Matthew 24:38-51

24:38 For in those days before the flood, people ¹  were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark. 24:39 And they knew nothing until the flood came and took them all away. ²  It will be the same at the coming of the Son of Man. ³  24:40 Then there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one left. ⁴  24:41 There will be two women grinding grain with a mill; ⁵  one will be taken and one left.

24:42 “Therefore stay alert, because you do not know on what day ⁶  your Lord will come. 24:43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief ⁷  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. ⁸ 

The Faithful and Wise Slave

24:45 “Who then is the faithful and wise slave, ⁹  whom the master has put in charge of his household, to give the other slaves ¹⁰  their food at the proper time? 24:46 Blessed is that slave whom the master finds at work ¹¹  when he comes. 24:47 I tell you the truth, ¹²  the master ¹³  will put him in charge of all his possessions. 24:48 But if ¹⁴  that evil slave should say to himself, ¹⁵  ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ 24:49 and he begins to beat his fellow slaves and to eat and drink with drunkards, 24:50 then the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not foresee, 24:51 and will cut him in two, ¹⁶  and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

[24:38]  ¹ tn Grk “they,” but in an indefinite sense, “people.”

[24:39]  ² sn Like the flood that came and took them all away, the coming judgment associated with the Son of Man will condemn many.

[24:39]  ³ tn Grk “So also will be the coming of the Son of Man.”

[24:40]  ⁴ sn There is debate among commentators and scholars over the phrase one will be taken and one left about whether one is taken for judgment or for salvation. If the imagery is patterned after the rescue of Noah from the flood, as some suggest, the ones taken are the saved (as Noah was) andthose left behind are judged. The imagery, however, is not directly tied to theidentification of the two groups. Its primary purposein context is topicture the sudden, surprisingseparation of the righteous and the judged (i.e., condemned) at the return of the Son of Man.

[24:41]  ⁵ tn According to L&N 46.16, this refers to a hand mill normally operated by two women.

[24:42]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ 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).

[24:45]  ⁹ tn See the note on the word “slave” in 8:9.

[24:45]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “give them.”

[24:46]  ¹¹ tn That is, doing his job, doing what he is supposed to be doing.

[24:47]  ¹² tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[24:47]  ¹³ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the master) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[24:48]  ¹⁴ tn In the Greek text this is a third class condition that for all practical purposes is a hypothetical condition (note the translation of the following verb “should say”).

[24:48]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “should say in his heart.”

[24:51]  ¹⁶ tn The verb διχοτομέω (dicotomew) means to cut an object into two parts (L&N 19.19). This is an extremely severe punishment compared to the other two later punishments. To translate it simply as “punish” is too mild. If taken literally this servant is dismembered, although it is possible to view the stated punishment as hyperbole (L&N 38.12).