύριος τοῦ δούλου ἐκείνου ἐν ἡμέρᾳ ᾗ οὐ προσδοκᾷ καὶ ἐν ὥρᾳ ᾗ οὐ γινώσκει,
the master of that slave will come on a day he does not expect and at an hour he does not know,
On a day he does not expect — the words of verse 44 turned on the slave.
pronoun he = that slave — both times
51
καὶ διχοτομήσει αὐτὸν καὶ τὸ μέρος αὐτοῦ μετὰ τῶν ὑποκριτῶν θήσει· ἐκεῖ ἔσται ὁ κλαυθμὸς καὶ ὁ βρυγμὸς τῶν ὀδόντων.
and will cut him in two and put his portion with the hypocrites. There there will be the weeping and the grinding of teeth.
Cut him in two renders διχοτομέω (dichotomeō), used once in the four Gospels — the word is not softened.
pronoun him = that slave
pronoun his = that slave