The Meaning of Matthew 24:49 Explained

Matthew 24:49

KJV: And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;

YLT: and may begin to beat the fellow-servants, and to eat and to drink with the drunken,

Darby: and begin to beat his fellow-bondmen, and eat and drink with the drunken;

ASV: and shall begin to beat his fellow-servants, and shall eat and drink with the drunken;

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And  shall begin  to smite  [his] fellowservants,  and  to eat  and  drink  with  the drunken; 

What does Matthew 24:49 Mean?

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

What do the individual words in Matthew 24:49 mean?

and should begin to beat the fellow servants of him to eat then to drink with those being drunkards
καὶ ἄρξηται τύπτειν τοὺς συνδούλους αὐτοῦ ἐσθίῃ δὲ πίνῃ μετὰ τῶν μεθυόντων

ἄρξηται  should  begin 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Subjunctive Middle, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ἄρχω  
Sense: to be the first to do (anything), to begin.
τύπτειν  to  beat 
Parse: Verb, Present Infinitive Active
Root: τύπτω  
Sense: to strike, beat, smite.
συνδούλους  fellow  servants 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Masculine Plural
Root: σύνδουλος  
Sense: a fellow servant, one who serves the same master with another.
αὐτοῦ  of  him 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.
ἐσθίῃ  to  eat 
Parse: Verb, Present Subjunctive Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ἐσθίω 
Sense: to eat.
πίνῃ  to  drink 
Parse: Verb, Present Subjunctive Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: πίνω  
Sense: to drink.
τῶν  those 
Parse: Article, Genitive Masculine Plural
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
μεθυόντων  being  drunkards 
Parse: Verb, Present Participle Active, Genitive Masculine Plural
Root: μεθύω  
Sense: to be drunken.