Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.
Parallel translations
- WEB For wherever the carcass is, there is where the vultures gather together.
- KJV For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
- NKJV For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.
- NASB Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.
- NLT Just as the gathering of vultures shows there is a carcass nearby, so these signs indicate that the end 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
Where the carcass is, the vultures gather. This proverb signals that judgment will fall surely and unmistakably where it is due.
Overview
Like vultures inevitably drawn to a body, judgment will surely come where conditions warrant it. The saying reinforces that Christ's coming and the accompanying judgment will be evident and certain, not hidden. It assures believers of God's sure justice and the unmistakable nature of the day to come.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Luke 17:37“Where, Lord?” they asked. Jesus answered, “Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.”
- Job 39:27–30Does the eagle soar at your command and make his nest on high?
- Amos 9:1–4I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and He said: “Strike the tops of the pillars so that the thresholds shake. Topple them on the heads of all the people, and I will kill the rest with the sword. None of those who flee will get away; none of the fugitives will escape.
- Deut 28:49The LORD will bring a nation from afar, from the ends of the earth, to swoop down upon you like an eagle—a nation whose language you will not understand,
- Jer 16:16But for now I will send for many fishermen, declares the LORD, and they will catch them. After that I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt them down on every mountain and hill, even from the clefts of the rocks.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
How Matthew 24:28 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.