Most certainly I tell you, this generation will not pass away, until all these things are accomplished.
Parallel Translations
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Most certainly I tell you, this generation will not pass away, until all these things are accomplished.
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Verely I saye vnto you that this generacion shall not passe tyll all these be fulfilled.
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Verely I say vnto you, this generation shall not passe, till all these things be done.
Cross-references (6)
Passages linked to Matthew 24:34 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Mark 13:30-31 Most certainly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things happen. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
- Luke 21:32-33 Most certainly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things are accomplished. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will by no means pass away.
- Matthew 16:28 Most certainly I tell you, there are some standing here who will in no way taste of death, until they see the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom.”
- Matthew 23:36 Most certainly I tell you, all these things will come upon this generation.
- Luke 11:50 that the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation;
- Matthew 12:45 Then he goes, and takes with himself seven other spirits more evil than he is, and they enter in and dwell there. The last state of that man becomes worse than the first. Even so will it be also to this evil generation.”
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (15 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain This age: this word generation or Age, being used…
This age: this word generation or Age, being used for the men of this age.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall…
34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
Ver. 34. This generation shall not pass] viz. That generation that immediately precedes the end of the world. That this is the sense, appears by the antithesis, Mat 24:36; "But of that day and hour knoweth no man," q.d. the generation and age wherein Christ shall come ye may know by the signs that foreshow it, but the day and hour ye must not look to know, be you never so intelligent.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Heaven and earth shall pass away,.... This is either…
Heaven and earth shall pass away,.... This is either an assertion, which will be true at the end of time; not as to the substance of the heavens and earth, which will always remain, but as to the qualities of them, which will be altered: they will be renewed and refined, but not destroyed; the bad qualities, or evil circumstances, which attend them through the sin of man, will be removed and pass away, but they themselves will continue in being: or is a comparative expression, and the sense is, that the heavens and the earth, and the ordinances thereof, than which nothing can be more firm and strong, being fixed and supported by God himself, shall sooner pass away, than anything asserted and predicted by Christ shall:
but my words shall not pass away; be vain and empty, and unaccomplished; which is true of anything, and everything spoken by Christ; and especially here regards all that he had said concerning the calamities that should befall the Jews, before, at, or upon the destruction of their nation, city, and temple; and the design of the expression, is to show the certainty, unalterableness, and sure accomplishment of these things; see Jer 31:36.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain This generation of men now living shall not pass…
This generation of men now living shall not pass till all these things be done - The expression implies, that great part of that generation would be passed away, but not the whole. Just so it was. For the city and temple were destroyed thirty-nine or forty years after.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 34. This generation shall not pass] Η γενεα…
Verse 34. This generation shall not pass] Η γενεα αυτη, this race; i.e. the Jews shall not cease from being a distinct people, till all the counsels of God relative to them and the Gentiles be fulfilled. Some translate η γενεα αυτη, this generation, meaning the persons who were then living, that they should not die before these signs, c., took place: but though this was true, as to the calamities that fell upon the Jews, and the destruction of their government, temple, c., yet as our Lord mentions Jerusalem's continuing to be under the power of the Gentiles till the fulness of the Gentiles should come in, i.e. till all the nations of the world should receive the Gospel of Christ, after which the Jews themselves should be converted unto God, Ro 11:25, &c., I think it more proper not to restrain its meaning to the few years which preceded the destruction of Jerusalem but to understand it of the care taken by Divine providence to preserve them as a distinct people, and yet to keep them out of their own land, and from their temple service. See on Mr 13:30. But still it is literally true in reference to the destruction of Jerusalem. John probably lived to see these things come to pass compare Mt 16:28, with Joh 21:22; and there were some rabbins alive at the time when Christ spoke these words who lived till the city was destroyed, viz. Rabban Simeon, who perished with the city; R. Jochanan ben Zaccai, who outlived it; R. Zadoch, R. Ismael, and others. See Lightfoot.
The war began, as Josephus says, Ant. b. xx. c. 11. s. 1, in the second year of the government of Gessius Florus, who succeeded Albinus, successor of Porcius Festus, mentioned Ac 24:27, in the month of May, in the twelfth year of Nero, and the seventeenth of Agrippa, mentioned Acts 25 and 26, that is, in May, A. D. 66.
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The temple was burnt August 10, A. D. 70, the same day and month on which it had been burnt by the king of Babylon: Josephus, Ant. b. xx. c. 11. s. 8.
The city was taken September 8, in the second year of the reign of Vespasian, or the year of Christ 70. Ant. b. vi. c. 10.
That was the end of the siege of Jerusalem, which began, as Josephus several times observes, about the fourteenth day of the month Nisan, or our April. See War, b. v. c. 3. s. 1, c. 13. s. 7; b. vi. c. 9. s. 3.
Dr. Lardner farther remarks, There is also an ancient inscription to the honour of Titus, "who, by his father's directions and counsels, had subdued the Jewish nation and destroyed Jerusalem, which had never been destroyed by any generals, kings, or people, before." The inscription may be seen in GRUTER, vol. i. p. 244. It is as follows: -
IMP. TITO. CAESARI. DIVI. VESPASIANI. F
VESPASIANO. AUG. PONTIFICI. MAXIMO
TRIB, POT. X. IMP. XVII. COS. VIII. P. P.
PRINCIPI. SUO. S. P. Q. R.
QUOD. PRAECEPTIS. PATRIS. CONSILIISQUE. ET
AUSPICIIS. GENTEM. JUDAEOROM. DOMUIT. ET
URBEM. HIEROSOLYMAM. OMNIBUS. ANTE. SE
DUCIBUS. REGIBUS. GENTIBUSQUE. AUT. FRUSTRA.
PETITAM. AUT. OMNINO. INTENTATAM. DELEVIT.
For this complete conquest of Jerusalem, Titus had a triumphal arch erected to his honour, which still exists. It stands on the Via Sacra, leading from the forum to the amphitheatre. On it are represented the spoils of the temple of God, such as the golden table of the show-bread, the golden candlestick with its seven branches, the ark of the covenant, the two golden trumpets, c., c. for a particular account see the note on Ex 25:31. On this arch, a correct model of which, taken on the spot, now stands before me, is the following inscription: -
SENATUS
POPULUSQUE ROMANUS
DIVO TITO. DIVI VESPASIANI. F
VESPASIANO AUGUSTO.
"The Senate and People of Rome, to the Divine Titus, son of the Divine Vespasian and to Vespasian the Emperor."
On this occasion, a medal was struck with the following inscription round a laureated head of the emperor: - IMP.erator J.ulius CAES.ar VESP.asianus AUG.ustus. P.ontifex M.aximus, TR.ibunitia, P.otestate P.ater P.atrice CO.nS.ul VIII. - On the obverse are represented a palm tree, the emblem of the land of Judaea; the emperor with a trophy standing on the left; Judea, under the figure of a distressed woman, sitting at the foot of the tree weeping, with her head bowed down, supported by her left hand, with the legend JUDAEA CAPTA. S.enatus C.onsultus. at the bottom. This is not only an extraordinary fulfilment of our Lord's prediction, but a literal accomplishment of a prophecy delivered about 800 years before, Isa 3:26, And she, desolate, shall sit upon the ground.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain This generation ... - This age; this race of…
This generation ... - This age; this race of people. A generation is about 30 or 40 years. The destruction of Jerusalem took place about forty years after this was spoken. See the notes at Mat 16:28.
Till all these things ... - Until these things shall be accomplished. Until events shall take place which shall be a fulfillment of these words, if there were nothing further intended. He does not mean to exclude the reference to the judgment, but to say that the destruction of Jerusalem would be such as to make appropriate the words of the prediction, were there nothing beyond. Compare the notes at Mat 1:22-23. So when “death” was threatened to Adam, the propriety of the threatening would have been seen, and the threatening would have been fulfilled, had people suffered only temporal death. At the same time the threatening had “a fullness of meaning” that would cover also, and justify, eternal death. Thus the words of Christ describing the destruction of Jerusalem had a fulness of signification that would meet also the events of the judgment, and whose meaning would not be “entirely filled up” until the world was closed.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain This generation; i.e. the nation of the Jews shall…
This generation; i.e. the nation of the Jews shall not cease to exist, until all these things shall be accomplished: thus we see the nation of the Jews still continue, and will certainly continue to the end of the world. (Tirinus) --- Then the cross, which as been a scandal to the Jew, and a stumbling-block to the Gentile, shall appear in the heavens, for the consolation of the good Christian. Hoc signum crucis erit in cœlo, cum Dominus ad judicandum venerit. --- If it be to be understood of the destruction of Jerusalem, the sense may be, this race of men now living; if of the last day of judgment, this generation of the faithful, saith Theophylactus,[4] shall be continued: i.e. the Church of Christ, to the end of the world. (Witham) --- This race, I tell you in very truth, shall not pass away till all this be finally accomplished in the ruin of Jerusalem, the most express figure of the destruction and end of the world. (Bible de Vence) --- By generation, our Saviour does not mean the people that were in existence at that time, but the faithful of his Church; thus says the psalmist: this is the generation of them that seek the Lord. (Psalm xxiii, ver. 6.) (St. John Chrysostom, hom. lxxvii.)
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[BIBLIOGRAPHY]
Generatio hæc. Theophylact, e genea ton christianon.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 34. This generation shall not pass till all THESE…
34. This generation shall not pass till all THESE THINGS be fulfilled — This celebrated verse has been quoted by many orthodox expositors, indeed by their great body in modern times, to show that all the events named in the discourse thus far take place in that generation. Certainly this cannot be true of Luk_21:24, for the events of that verse did not transpire during that generation. We trust that we have made it plain that the these things of this verse are simply the answer to the these things inquired about by the disciples in verse third. They ask when these things shall be. He is now prepared to answer: These things shall be before this present generation passes. But the these things of the question only comprehend the overthrow of the city and temple. This is identical with the these things of the thirty-third verse.
Precisely parallel to this verse is Mat_23:36 : “Verily I say unto you, all these things shall come upon this generation.” And by the these things of that verse plainly were meant the destruction of the city and state. And this parallelism, it might be remarked by the way, goes to show the incorrectness of the interpretation which some have adopted, by which the word generation is made to signify race. Were it to signify race, what race is indicated by this race? It might mean the human race, or the Jewish race, or the Christians, as Dr. Clarke supposes; and thus we are thrown into a state of perfect vagueness. But this rendering of the word has met with but little favour among scholars.
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Of the overthrow of the temple, the disciples ask: “When shall THESE THINGS be?” Of that same event the Lord replies, after giving its full attendant details: “This generation shall not pass till all THESE THINGS be fulfilled.”
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 34. This generation] See note, ch. Mat_16:28.
34. This generation] See note, ch. Mat_16:28.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (34) This generation shall not pass . . .—The…
(34) This generation shall not pass . . .—The natural meaning of the words is, beyond question. that which takes “generation” in the ordinary sense (as in Mat_1:17, Act_13:36, and elsewhere) for those who are living at any given period. So it was on “this generation” (Mat_23:36) that the accumulated judgments were to fall. The desire to bring the words into more apparent harmony with history has led some interpreters to take “generation” in the sense of “race” or “people,” and so to see in the words a prophecy of the perpetuity of the existence of the Jews as a distinct people till the end of the world. But for this meaning there is not the shadow of authority; nor does it remove the difficulty which it was invented to explain. The words of Mat_16:28 state the same fact in language which does not admit of any such explanation.
Till all these things be fulfilled.—Better, till all these things come to pass. The words do not necessarily imply more than the commencement of a process, the first unrolling of the scroll of the coming ages.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain This generation. Our Lord"s assertion has given rise to…
This generation. Our Lord"s assertion has given rise to sceptical observations, as if his prophecy had failed. Alford has endeavoured to remove objections by taking genea as equivalent to genov , a race or family of people, and referring it to the continued existence of the Jews. He cites Jer_8:3 (Septuagint); Mat_12:45 Mat_17:17 Mat_23:36, etc., in confirmation of this signification. His examples, however, are not unassailable, though such use is certainly classical; but it the same time, it is unlikely that Christ should thus indefinitely postpone a period of infinite importance to his hearers. But there is no necessity for assuming any unusual meaning in the term "this generation." Its plain and obvious reference is to the contemporaries of the speaker, or those who shall live some thirty or forty years longer; this period would bring them to the siege of Jerusalem. And remembering that Christ has drawn no definite line between this crisis and the final consummation, we are justified in regarding all these things as meaning, primarily, the signs preceding or accompanying the downfall of the city. In a secondary sense, "this generation" may mean the spiritual Israel, the generation of them that seek the Lord. (Psa_24:6) "All these things shall surely come to pass," says Chrysostom, "and the generation of the faithful shall remain, cut off by none of the things that have been mentioned. For both Jerusalem shall perish, and the more part of the Jews shall be destroyed, but over this generation shall nothing prevail not famine, not pestilence, not earthquake, not the tumults of wars, not false Christs, not false prophets, not deceivers, not traitors, not those that cause to offend, nor the false brethren, nor any other such-like temptations whatever." Some critics have combined the three meanings of "generation" given above, and have seen in Christ"s words a threefold reference, first, to the contemporary people; secondly, to the Jewish nation; thirdly, to the Christian believers or dispensation. According to Lange, "this generation" means the generation of those who know and discern these signs.
A key to our Lord"s meaning.
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"This generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled." The position in which these words stand is significant. Many writers see references to the commonly called "end of the world" in vers. 29-31 because the imagery is so large as to seem unsuitable for a mere national desolation. Our Lord meets that difficulty, and distinctly declares that the figures picture events which belong to that generation. What needs to be clearly seen is, that this discourse of our Lord"s is not a general discourse on the "last things," but a precise anticipation of the experiences through which his disciples were about to pass, and a gracious preparation for them. He was leaving those disciples to themselves. He had indications to the very last of their unfitness to be left. They were still so hampered by their notions of a material kingdom. They were Jews, full of Jewish ideas. It would be a distress to them that the Jewish system was to be put away, as having fulfilled its mission. It might even be overwhelming to them that the very city and temple were destroyed. Our Lord would forewarn them. Their knowledge of the fact would help them to think aright, and to act aright, when the time came. This is the key to our Lord"s meaning.
I THE DISCIPLES HELPED TO THINK ARIGHT. We know how great a strain on them was the opening of the gospel to the Gentiles. St. Peter had to explain his conduct in baptizing Cornelius. St. Paul had to give account of his teachings of the Gentiles. And we can understand how much greater must have been the strain, when not only were Gentile Churches formed, but the Jewish Church was broken up. suppose that our Lord had never spoken of this removing of organized Judaism. We can quite see that the Jewish Christians would have been altogether alarmed and overwhelmed. They could think aright, and realize the permanency of the Church as a spiritual institution, independent of, if related to, any material forms.
II THE DISCIPLES HELPED TO ACT ARIGHT. Explain that, from a Jewish point of view, the centre for the new Christian mission must be Jerusalem. Those disciples would be likely to cling to Jerusalem in a way that would involve their personal safety. Our Lord therefore forewarned them. When certain events happened, they must finally and quickly forsake the sacred city. That there might be no self-delusions, no procrastinations, he made his meaning plain by the words of the text. R.T.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 34, 35. This generation shall not pass till all…
34, 35. This generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled. Some hold that “all these things,” in verse 33 and 34, refer only to what was said of the fall of Jerusalem, ending with verse 28. Others have contended that the phrase includes the second coming, but refers directly to the end of Jerusalem, which was a type of the end of the world. I believe, rather, that “all these things” embraces all thus far predicted, and that “this generation” means the Jewish race, instead of only those then living. The Greek word so rendered is used in the sense of race in the Greek classics, and as examples of such use in the New Testament, Alford points to Matt. 12:45, and Luke 16:8, as examples of such use in the New Testament. Christ has described the awful end of the Jewish state; after such a destruction and scattering of the remnant to the ends of the earth, all the examples of history would declare that the Jewish race would become extinct. Christ, however, declares that, contrary to all probability, it shall not pass away until he comes. They still exist, 1850 years after the prediction, distinct, but without a country.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain This generation
This generation
(Greek - ἀγενεαλόγητος," the primary definition of which is, "race, kind, family, stock, breed)." (So all lexicons.) That the word is used in this sense because none of "these things," i.e. the world-wide preaching of the kingdom, the great tribulation, the return of the Lord in visible glory, and the regathering of the elect, occurred at the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus, A.D. 70. The promise is, therefore, that the generation--nation, or family of Israel-- will be preserved unto "these things"; a promise wonderfully fulfilled to this day.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 Truly I say to you
Truly I say to you
"I tell you the truth." This adds emphasis to what Jesus says next.
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this generation will not pass away
Here "pass away" is a polite way of saying "die." AT: "this generation will not all die" (See: Euphemism)
this generation
Possible interpretations are 1) "all people alive today," referring to the people alive when Jesus was speaking, or 2) "all people alive when these things I have just told you about happen." Try to translate so that both interpretations are possible.
until all of these things will have happened
"until God causes all these things to happen"
Heaven and the earth will pass away
The words "heaven" and "earth" are a synecdoche that includes everything that God has created, especially those things that seem permanent. Jesus is saying that his word, unlike these things, is permanent. AT: "Even heaven and the earth will pass away" (See: Synecdoche)
pass away
"disappear" or "someday no longer exist"
my words will never pass away
Here "words" refers to what Jesus has said. AT: "what I say will always be true" (See: Metonymy)
translationWords
amen
generation
heaven
earth
word
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 24:34 this generation: In Matthew, generation is used particularly…
24:34 this generation: In Matthew, generation is used particularly for contemporary, unbelieving Jews, especially focusing on the leaders who have led people away from the Messiah (11:16; 12:39, 41-42, 45; 16:4; 23:36).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.