Matthew 24:3-4

Signs of the End of the Age

24:3 As ¹  he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, his disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will these things ²  happen? And what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” 24:4 Jesus answered them, ³  “Watch out ⁴  that no one misleads you.

Luke 13:23-24

13:23 Someone ⁵  asked ⁶  him, “Lord, will only a few ⁷  be saved?” So ⁸  he said to them, 13:24 “Exert every effort ⁹  to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.

Acts 1:6-7

1:6 So when they had gathered together, they began to ask him, ¹⁰  “Lord, is this the time when you are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” 1:7 He told them, “You are not permitted to know ¹¹  the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority.

[24:3]  ¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[24:3]  ² sn Because the phrase these things is plural, more than the temple’s destruction is in view. The question may presuppose that such a catastrophe signals the end.

[24:4]  ³ tn Grk “answering, Jesus said to them.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation.

[24:4]  ⁴ tn Or “Be on guard.”

[13:23]  ⁵ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[13:23]  ⁶ tn Grk “said to.”

[13:23]  ⁷ sn The warnings earlier in Jesus’ teaching have led to the question whether only a few will be saved.

[13:23]  ⁸ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate that Jesus’ reply was triggered by the preceding question.

[13:24]  ⁹ tn Or “Make every effort” (L&N 68.74; cf. NIV); “Do your best” (TEV); “Work hard” (NLT); Grk “Struggle.” The idea is to exert one’s maximum effort (cf. BDAG 17 s.v. ἀγωνίζομαι 2.b, “strain every nerve to enter”) because of the supreme importance of attaining entry into the kingdom of God.

[1:6]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “they began to ask him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated. The imperfect tense of the Greek verb ἠρώτων (hrwtwn) has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.

[1:7]  ¹¹ tn Grk “It is not for you to know.”