Matthew 12:41-42

12:41 The people ¹  of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented when Jonah preached to them ²  – and now, ³  something greater than Jonah is here! 12:42 The queen of the South ⁴  will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon – and now, ⁵  something greater than Solomon is here!

Matthew 16:28

16:28 I tell you the truth, ⁶  there are some standing here who will not ⁷  experience ⁸  death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.” ⁹ 

Matthew 17:17

17:17 Jesus answered, ¹⁰  “You ¹¹  unbelieving ¹²  and perverse generation! How much longer ¹³  must I be with you? How much longer must I endure ¹⁴  you? ¹⁵  Bring him here to me.”

Matthew 24:2

24:2 And he said to them, ¹⁶  “Do you see all these things? I tell you the truth, ¹⁷  not one stone will be left on another. ¹⁸  All will be torn down!” ¹⁹ 

[12:41]  ¹ tn Grk “men”; the word here (ἀνήρ, anhr) usually indicates males or husbands, but occasionally is used in a generic sense of people in general, as here (cf. BDAG 79 s.v. 1.a, 2).

[12:41]  ² tn Grk “at the preaching of Jonah.”

[12:41]  ³ tn Grk “behold.”

[12:42]  ⁴ sn On the queen of the South see 1 Kgs 10:1-3 and 2 Chr 9:1-12, as well as Josephus, Ant. 8.6.5-6 (8.165-175). The South most likely refers to modern southwest Arabia, possibly the eastern part of modern Yemen, although there is an ancient tradition reflected in Josephus which identifies this geo-political entity as Ethiopia.

[12:42]  ⁵ tn Grk “behold.”

[16:28]  ⁷ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[16:28]  ⁸ tn The Greek negative here (οὐ μή, ou mh) is the strongest possible.

[16:28]  ⁹ tn Grk “will not taste.” Here the Greek verb does not mean “sample a small amount” (as a typical English reader might infer from the word “taste”), but “experience something cognitively or emotionally; come to know something” (cf. BDAG 195 s.v. γεύομαι 2).

[16:28]  ¹⁰ sn Several suggestions have been made as to the referent for the phrase the Son of Man coming in his kingdom: (1) the transfiguration itself, which immediately follows in the narrative; (2) Jesus’ resurrection and ascension; (3) the coming of the Spirit; (4) Christ’s role in the Church; (5) the destruction of Jerusalem; (6) Jesus’ second coming and the establishment of the kingdom. The reference to six days later in 17:1 seems to indicate that Matthew had the transfiguration in mind insofar as it was a substantial prefiguring of the consummation of the kingdom (although this interpretation is not without its problems). As such, the transfiguration would be a tremendous confirmation to the disciples that even though Jesus had just finished speaking of his death (in vv. 21-23), he was nonetheless the promised Messiah and things were proceeding according to God’s plan.

[17:17]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “And answering, Jesus said.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation.

[17:17]  ¹¹ tn Grk “O.” The marker of direct address, ὦ (w), is functionally equivalent to a vocative and is represented in the translation by “you.”

[17:17]  ¹² tn Or “faithless.”

[17:17]  ¹³ tn Grk “how long.”

[17:17]  ¹⁴ tn Or “put up with.” See Num 11:12; Isa 46:4.

[17:17]  ¹⁵ sn The pronouns you…you are plural, indicating that Jesus is speaking to a group rather than an individual.

[24:2]  ¹³ tn Grk “answering, he said to them.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (ajpokriqei") is redundant in English and has not been translated.

[24:2]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[24:2]  ¹⁵ sn With the statement not one stone will be left on another Jesus predicted the total destruction of the temple, something that did occur in a.d. 70.

[24:2]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “not one stone will be left here on another which will not be thrown down.”