Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.
Parallel translations
- WEB Therefore be ready also, for the Son of Man is coming in an hour that you don’t expect him.”
- BSB You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour you do not expect.”
- NKJV Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”
- NASB You too, be ready; because the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not think He will.”
- NLT You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Be ready, for the Son of Man comes at an hour you do not expect. Constant preparedness is the proper response to an unknown return.
Overview
Jesus applies the parable directly: His coming will be sudden and unanticipated, so His people must always be ready. Readiness means faithful, watchful living rather than date-setting or speculation. The certainty of the return paired with the uncertainty of its timing calls believers to persevering faithfulness every day.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- 1 Th 5:6Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
- Matt 25:13Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
- Matt 24:44Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
- Rom 13:11And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.
- 2 Pet 3:12–14Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
- Rev 19:7Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
- Mark 13:33–36Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.
- Matt 24:42Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
- Rom 13:14But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.
- Luke 21:34–36And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 12:40 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.