and they didn’t know until the flood came, and took them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
Parallel translations
- KJV And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
- BSB And they were oblivious, until the flood came and swept them all away. So will it be at the coming of the Son of Man.
- NKJV and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
- NASB and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be.
- NLT People didn’t realize what was going to happen until the flood came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be when the Son of Man comes.
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
They did not know until the flood swept them all away; so will Christ's coming be. Sudden judgment falls on those who refuse to watch.
Overview
The flood generation remained ignorant until destruction overtook them, illustrating the suddenness of the Son of Man's coming. 'Took them all away' here describes those swept off in judgment, while Noah's family was preserved. The contrast urges hearers to be among the saved, not the swept-away. Only those sheltered in God's provision, ultimately in Christ, are secure.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- John 3:20For everyone who does evil hates the light, and doesn’t come to the light, lest his works would be exposed.
- Matt 24:37“As the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
- Acts 13:41‘Behold, you scoffers, and wonder, and perish; for I work a work in your days, a work which you will in no way believe, if one declares it to you.’”
- Prov 24:12If you say, “Behold, we didn’t know this”; doesn’t he who weighs the hearts consider it? He who keeps your soul, doesn’t he know it? Shall he not render to every man according to his work?
- Isa 44:18–19They don’t know, neither do they consider: for he has shut their eyes, that they can’t see; and their hearts, that they can’t understand.
- Prov 29:7The righteous care about justice for the poor. The wicked aren’t concerned about knowledge.
- 2 Pet 3:5For this they willfully forget, that there were heavens from of old, and an earth formed out of water and amid water, by the word of God;
- Matt 13:13–15Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they don’t see, and hearing, they don’t hear, neither do they understand.
- Isa 42:25Therefore he poured the fierceness of his anger on him, and the strength of battle; and it set him on fire all around, but he didn’t know; and it burned him, but he didn’t take it to heart.”
- Rom 1:28Even as they refused to have God in their knowledge, God gave them up to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not fitting;
- Luke 19:44and will dash you and your children within you to the ground. They will not leave in you one stone on another, because you didn’t know the time of your visitation.”
- Judg 20:34Ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel came over against Gibeah, and the battle was severe; but they didn’t know that disaster was close to them.
- Prov 23:35“They hit me, and I was not hurt! They beat me, and I don’t feel it! When will I wake up? I can do it again. I can find another.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
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 24:39 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.