Matthew 24:21

Matthew 24:21 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
• New International Version (NIV)For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.
• English Standard Version (ESV)For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be.
• New King James Version (NKJV)For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.

Context of Matthew 24:21

19“How horrible it will be for the women who are pregnant or who are nursing babies in those days. 20Pray that it will not be winter or a day of rest—a holy day, when you flee. There will be a lot of misery at that time, a kind of misery that has not happened from the beginning of the world until now and will certainly never happen again. 22If God does not reduce the number of those days, no one will be saved. But those days will be reduced because of those whom God has chosen. 23“At that time don’t believe anyone who tells you, ‘Here is the Messiah!’ or ‘There he is!’

Matthew 24:21 word by word

ἔσται γὰρ τότε θλῖψις μεγάλη οἵα οὐ γέγονεν ἀπ᾽ ἀρχῆς κόσμου ἕως τοῦ νῦν οὐδ᾽ οὐ μὴ γένηται.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Forγάρgar · forG1063
• thenτότεtote · thenG5119
• shall beεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• greatμέγαςmegas · greatG3173
• tribulationθλῖψιςthlipsis · pressureG2347
• such asοἷοςoios · such asG3634
• wasγίνομαιginomai · to beG1096
• notοὐou · noG3756
• sinceἀπόapo · away fromG575
• the beginningἀρχήarchē · beginningG746
• of the worldκόσμοςkosmos · worldG2889
• toἕωςheōs · untilG2193
• this timeνῦνnun · nowG3568
• noοὐδέoude · norG3761
• everμήmē · notG3361

Cross-references for Matthew 24:21

• Psalms 69:22Let the table set for them become a trap and a snare for their friends.
• Isaiah 65:12Now I will destine you for death. All of you will bow to be slaughtered. I called, but you didn’t answer. I spoke, but you didn’t listen. You did what I consider evil. You chose what I don’t like.
• Isaiah 66:15The Lord will come with fire and with his chariots like a thunderstorm. He will pay them back with his burning anger and punish them with flames of fire.
• Daniel 9:26But after the sixty-two sets of seven time periods, the Anointed One will be cut off and have nothing. The city and the holy place will be destroyed with the prince who is to come. His end will come with a flood until the end of the destructive war that has been determined.
• Daniel 12:1⌞The person who looked like a human continued,⌟ “At that time Michael, the great commander, will stand up on behalf of the descendants of your people. It will be a time of trouble unlike any that has existed from the time there have been nations until that time. But at that time your people, everyone written in the book, will be rescued.
• Joel 1:2Listen to this, you leaders! Open your ears, all inhabitants of this land! Nothing like this has ever happened in your lifetime or in your ancestors’ lifetime.
• Joel 2:2It is a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and overcast skies. A large and mighty army will spread over the mountains like the dawn. Nothing like this has ever happened. Nothing like this will ever happen again.
• Zechariah 11:8I got rid of three shepherds in one month. I became impatient with the sheep, and they also became disgusted with me.
• Zechariah 14:2I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem for battle. The city will be captured, the houses looted, and the women raped. Half of the people in the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people won’t be taken from the city.
• Malachi 4:1“Certainly the day is coming! It will burn like a furnace. All arrogant people and all evildoers will be ⌞like⌟ straw. The day that is coming will burn them up completely,” says the Lord of Armies. “It won’t leave a single root or branch.
• Mark 13:9“Be on your guard! People will hand you over to the Jewish courts and whip you in their synagogues. You will stand in front of governors and kings to testify to them because of me.
• Luke 19:43The time will come when enemy armies will build a wall to surround you and close you in on every side.
• Luke 21:24Swords will cut them down, and they will be carried off into all nations as prisoners. Nations will trample Jerusalem until the times allowed for the nations ⌞to do this⌟ are over.
• 1 Thessalonians 2:16because they try to keep us from telling people who are not Jewish how they can be saved. The result is that those Jews always commit as many sins as possible. So at last they are receiving ⌞God’s⌟ anger.
• Hebrews 10:26If we go on sinning after we have learned the truth, no sacrifice can take away our sins.

Commentaries on Matthew 24:21

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 21For then shall be great tribulation - No history can furnish us with a parallel to the calamities and miseries of the Jews: - rapine, murder, famine, and pestilence within: fire and sword, and all the horrors of war, without. Our Lord wept at the foresight of these calamities; and it is almost impossible for any humane person to read the relation of them in Josephus without weeping also. St. Luke, Luke 21:22, calls these the days of vengeance, that all…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 21There shall be great tribulation - The word “tribulation” means calamity or “suffering.” Luke Luke 21:24 has specified in what this tribulation would consist: “They shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations, and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles shall be fulfilled.” That is, until the time allotted for the Gentiles “to do it” shall be fully accomplished, or as long as…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 4-28Verses 4-28 The disciples had asked concerning the times, When these things should be? Christ gave them no answer to that; but they had also asked, What shall be the sign? This question he answers fully. The prophecy first respects events near at hand, the destruction of Jerusalem, the end of the Jewish church and state, the calling of the Gentiles, and the setting up of Christ's kingdom in the world; but it also looks to the general judgment; and toward…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 21great tribulation, unmatched: Similar language appears in Nehemiah 9:37; Jeremiah 11:16; Daniel 12:1; Joel 2:1–17. The Jewish historian Josephus documented the extreme violence of the times (see War 5.10.2–3).Read the comment

Topics related to Matthew 24:21

• Faith
• Israel, Prophecies Concerning
• Jesus Continued
• Righteous

In the dictionaries

• Deceive
• Desolation
• Elect
• Flight
• Goodman
• Learn
• Lo
• Matthew, Gospel according to
• Olves, Mount of
• Tribulation

Commentaries on Matthew 24

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Catena Aurea
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• John Lightfoot Commentary
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings