And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
Parallel translations
- WEB and they didn’t know until the flood came, and took them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
- 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 every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
- Matt 24:37But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
- Acts 13:41Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you.
- Prov 24:12If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and shall not he render to every man according to his works?
- Isa 44:18–19They have not known nor understood: for he hath shut their eyes, that they cannot see; and their hearts, that they cannot understand.
- Prov 29:7The righteous considereth the cause of the poor: but the wicked regardeth not to know it.
- 2 Pet 3:5For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:
- Matt 13:13–15Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
- Isa 42:25Therefore he hath poured upon him the fury of his anger, and the strength of battle: and it hath set him on fire round about, yet he knew not; and it burned him, yet he laid it not to heart.
- Rom 1:28And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
- Luke 19:44And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.
- Judg 20:34And there came against Gibeah ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and the battle was sore: but they knew not that evil was near them.
- Prov 23:35They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.
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 24:39 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
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