Mark 13:23

13:23 Be careful! I have told you everything ahead of time.

Mark 13:35-37

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. 13:37 What I say to you I say to everyone: Stay alert!”

Mark 14:37-38

14:37 Then ¹  he came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “Simon, are you sleeping? Couldn’t you stay awake for one hour? 14:38 Stay awake and pray that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Matthew 24:42-44

24:42 “Therefore stay alert, because you do not know on what day ²  your Lord will come. 24:43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief ³  was coming, he would have been alert and would not have let his house be broken into. 24:44 Therefore you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. ⁴ 

Matthew 25:13

25:13 Therefore stay alert, because you do not know the day or the hour. ⁵ 

Matthew 26:40-41

26:40 Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. He ⁶  said to Peter, “So, couldn’t you stay awake with me for one hour? 26:41 Stay awake and pray that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Luke 12:40

12:40 You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” ⁷ 

Luke 21:34-36

Be Ready!

21:34 “But be on your guard ⁸  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. ⁹  21:35 For ¹⁰  it will overtake ¹¹  all who live on the face of the whole earth. ¹²  21:36 But stay alert at all times, ¹³  praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that must ¹⁴  happen, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

Romans 13:11-12

Motivation to Godly Conduct

13:11 And do this ¹⁵  because we know ¹⁶  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. 13:12 The night has advanced toward dawn; the day is near. So then we must lay aside the works of darkness, and put on the weapons of light.

Romans 13:14

13:14 Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to arouse its desires. ¹⁷ 

Romans 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, ¹⁸  and the authorities that exist have been instituted by God.

Colossians 1:13

1:13 He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son he loves, ¹⁹ 

Ephesians 6:18

6:18 With every prayer and petition, pray ²⁰  at all times in the Spirit, and to this end ²¹  be alert, with all perseverance and requests for all the saints.

Ephesians 6:1

6:1 Children, ²²  obey your parents in the Lord ²³  for this is right.

Ephesians 5:5-8

5:5 For you can be confident of this one thing: ²⁴  that no person who is immoral, impure, or greedy (such a person is an idolater) has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

Live in the Light

5:6 Let nobody deceive you with empty words, for because of these things God’s wrath comes on the sons of disobedience. ²⁵  5:7 Therefore do not be partakers with them, ²⁶  5:8 for you were at one time darkness, but now you are ²⁷  light in the Lord. Walk as children of the light –

Hebrews 12:15

12:15 See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God, that no one be like a bitter root springing up ²⁸  and causing trouble, and through him many become defiled.

Hebrews 12:1

The Lord’s Discipline

12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, ²⁹  we must get rid of every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and run with endurance the race set out for us,

Hebrews 4:7

4:7 So God ³⁰  again ordains a certain day, “Today,” speaking through David ³¹  after so long a time, as in the words quoted before, ³²  “O, that today you would listen as he speaks! ³³  Do not harden your hearts.”

Hebrews 5:8

5:8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience through the things he suffered. ³⁴ 

Revelation 3:2

3:2 Wake up then, and strengthen what remains that was about ³⁵  to die, because I have not found your deeds complete ³⁶  in the sight ³⁷  of my God.

Revelation 16:15

16:15 (Look! I will come like a thief!

Blessed is the one who stays alert and does not lose ³⁸  his clothes so that he will not have to walk around naked and his shameful condition ³⁹  be seen.) ⁴⁰ 

[14:37]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[24:42]  ² 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.

[24:43]  ³ sn On Jesus pictured as a returning thief, see 1 Thess 5:2, 4; 2 Pet 3:10; Rev 3:3; 16:15.

[24:44]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ 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.

[26:40]  ⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[12:40]  ⁷ sn Jesus made clear that his coming could not be timed, and suggested it might take some time – so long, in fact, that some would not be looking for him any longer (at an hour when you do not expect him).

[21:34]  ⁸ tn Grk “watch out for yourselves.”

[21:34]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ tn Or “come upon.”

[21:35]  ¹² sn This judgment involves everyone: all who live on the face of the whole earth. No one will escape this evaluation.

[21:36]  ¹³ sn The call to be alert at all times is a call to remain faithful in looking for the Lord’s return.

[21:36]  ¹⁴ tn For the translation of μέλλω (mellw) as “must,” see L&N 71.36.

[13:11]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “and this,” probably referring to the command to love (13:8-10); hence, “do” is implied from the previous verses.

[13:11]  ¹⁶ tn The participle εἰδότες (eidotes) has been translated as a causal adverbial participle.

[13:14]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “make no provision for the flesh unto desires.”

[13:1]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “by God.”

[1:13]  ¹⁹ tn Here αὐτοῦ (autou) has been translated as a subjective genitive (“he loves”).

[6:18]  ²⁰ tn Both “pray” and “be alert” are participles in the Greek text (“praying…being alert”). Both are probably instrumental, loosely connected with all of the preceding instructions. As such, they are not additional commands to do but instead are the means through which the prior instructions are accomplished.

[6:18]  ²¹ tn Grk “and toward it.”

[6:1]  ²² tn The use of the article τά (ta) with τέκνα (tekna) functions in a generic way to distinguish this group from husbands, wives, fathers and slaves and is left, therefore, untranslated. The generic article is used with γύναῖκες (gunaikes) in 5:22, ἄνδρες (andres) in 5:25, δοῦλοι (douloi) in 6:5, and κύριοι (kurioi) in 6:9.

[6:1]  ²³ tc B D* F G as well as a few versional and patristic representatives lack “in the Lord” (ἐν κυρίῳ, en kuriw), while the phrase is well represented in Ì⁴⁶ א A D¹ I^vid Ψ 0278 0285 33 1739 1881 Ï sy co. Scribes may have thought that the phrase could be regarded a qualifier on the kind of parents a child should obey (viz., only Christian parents), and would thus be tempted to delete the phrase to counter such an interpretation. It is unlikely that the phrase would have been added, since the form used to express such sentiment in this Haustafel is ὡς τῷ κυρίῳ/Χριστῷ (Jw" tw kuriw/Cristw, “as to the Lord/Christ”; see 5:22; 6:5). Even though the witnesses for the omission are impressive, it is more likely that the phrase was deleted than added by scribal activity.

[5:5]  ²⁴ tn Grk “be knowing this.” See also 2 Pet 1:20 for a similar phrase: τοῦτο πρῶτον γινώσκοντες (touto prwton ginwskonte").

[5:6]  ²⁵ sn The expression sons of disobedience is a Semitic idiom that means “people characterized by disobedience.” In this context it refers to “all those who are disobedient.” Cf. Eph 2:2-3.

[5:7]  ²⁶ tn The genitive αὐτῶν (autwn) has been translated as a genitive of association because of its use with συμμέτοχοι (summetocoi) – a verb which implies association in the σύν- (sun-) prefix.

[5:8]  ²⁷ tn The verb “you are” is implied in the Greek text, but is supplied in the English translation to make it clear.

[12:15]  ²⁸ tn Grk “that there not be any root of bitterness,” but referring figuratively to a person who causes trouble (as in Deut 29:17 [LXX] from which this is quoted).

[12:1]  ²⁹ tn Grk “having such a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us.”

[4:7]  ³⁰ tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:7]  ³¹ sn Ps 95 does not mention David either in the text or the superscription. It is possible that the writer of Hebrews is attributing the entire collection of psalms to David (although some psalms are specifically attributed to other individuals or groups).

[4:7]  ³² tn Grk “as it has been said before” (see Heb 3:7).

[4:7]  ³³ tn Grk “today if you hear his voice.”

[5:8]  ³⁴ sn There is a wordplay in the Greek text between the verbs “learned” (ἔμαθεν, emaqen) and “suffered” (ἔπαθεν, epaqen).

[3:2]  ³⁵ tn The verb ἔμελλον (emellon) is in the imperfect tense.

[3:2]  ³⁶ tn The perfect passive participle has been translated as an intensive (resultative) perfect here.

[3:2]  ³⁷ tn Or “in the judgment.” BDAG 342 s.v. ἐνώπιον 3 states, “in the opinion/judgment of…As a rule…of θεός or κύριος; so after…πεπληρωμένος Rv 3:2.”

[16:15]  ³⁸ tn Grk “and keeps.” BDAG 1002 s.v. τηρέω 2.c states “of holding on to someth. so as not to give it up or lose it…τὰ ἱμάτια αὐτοῦ Rv 16:15 (or else he will have to go naked).”

[16:15]  ³⁹ tn On the translation of ἀσχημοσύνη (aschmosunh) as “shameful condition” see L&N 25.202. The indefinite third person plural (“and they see”) has been translated as a passive here.

[16:15]  ⁴⁰ sn These lines are parenthetical, forming an aside to the narrative. The speaker here is the Lord Jesus Christ himself rather than the narrator. Many interpreters have seen this verse as so abrupt that it could not be an original part of the work, but the author has used such asides before (1:7; 14:13) and the suddenness here (on the eve of Armageddon) is completely parallel to Jesus’ warning in Mark 13:15-16 and parallels.