Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man:
Parallel translations
- WEB As it was in the days of Noah, even so will it be also in the days of the Son of Man.
- KJV And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.
- NKJV And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man:
- NASB And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so will it also be in the days of the Son of Man:
- NLT “When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day.
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
The Son of Man's coming will resemble Noah's days, when people lived heedlessly until judgment fell. Ordinary life will mask impending judgment.
Overview
Jesus draws on the flood narrative to warn of sudden judgment overtaking the spiritually unprepared. The point is not that daily activities are evil but that people ignored God and were caught unaware. The analogy presses readers to live ready, watchful for Christ's return.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Matt 24:37–39As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be at the coming of the Son of Man.
- Luke 17:24For just as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other, so will be the Son of Man in His day.
- Gen 7:7–23And Noah and his wife, with his sons and their wives, entered the ark to escape the waters of the flood.
- Luke 17:22Then He said to the disciples, “The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it.
- Heb 11:7By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in godly fear built an ark to save his family. By faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
- 1 Pet 3:19–20in whom He also went and preached to the spirits in prison
- 2 Pet 2:5if He did not spare the ancient world when He brought the flood on its ungodly people, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, among the eight;
- Gen 6:5Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great upon the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was altogether evil all the time.
- Job 22:15–18Will you stay on the ancient path that wicked men have trod?
- 2 Pet 3:6through which the world of that time perished in the flood.
- Gen 6:7So the LORD said, “I will blot out man, whom I have created, from the face of the earth—every man and beast and crawling creature and bird of the air—for I am grieved that I have made them.”
- Luke 18:8I tell you, He will promptly carry out justice on their behalf. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?”
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 17:26 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.