Lukas 21:34-36

Be Ready!

21:34 “But be on your guard ¹  so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day close down upon you suddenly like a trap. ²  21:35 For ³  it will overtake ⁴  all who live on the face of the whole earth. ⁵  21:36 But stay alert at all times, ⁶  praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that must ⁷  happen, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

Matius 24:42

24:42 “Therefore stay alert, because you do not know on what day ⁸  your Lord will come.

Matius 24:44

24:44 Therefore you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. ⁹ 

Matius 25:13

25:13 Therefore stay alert, because you do not know the day or the hour. ¹⁰ 

Markus 13:33-36

13:33 Watch out! Stay alert! ¹¹  For you do not know when the time will come. 13:34 It is like a man going on a journey. He left his house and put his slaves ¹²  in charge, assigning ¹³  to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to stay alert. 13:35 Stay alert, then, because you do not know when the owner of the house will return – whether during evening, at midnight, when the rooster crows, or at dawn – 13:36 or else he might find you asleep when he returns suddenly.

Roma 13:11

Motivation to Godly Conduct

13:11 And do this ¹⁴  because we know ¹⁵  the time, that it is already the hour for us to awake from sleep, for our salvation is now nearer than when we became believers.

Roma 13:14

13:14 Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to arouse its desires. ¹⁶ 

Roma 13:1

Submission to Civil Government

13:1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except by God’s appointment, ¹⁷  and the authorities that exist have been instituted by God.

Roma 5:6

5:6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.

Roma 5:2

5:2 through whom we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice ¹⁸  in the hope of God’s glory.

Pengkhotbah 3:12-14

Enjoy Life in the Present

3:12 I have concluded ¹⁹  that there is nothing better for people ²⁰ 

than ²¹  to be happy and to enjoy

themselves ²²  as long as they live,

3:13 and also that everyone should eat and drink, and find enjoyment in all his toil,

for these things ²³  are a gift from God.

God’s Sovereignty

3:14 I also know that whatever God does will endure forever;

nothing can be added to it, and nothing taken away from it.

God has made it this way, so that men will fear him.

Wahyu 19:7

19:7 Let us rejoice ²⁴  and exult

and give him glory,

because the wedding celebration of the Lamb has come,

and his bride has made herself ready.

[21:34]  ¹ tn Grk “watch out for yourselves.”

[21:34]  sn Disciples are to watch out. If they are too absorbed into everyday life, they will stop watching and living faithfully.

[21:34]  ² sn Or like a thief, see Luke 12:39-40. The metaphor of a trap is a vivid one. Most modern English translations traditionally place the words “like a trap” at the end of v. 34, completing the metaphor. In the Greek text (and in the NRSV and REB) the words “like a trap” are placed at the beginning of v. 35. This does not affect the meaning.

[21:35]  ³ tn There is debate in the textual tradition about the position of γάρ (gar) and whether v. 35 looks back to v. 34 or is independent. The textual evidence does slightly favor placing γάρ after the verb and thus linking it back to v. 34. The other reading looks like Isa 24:17. However, the construction is harsh and the translation prefers for stylistic reasons to start a new English sentence here.

[21:35]  ⁴ tn Or “come upon.”

[21:35]  ⁵ sn This judgment involves everyone: all who live on the face of the whole earth. No one will escape this evaluation.

[21:36]  ⁶ sn The call to be alert at all times is a call to remain faithful in looking for the Lord’s return.

[21:36]  ⁷ tn For the translation of μέλλω (mellw) as “must,” see L&N 71.36.

[24:42]  ⁸ tc Most later mss (L 0281 Ï lat) have here ὥρᾳ ({wra, “hour”) instead of ἡμέρα (Jemera, “day”). Although the merits of this reading could be argued either way, in light of the overwhelming and diverse early support for ἡμέρᾳ ({א B C D W Δ Θ Ë¹³ 33 892 1424, as well as several versions and fathers}), the more general term is surely correct.

[24:44]  ⁹ sn Jesus made clear that his coming could not be timed, and suggested it would take some time – so long, in fact, that some will not be looking for him any longer (at an hour when you do not expect him).

[25:13]  ¹⁰ tc Most later mss (C³ ˹³ 1424^c Ï) also read here “in which the Son of Man is coming” (ἐν ᾗ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἔρχεται, en |h Jo Juio" tou anqrwpou ercetai), reproducing almost verbatim the last line of Matt 24:44. The longer reading thus appears to be an explanatory expansion and should not be considered authentic. The earlier and better witnesses ({̳⁵ א A B C* D L W Δ Θ Ë¹ 33 565 892 1424* lat co}) lack this phrase.

[13:33]  ¹¹ tc The vast majority of witnesses (א A C L W Θ Ψ Ë^1,13 Ï lat sy co) have καὶ προσεύχεσθε after ἀγρυπνεῖτε (agrupneite kai proseucesqe, “stay alert and pray”). This may be a motivated reading, influenced by the similar command in Mark 14:38 where προσεύχεσθε is solidly attested, and more generally from the parallel in Luke 21:36 (though δέομαι [deomai, “ask”] is used there). As B. M. Metzger notes, it is a predictable variant that scribes would have been likely to produce independently of each other (TCGNT 95). The words are not found in B D 2427 a c {d} k. Although the external evidence for the shorter reading is slender, it probably better accounts for the longer reading than vice versa.

[13:34]  ¹² tn See the note on the word “slave” in 10:44.

[13:34]  ¹³ tn Grk “giving.”

[13:11]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “and this,” probably referring to the command to love (13:8-10); hence, “do” is implied from the previous verses.

[13:11]  ¹⁵ tn The participle εἰδότες (eidotes) has been translated as a causal adverbial participle.

[13:14]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “make no provision for the flesh unto desires.”

[13:1]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “by God.”

[5:2]  ¹⁸ tn Or “exult, boast.”

[3:12]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “I know.”

[3:12]  ²⁰ tn Heb “for them”; the referent (people, i.e., mankind) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:12]  ²¹ tn Qoheleth uses the exceptive particle אִם…כִּי (ki…’im, “except”) to identify the only exception to the futility within man’s life (BDB 474 s.v. כִּי 2).

[3:12]  ²² tn Heb “to do good.” The phrase לַעֲשׂוֹת טוֹב (la’asot tov) functions idiomatically for “to experience [or see] happiness [or joy].” The verb עָשַׂה (’asah) probably denotes “to acquire; to obtain” (BDB 795 s.v. עָשַׂה II.7), and טוֹב (tov) means “good; pleasure; happiness,” e.g., Eccl 2:24; 3:13; 5:17 (BDB 375 s.v. טוֹב 1).

[3:13]  ²³ tn Heb “for it.” The referent of the 3rd person feminine singular independent person pronoun (“it”) is probably the preceding statement: “to eat, drink, and find satisfaction.” This would be an example of an anacoluthon (GKC 505-6 §167.b). Thus the present translation uses “these things” to indicate the reference back to the preceding.

[19:7]  ²⁴ tn This verb and the next two verbs are hortatory subjunctives (giving exhortations).