Matthew 24:42

24:42 “Therefore stay alert, because you do not know on what day ¹  your Lord will come.

Matthew 25:13

25:13 Therefore stay alert, because you do not know the day or the hour. ² 

Matthew 26:41

26:41 Stay awake and pray that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Mark 13:33-37

13:33 Watch out! Stay alert! ³  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 ⁴  in charge, assigning ⁵  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!”

Mark 14:38

14:38 Stay awake and pray that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Luke 12:37-43

12:37 Blessed are those slaves ⁶  whom their master finds alert ⁷  when he returns! I tell you the truth, ⁸  he will dress himself to serve, ⁹  have them take their place at the table, ¹⁰  and will come ¹¹  and wait on them! ¹²  12:38 Even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night ¹³  and finds them alert, ¹⁴  blessed are those slaves! ¹⁵  12:39 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief ¹⁶  was coming, he would not have let ¹⁷  his house be broken into. 12:40 You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” ¹⁸ 

12:41 Then ¹⁹  Peter said, “Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for everyone?” ²⁰  12:42 The Lord replied, ²¹  “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, ²²  whom the master puts in charge of his household servants, ²³  to give them their allowance of food at the proper time? 12:43 Blessed is that slave ²⁴  whom his master finds at work ²⁵  when he returns.

Luke 21:36

21:36 But stay alert at all times, ²⁶  praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that must ²⁷  happen, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

Acts 20:31

20:31 Therefore be alert, ²⁸  remembering that night and day for three years I did not stop warning ²⁹  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 ³⁰  them and saying farewell, ³¹  he left to go to Macedonia. ³² 

Acts 5:6

5:6 So the young men came, ³³  wrapped him up, ³⁴  carried him out, and buried ³⁵  him.

Acts 5:1

The Judgment on Ananias and Sapphira

5:1 Now a man named Ananias, together with Sapphira his wife, sold a piece of property.

Acts 4:7

4:7 After ³⁶  making Peter and John ³⁷  stand in their midst, they began to inquire, “By what power or by what name ³⁸  did you do this?”

[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.

[25:13]  ² tc Most later mss (C³ ˹³ 1424^c Ï) also read here “in which the Son of Man is coming” (ἐν ᾗ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἔρχεται, en |h Jo Juio" tou anqrwpou ercetai), reproducing almost verbatim the last line of Matt 24:44. The longer reading thus appears to be an explanatory expansion and should not be considered authentic. The earlier and better witnesses ({̳⁵ א A B C* D L W Δ Θ Ë¹ 33 565 892 1424* lat co}) lack this phrase.

[13:33]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn See the note on the word “slave” in 10:44.

[13:34]  ⁵ tn Grk “giving.”

[12:37]  ⁶ tn See the note on the word “slave” in 7:2.

[12:37]  ⁷ tn Or “watching”; Grk “awake,” but in context this is not just being awake but alert and looking out.

[12:37]  ⁸ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[12:37]  ⁹ tn See v. 35 (same verb).

[12:37]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “have them recline at table,” as 1st century middle eastern meals were not eaten while sitting at a table, but while reclining on one’s side on the floor with the head closest to the low table and the feet farthest away.

[12:37]  ¹¹ tn The participle παρελθών (parelqwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[12:37]  ¹² sn He…will come and wait on them is a reversal of expectation, but shows that what Jesus asks for he is willing to do as well; see John 13:5 and 15:18-27, although those instances merely foreshadow what is in view here.

[12:38]  ¹³ sn The second or third watch of the night would be between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m. on a Roman schedule and 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. on a Jewish schedule. Luke uses the four-watch schedule of the Romans in Acts 12:4, so that is more probable here. Regardless of the precise times of the watches, however, it is clear that the late-night watches when a person is least alert are in view here.

[12:38]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “finds (them) thus”; but this has been clarified in the translation by referring to the status (“alert”) mentioned in v. 37.

[12:38]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “blessed are they”; the referent (the watchful slaves, v. 37) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:39]  ¹⁶ sn On Jesus pictured as a returning thief, see 1 Thess 5:2, 4; 2 Pet 3:10; Rev 3:3; 16:15.

[12:39]  ¹⁷ tc Most mss (א¹ A B L Q W Θ Ψ 070 Ë^1,13 33 Ï lat sy^p,h sa^ms bo) read “he would have watched and not let” here, but this looks like an assimilation to Matt 24:43. The alliance of two important and early mss along with a few others (Ì⁷⁵ א* [D] e i sy^s,c sa^mss), coupled with much stronger internal evidence, suggests that the shorter reading is authentic.

[12:40]  ¹⁸ sn Jesus made clear that his coming could not be timed, and suggested it might take some time – so long, in fact, that some would not be looking for him any longer (at an hour when you do not expect him).

[12:41]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “And Peter.” Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the connection to the preceding statement.

[12:41]  ²⁰ sn Is the parable only for disciples (us) or for all humanity (everyone)? Or does Peter mean for disciples (us) or for the crowd (everyone)? The fact that unfaithful slaves are mentioned in v. 46 looks to a warning that includes a broad audience, though it is quality of service that is addressed. This means the parable focuses on those who are associated with Jesus.

[12:42]  ²¹ tn Grk “And the Lord said.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[12:42]  ²² tn Or “administrator,” “steward” (L&N 37.39).

[12:42]  ²³ tn This term, θεραπεία (qerapeia), describes the group of servants working in a particular household (L&N 46.6).

[12:43]  ²⁴ tn See the note on the word “slave” in 7:2.

[12:43]  ²⁵ tn That is, doing his job, doing what he is supposed to be doing.

[21:36]  ²⁶ sn The call to be alert at all times is a call to remain faithful in looking for the Lord’s return.

[21:36]  ²⁷ tn For the translation of μέλλω (mellw) as “must,” see L&N 71.36.

[20:31]  ²⁸ tn Or “be watchful.”

[20:31]  ²⁹ tn Or “admonishing.”

[20:1]  ³⁰ tn Or “exhorting.”

[20:1]  ³¹ tn Or “and taking leave of them.”

[20:1]  ³² sn Macedonia was the Roman province of Macedonia in Greece.

[5:6]  ³³ tn Or “arose.”

[5:6]  ³⁴ tn The translation “wrapped up” for συνέστειλαν (sunesteilan) is suggested by L&N 79.119, but another interpretation is possible. The same verb could also be translated “removed” (see L&N 15.200), although that sense appears somewhat redundant and out of sequence with the following verb and participle (“carried him out and buried him”).

[5:6]  ³⁵ sn Buried. Same day burial was a custom in the Jewish world of the first century (cf. also Deut 21:23).

[4:7]  ³⁶ tn Grk “And after.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, καί (kai) has not been translated here. Instead a new sentence is begun in the translation at the beginning of v. 7.

[4:7]  ³⁷ tn Grk “making them”; the referents (Peter and John) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:7]  ³⁸ sn By what name. The issue of the “name” comes up again here. This question, meaning “by whose authority,” surfaces an old dispute (see Luke 20:1-8). Who speaks for God about the ancient faith?