Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.
Parallel translations
- WEB Most certainly I tell you, this generation will not pass away, until all these things are accomplished.
- KJV Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
- BSB Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have happened.
- NKJV Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place.
- NLT I tell you the truth, this generation will not pass from the scene until all these things take place.
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
Jesus solemnly says this generation will not pass until all these things happen. The fulfillment is certain and near.
Overview
This verse is among the most discussed in the Olivet Discourse. Many take 'this generation' to mean those alive would see Jerusalem destroyed; others read it as the generation that witnesses the final signs, or the Jewish people preserved to the end. All agree Jesus guarantees his words will surely come to pass. Whatever the precise reference, his prophetic authority and reliability are upheld.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Mark 13:30–31Most certainly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things happen.
- Luke 21:32–33Most certainly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things are accomplished.
- Matt 16:28Most certainly I tell you, there are some standing here who will in no way taste of death, until they see the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom.”
- Matt 23:36Most certainly I tell you, all these things will come upon this generation.
- Luke 11:50that the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation;
- Matt 12:45Then he goes, and takes with himself seven other spirits more evil than he is, and they enter in and dwell there. The last state of that man becomes worse than the first. Even so will it be also to this evil generation.”
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 24:34 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.