“And when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then you will know that the time of its destruction has arrived.
Parallel translations
- WEB “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is at hand.
- KJV And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.
- BSB But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, you will know that her desolation is near.
- NKJV “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near.
- NASB “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her desolation is near.
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
When Jerusalem is surrounded by armies, its coming destruction is near.
Overview
Jesus gives a concrete sign pointing especially to the city's fall in AD 70. The encircling Roman armies would signal that judgment had arrived. This grounds His prophecy in real history while also foreshadowing final judgment.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Luke 19:43For the days will come on you, when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, surround you, hem you in on every side,
- Dan 9:27He shall make a firm covenant with many for one week: and in the middle of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the offering to cease; and on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate; and even to the full end, and that determined, shall wrath be poured out on the desolate.
- Mark 13:14But when you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains,
- Luke 21:7They asked him, “Teacher, so when will these things be? What is the sign that these things are about to happen?”
- Matt 24:15“When, therefore, you see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),
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 21:20 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.