Matthew 24:3
Translations
King James Version (KJV)
And as he sat on the mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of your coming, and of the end of the world?
American King James Version (AKJV)
And as he sat on the mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of your coming, and of the end of the world?
American Standard Version (ASV)
And as he sat on the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what'shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
Basic English Translation (BBE)
And while he was seated on the Mountain of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, Make clear to us, when will these things be? and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the world?
Webster's Revision
And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, Tell us, when will these things be? and what will be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
World English Bible
As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be? What is the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age?"
English Revised Version (ERV)
And as he sat on the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
Definitions for Matthew 24:3
Clarke's Matthew 24:3 Bible Commentary
Tell us, when shall these things be? - There appear to be three questions asked here by the disciples.
1st. When shall these things be? viz. the destruction of the city, temple, and Jewish state.
2dly. What shall be the sign of thy coming? viz. to execute these judgments upon them, and to establish thy own Church: and
3dly. When shall this world end? When wilt thou come to judge the quick and the dead?
But there are some who maintain that these are but three parts of the same question, and that our Lord's answers only refer to the destruction of the Jewish state, and that nothing is spoken here concerning the Last or judgment day.
End of the world - Του αιωνος; or, of the age, viz. the Jewish economy, which is a frequent accommodated meaning of the word Αιων, the proper meaning of which is, as Aristotle (De Caelo) observes, Eternal. Αιων, quasi αει ων continual being: and no words can more forcibly point out eternity than these. See the note on Genesis 21:33.
Barnes's Matthew 24:3 Bible Commentary
He sat upon the Mount of Olives - See the notes at Matthew 21:1. From that mount there was a magnificent view of the whole city.
The disciples came unto him privately - Not all of them, but Peter, James, John, and Andrew, Mark 13:3. The prediction that the temple would be destroyed Matthew 24:2 had been made in the presence of all the apostles. A "part" now came privately to know more particularly when this would be.
When shall these things be? - There are three questions here:
1. when those things should take place
2. what should be the signs of his own coming
3. what should be the signs that the end of the world was near
To these questions He replies in this and the following chapters. This He does, not by noticing them distinctly, but by intermingling the descriptions of the destruction of Jerusalem and of the end of the world, so that it is sometimes difficult to tell to what particular subject his remarks apply. The principle on which this combined description of two events was spoken appears to be, that "they could be described in the same words," and therefore the accounts are intermingled. A similar use of language is found in some parts of Isaiah, where the same language will describe the return from the Babylonian captivity, and deliverance by the Messiah. See Introduction to Isaiah, section 7.
Sign of thy coming - Evidence that thou art coming. By what token shall we know that thou art coming?