The Meaning of Matthew 24:42 Explained

Matthew 24:42

KJV: Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.

YLT: 'Watch ye therefore, because ye have not known in what hour your Lord doth come;

Darby: Watch therefore, for ye know not in what hour your Lord comes.

ASV: Watch therefore: for ye know not on what day your Lord cometh.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Watch  therefore:  for  ye know  not  what  hour  your  Lord  doth come. 

What does Matthew 24:42 Mean?

Verse Meaning

This verse applies all that Jesus said beginning in Matthew 24:32. Jesus" disciples need to remain watchful because the exact time of the King"s return is unknown, even though signs of His coming will indicate His approach.

Context Summary

Matthew 24:40-51 - Watch And Work
There are many comings of the Son of man before the final one to judgment. We may derive the full benefit of our Lord's words, even though we have arrived at no settled opinion as to the precise order of future events. The hour of our death is as uncertain as that of His coming in the clouds. For each, we should be ready!
Watchfulness is keeping awake! We are beset by temptations to sleep. Bunyan said that we are traveling over the Enchanted Ground, the air of which is very heavy and sleep-producing. How dull we are to perceive the unseen, or to meet the great opportunities of life! Broken up alludes to the mud or clay house which could not keep off the thief. Death breaks in and carries us away from all of our treasures. See 1 Thessalonians 5:2; 1 Thessalonians 5:4.
We had best wait for our Lord while engaged in carefully discharging our appointed tasks. The Church is a big household in which each has his niche. "To labor is to pray;" to serve is to be ready. [source]

Chapter Summary: Matthew 24

1  Jesus foretells the destruction of the temple;
3  what and how great calamities shall be before it;
29  the signs of his coming to judgment
36  And because that day and hour are unknown,
42  we ought to watch like good servants, expecting our Master's coming

Greek Commentary for Matthew 24:42

Watch therefore [γρηγωρειτε ουν]
A late present imperative from the second perfect εγρηγορα — egrēgora from εγειρω — egeirō Keep awake, be on the watch “therefore” because of the uncertainty of the time of the second coming. Jesus gives a half dozen parables to enforce the point of this exhortation (the Porter, the Master of the House, the Faithful Servant and the Evil Servants, the Ten Virgins, the Talents, the Sheep and the Goats). Matthew does not give the Parable of the Porter (Mark 13:35-37). [source]
What hour []
Later texts, however, read ἡμέρᾳ , a, day. ποίᾳ ἡμέρᾳ , in what kind of a day, whether near or a remote one. Similarly Matthew 24:43: ἐν ποίᾳ φυλακῇ , in what kind of a watch, whether a night or a morning watch. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Matthew 24:42

Luke 12:39 What hour [ποίᾳ ὥρᾳ]
See on Matthew 24:42. [source]
1 Peter 5:8 Be watchful [γρηγορησατε]
First aorist active imperative of γρηγορεω — grēgoreō late present imperative from perfect εγρηγορα — egrēgora (to be awake) from εγειρω — egeirō (to arouse), as in Matthew 24:42. For νηπσατε — nēpsate see 1 Peter 1:13; 1 Peter 4:7. [source]
Revelation 3:2 Be thou watchful [γινου γρηγορων]
Periphrastic imperative with present middle of γινομαι — ginomai (keep on becoming) and present active participle of γρηγορεω — grēgoreō (late present from perfect εγρηγορα — egrēgora and that from εγειρω — egeirō as in Matthew 24:42) and see Revelation 16:15 for γρηγορεω — grēgoreō also. He does not say “Arise from the dead” (Ephesians 5:14), for there are vestiges of life. Those still alive are addressed through the angel of the church. [source]

What do the individual words in Matthew 24:42 mean?

Keep watch therefore for not you know on what day the Lord of you comes
Γρηγορεῖτε οὖν ὅτι οὐκ οἴδατε ποίᾳ ἡμέρᾳ κύριος ὑμῶν ἔρχεται

Γρηγορεῖτε  Keep  watch 
Parse: Verb, Present Imperative Active, 2nd Person Plural
Root: γρηγορέω  
Sense: to watch.
οἴδατε  you  know 
Parse: Verb, Perfect Indicative Active, 2nd Person Plural
Root: οἶδα  
Sense: to see.
ποίᾳ  on  what 
Parse: Interrogative / Indefinite Pronoun, Dative Feminine Singular
Root: ποία 
Sense: of what sort or nature.
ἡμέρᾳ  day 
Parse: Noun, Dative Feminine Singular
Root: ἡμέρα  
Sense: the day, used of the natural day, or the interval between sunrise and sunset, as distinguished from and contrasted with the night.
κύριος  Lord 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: κύριος  
Sense: he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of deciding; master, lord.
ὑμῶν  of  you 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive 2nd Person Plural
Root: σύ  
Sense: you.
ἔρχεται  comes 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Middle or Passive, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ἔρχομαι  
Sense: to come.