Luke 21:25-36
Watch for the coming of the Son of Man
21:25″There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves.
21:26People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
21:27Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in a cloud’ with power and great glory.
21:28Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
21:29Then he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees;
21:30as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near.
21:31So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near.
21:32Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place.
21:33Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
21:34″Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day catch you unexpectedly,
21:35 like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth.
21:36 Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
[25]Καὶ ἔσται σημεῖα ἐν ἡλίῳ καὶ σελήνῃ καὶ ἄστροις, καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς συνοχὴ ἐθνῶν ἐν ἀπορίᾳ ἠχούσης θαλάσσης καὶ σάλου,
[26]ἀποψυχόντων ἀνθρώπων ἀπὸ φόβου καὶ προσδοκίας τῶν ἐπερχομένων τῇ οἰκουμένῃ· αἱ γὰρ δυνάμεις τῶν οὐρανῶν σαλευθήσονται.
[27]καὶ τότε ὄψονται τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐρχόμενον ἐν νεφέλῃ μετὰ δυνάμεως καὶ δόξης πολλῆς.
[28]ἀρχομένων δὲ τούτων γίνεσθαι ἀνακύψατε καὶ ἐπάρατε τὰς κεφαλὰς ὑμῶν, διότι ἐγγίζει ἡ ἀπολύτρωσις ὑμῶν.
[29]Καὶ εἶπε παραβολὴν αὐτοῖς· ἴδετε τὴν συκῆν καὶ πάντα τὰ δένδρα.
[30]ὅταν προβάλωσιν ἤδη, βλέποντες ἀφ᾿ ἑαυτῶν γινώσκετε ὅτι ἤδη ἐγγὺς τὸ θέρος ἐστίν.
[31]οὕτω καὶ ὑμεῖς, ὅταν ἴδητε ταῦτα γινόμενα, γινώσκετε ὅτι ἐγγύς ἐστιν ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ Θεοῦ.
[32]ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι οὐ μὴ παρέλθῃ ἡ γενεὰ αὕτη ἕως ἂν πάντα γένηται.
[33]ὁ οὐρανὸς καὶ ἡ γῆ παρελεύσονται, οἱ δὲ λόγοι μου οὐ μὴ παρέλθωσι.
[34]Προσέχετε δὲ ἑαυτοῖς μήποτε βαρηθῶσιν ὑμῶν αἱ καρδίαι ἐν κραιπάλῃ καὶ μέθῃκαὶ μερίμναις βιοτικαῖς, καὶ αἰφνίδιος ἐφ᾿ ὑμᾶς ἐπιστῇ ἡ ἡμέρα ἐκείνη·
[35]ὡς παγὶς γὰρ ἐπελεύσεται ἐπὶ πάντας τοὺς καθημένους ἐπὶ πρόσωπον πάσης τῆς γῆς.
[36]ἀγρυπνεῖτε οὖν ἐν παντὶ καιρῷ δεόμενοι ἵνα καταξιωθῆτε ἐκφυγεῖν πάντα τὰ μέλλοντα γίνεσθαι καὶ σταθῆναι ἔμπροσθεν τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου.
[37] ῏Ην δὲ τὰς ἡμέρας ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ διδάσκων, τὰς δὲ νύκτας ἐξερχόμενος ηὐλίζετο εἰς τὸ ὄρος τὸ καλούμενον ἐλαιῶν·
[38] καὶ πᾶς ὁ λαὸς ὤρθριζε πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ ἀκούειν αὐτοῦ.
Comments
The translation of a verb in v. 26 should be tweaked, and the injunction to be vigilant is v. 36 is a conclusion in Greek.
[25] σημεῖα: σημεῖον, ‘sign from the gods, omen’ (cl. Gk poetry & prose: LSJ s.v. 2); ‘sign, signal often from God’ (LXX: Muraoka s.v. 1a, including ‘signals’ of sun and moon denoting day and night, Ge 1.14). Cf. Engl. semiotics, semiology.
συνοχὴ ἐθνῶν ἐν ἀπορίᾳ: συνοχή, late Gk, means ‘anxiety, distress’ (EDNT s.v.). St Luke adds ἀπορία for good measure, meaning ‘(intellectual) perplexity’ in cl. Gk and ‘distress, discomfort’ in medical contexts (Hippocrates, Epidemics 5.42: LSJ s.v. III.2). People will be anxious and puzzled at the same time.
σάλου: σάλος, ὁ, ‘rolling swell of the sea’ (cl. Gk poetry: LSJ s.v.1); so also in LXX (Muraoka s.v. 1a). The swelling sea will resound (ἠχούσης θαλάσσης). Cf. σαλευθήσονται (immed. below).
[26] ἀποψυχόντων: ἀποψύχω, ‘breathe one’s last, die’, LXX (Muraoka) and other late authors; the Engl. tr. ‘People will faint’ is wrong: they will die from fright. To be precise, the gen. absolute ἀποψυχόντων means ‘as they die from fright’.
σαλευθήσονται: σαλεύομαι, pass., ‘I am shaken’ (cl. Gk: LSJ s.v. I.1).
[28] ἀνακύψατε καὶ ἐπάρατε τὰς κεφαλὰς ὑμῶν: ἀνακύπτω, ‘Ι look upwards’ (cl. Gk & LXX: LSJ & Muraoka s.v.). ‘Look skywards and raise your heads’ (ἐπάρατε τὰς κεφαλὰς ὑμῶν) is a πρωθύστερον, ‘back to front’.
ἀπολύτρωσις: ‘ransoming, deliverance, liberation,’, fig. here, LXX and late Gk (LSJ & Muraoka s.v.).
[33] ὁ οὐρανὸς καὶ ἡ γῆ παρελεύσονται, οἱ δὲ λόγοι μου οὐ μὴ παρέλθωσι: both sentences envisage the future of the same vb, παρέρχομαι. παρελεύσονται, ‘they [sky and earth] will pass away’ is a simple future; οὐ μὴ παρέλθωσι, an aor. subj. combined with double negatives, is an emphatic negation of a future action, viz. ‘by NO means will my words pass away’.
[36] οὖν: ‘therefore’. The Engl tr. omits this. ‘Therefore be alert…’
Insights into Biblical Greek Grammar and Syntax 