Matthew 24:28-30

24:28 Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures ¹  will gather. ² 

The Arrival of the Son of Man

24:29 “Immediately ³  after the suffering ⁴  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. ⁵  24:30 Then ⁶  the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, ⁷  and ⁸  all the tribes of the earth will mourn. They ⁹  will see the Son of Man arriving on the clouds of heaven ¹⁰  with power and great glory.

[24:28]  ¹ tn The same Greek term can refer to “eagles” or “vultures” (L&N 4.42; BDAG 22 s.v. ἀετός), but in this context it must mean vultures because the gruesome image is one of dead bodies being consumed by scavengers.

[24:28]  ² tn Grk “will be gathered.” The passive construction has been translated as an active one in English.

[24:29]  ³ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[24:29]  ⁴ tn Traditionally, “tribulation.”

[24:29]  ⁵ 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.

[24:30]  ⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[24:30]  ⁶ tn Or “in the sky”; the Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context.

[24:30]  ⁷ tn Here τότε (tote, “then”) has not been translated to avoid redundancy in English.

[24:30]  ⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[24:30]  ⁹ sn An allusion to Dan 7:13. Here is Jesus returning with full authority to judge.