Matthew 24:42-44

24:42 “Therefore stay alert, because you do not know on what day ¹  your Lord will come. 24:43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief ²  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. ³ 

Mark 13:33-37

13:33 Watch out! Stay alert! ⁴  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 ⁵  in charge, assigning ⁶  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. 13:37 What I say to you I say to everyone: Stay alert!”

Luke 21:36

21:36 But stay alert at all times, ⁷  praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that must ⁸  happen, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

Acts 20:31

20:31 Therefore be alert, ⁹  remembering that night and day for three years I did not stop warning ¹⁰  each one of you with tears.

Acts 20:1

Paul Travels Through Macedonia and Greece

20:1 After the disturbance had ended, Paul sent for the disciples, and after encouraging ¹¹  them and saying farewell, ¹²  he left to go to Macedonia. ¹³ 

Colossians 1:13

1:13 He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son he loves, ¹⁴ 

Colossians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ¹⁵  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Colossians 1:6

1:6 that has come to you. Just as in the entire world this gospel ¹⁶  is bearing fruit and growing, so it has also been bearing fruit and growing ¹⁷  among you from the first day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth.

Colossians 1:2

1:2 to the saints, the faithful ¹⁸  brothers and sisters ¹⁹  in Christ, at Colossae. Grace and peace to you ²⁰  from God our Father! ²¹ 

Colossians 4:5

4:5 Conduct yourselves ²²  with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunities.

Colossians 4:1

4:1 Masters, treat your slaves with justice and fairness, because you know that you also have a master in heaven.

Colossians 4:7

Personal Greetings and Instructions

4:7 Tychicus, a dear brother, faithful minister, and fellow slave ²³  in the Lord, will tell you all the news about me. ²⁴ 

Colossians 1:8

1:8 who also told us of your love in the Spirit.

Revelation 16:15

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

Blessed is the one who stays alert and does not lose ²⁵  his clothes so that he will not have to walk around naked and his shameful condition ²⁶  be seen.) ²⁷ 

[24:42]  ¹ 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]  ² 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]  ³ 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).

[13:33]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn See the note on the word “slave” in 10:44.

[13:34]  ⁶ tn Grk “giving.”

[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.

[20:31]  ⁷ tn Or “be watchful.”

[20:31]  ⁸ tn Or “admonishing.”

[20:1]  ⁸ tn Or “exhorting.”

[20:1]  ⁹ tn Or “and taking leave of them.”

[20:1]  ¹⁰ sn Macedonia was the Roman province of Macedonia in Greece.

[1:13]  ⁹ tn Here αὐτοῦ (autou) has been translated as a subjective genitive (“he loves”).

[1:1]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:6]  ¹¹ tn Grk “just as in the entire world it is bearing fruit.” The antecedent (“the gospel”) of the implied subject (“it”) of ἐστιν (estin) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:6]  ¹² tn Though the participles are periphrastic with the present tense verb ἐστίν (estin), the presence of the temporal indicator “from the day” in the next clause indicates that this is a present tense that reaches into the past and should be translated as “has been bearing fruit and growing.” For a discussion of this use of the present tense, see ExSyn 519-20.

[1:2]  ¹² tn Grk “and faithful.” The construction in Greek (as well as Paul’s style) suggests that the saints are identical to the faithful; hence, the καί (kai) is best left untranslated (cf. Eph 1:1). See ExSyn 281-82.

[1:2]  ¹³ tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited).

[1:2]  ¹⁴ tn Or “Grace to you and peace.”

[1:2]  ¹⁵ tc Most witnesses, including some important ones (א A C F G I [P] 075 Ï it bo), read “and the Lord Jesus Christ” at the end of this verse, no doubt to conform the wording to the typical Pauline salutation. However, excellent and early witnesses (B D K L Ψ 33 81 1175 1505 1739 1881 al sa) lack this phrase. Since the omission is inexplicable as arising from the longer reading (otherwise, these mss would surely have deleted the phrase in the rest of the corpus Paulinum), it is surely authentic.

[4:5]  ¹³ tn Grk “walk.” The verb περιπατέω (peripatew) is a common NT idiom for one’s lifestyle, behavior, or manner of conduct (L&N 41.11).

[4:7]  ¹⁴ tn See the note on “fellow slave” in 1:7.

[4:7]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “all things according to me.”

[16:15]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁷ 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.