the Week of Christ the King / Proper 29 / Ordinary 34
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King James Version
Matthew 24:26
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"Someone might tell you, ‘The Messiah is there in the desert!' But don't go into the desert to look for him. Someone else might say, ‘There is the Messiah in that room!' But don't believe it.
Wherfore if they shall saye vnto you: beholde he is in ye desert go not forth: beholde he is in ye secret places beleve not.
So if they say to you, 'Look! He's in the wilderness,' don't go out looking for him.looking for him">[fn] And if they say, 'Look! He's in the storeroom,' don't believe it.
"So if they say to you, 'Behold, He is in the wilderness,' do not go out; or, 'Behold, He is in the inner rooms,' do not believe them.
"If people tell you, ‘The Christ is in the desert,' don't go there. If they say, ‘The Christ is in the inner room,' don't believe it.
If therefore they shall say to you, Look, he is in the wilderness; don't go forth: Look, he is in the inner chambers; don't believe [it].
Wherefore, if they shall say to you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, [he is] in the secret chambers; believe [it] not.
"So if they say to you, 'Look! He is in the wilderness,' do not go out there, or, 'Look! He is in the inner rooms [of a house],' do not believe it.
So, if they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,' do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,' do not believe it.
If therefore they tell you, 'Behold, he is in the wilderness!' don't go out; 'Behold, he is in the inner chambers,' don't believe it.
Therefore if they say to you, Behold, he is in the desert, go not forth: Behold he is in the secret chambers, believe it not.
If therefore they should say to you, `See, He is in the Desert!' do not go out there: or `See, He is indoors in the room!' do not believe it.
Therfor if thei seie to you, Lo! he is in desert, nyle ye go out; lo! in priuey placis, nyle ye trowe.
If therefore they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the wilderness; go not forth: Behold, he is in the inner chambers; believe it not.
So if they tell you, 'There He is in the wilderness,' do not go out; or, 'Here He is in the inner rooms,' do not believe it.
If you are told that the Messiah is out in the desert, don't go there! And if you are told that he is in some secret place, don't believe it!
If therefore they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the wilderness; go not forth: Behold, he is in the inner chambers; believe it not.
If, then, they say to you, See, he is in the waste land; go not out: See, he is in the inner rooms; put no faith in it.
So if people say to you, ‘Listen! He's out in the desert!' don't go; or, ‘Look! He's hidden away in a secret room!' don't believe it.
If therefore they say to you, Behold, he is in the desert, go not forth; behold, [he is] in the inner chambers, do not believe [it].
If therefore they shall say to you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: or, Behold, he is in the inner chamber; believe not.
If therefore they say to you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not out: or, Behold, he is in a secret chamber; give no credence.
Wherefore, if they shall say vnto you, Behold, he is in the desert, goe not foorth: Behold, he is in the secret chambers, beleeue it not.
"So if someone tells you, ‘Look, the Messiah is out in the desert,' don't bother to go and look. Or, ‘Look, he is hiding here,' don't believe it!
If they tell you, ‘See! He is in the desert,' do not go to see. Or if they say, ‘See! He is in the inside room,' do not believe them.
So, if they say to you, ‘Look! He is in the wilderness,' do not go out. If they say, ‘Look! He is in the inner rooms,' do not believe it.
Wherefore if they shall say vnto you, Beholde, he is in the desert, goe not forth: Beholde, he is in the secret places, beleeue it not.
Therefore, if they should say to you, Behold, he is in the desert, do not go out; or, behold, he is in the room, do not believe it.
If therefore they should say unto you, Lo! in the desert, he is, Do not go forth; Lo! in the chambers, Do not believe it.
If therefore they shall say to you, Behold he is in the desert: go ye not out. Behold he is in the closets: believe it not.
So, if they say to you, 'Lo, he is in the wilderness,' do not go out; if they say, 'Lo, he is in the inner rooms,' do not believe it.
Wherfore, yf they say vnto you, beholde, he is in the desert: go not foorth. Beholde, he is in the secrete places: beleue it not.
"Or, if people should tell you, ‘Look, he is out in the desert!'—don't go there; or if they say, ‘Look, he is hiding here!'—don't believe it.
So if they tell you, ‘See, he’s in the wilderness!’ don’t go out; or, ‘See, he’s in the storerooms!’ do not believe it.
If therefore they tell you, 'Behold, he is in the wilderness!' don't go out; 'Behold, he is in the inner chambers,' don't believe it.
Therefore if they say to you, ‘Behold, he is in the wilderness,' do not go out, or ‘Behold, he is in the inner rooms,' do not believe it!
Then if they say to you, Behold, He is in the wilderness; do not go out. Behold, He is in the inner rooms; do not believe.
`If therefore they may say to you, Lo, in the wilderness he is, ye may not go forth; lo, in the inner chambers, ye may not believe;
Wherfore yf they shal saye vnto you: Beholde, he is in the wildernes, go not ye forth:Beholde, he is in the chamber, beleue it not.
wherefore, if they shall say to you, now he is in the desert, do not stir: or now, he is in the secret chambers, believe them not.
"So if they say, ‘Run to the country and see him arrive!' or, ‘Quick, get downtown, see him come!' don't give them the time of day. The Arrival of the Son of Man isn't something you go to see. He comes like swift lightning to you! Whenever you see crowds gathering, think of carrion vultures circling, moving in, hovering over a rotting carcass. You can be quite sure that it's not the living Son of Man pulling in those crowds.
So then, if someone says to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,' do not go out, or ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,' do not believe him.
"Therefore if they say to you, "Look, He is in the desert!' do not go out; or "Look, He is in the inner rooms!' do not believe it.
If a city slicker tells you that Jesus is out in the desert, don't believe them. If someone tells you that I am in a hidden place and they know where to find me, don't believe their forked tongue.
"So if they say to you, 'Behold, He is in the wilderness,' do not go out, or, 'Behold, He is in the inner rooms,' do not believe them.
Therefore, if they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,' do not go out, or, ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,' do not believe them.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
Wherefore: Our Lord not only foretells the appearance of these impostors, but also the manner and circumstance of their conduct. Accordingly, Josephus says that many impostors persuaded the people to follow them to the desert, promising them signs and wonders done by the providence of God. - See also Acts 21:38. One persuaded the people to go up into the temple, which being set on fire by the Romans, 6,000 perished in the flames.
he is in the desert: Matthew 3:1, Isaiah 40:3, Luke 3:2, Luke 3:3, Acts 21:38
Reciprocal: John 18:20 - and in Acts 5:36 - obeyed 2 Peter 3:14 - in peace
Cross-References
And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.
And I bowed down my head, and worshipped the Lord , and blessed the Lord God of my master Abraham, which had led me in the right way to take my master's brother's daughter unto his son.
And it came to pass, that, when Abraham's servant heard their words, he worshipped the Lord , bowing himself to the earth.
And the people believed: and when they heard that the Lord had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped.
That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the Lord 's passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshipped.
And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped.
And David said to all the congregation, Now bless the Lord your God. And all the congregation blessed the Lord God of their fathers, and bowed down their heads, and worshipped the Lord , and the king.
And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the Lord , worshipping the Lord .
Moreover Hezekiah the king and the princes commanded the Levites to sing praise unto the Lord with the words of David, and of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshipped.
And Ezra blessed the Lord , the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
Wherefore if they shall say unto you,.... Any of the false prophets, or the deluded followers of false Christs:
behold, he is in the desert, go not forth: that is, should they affirm, that the Messiah is in such a wilderness, in the wilderness of Judea, or in any other desert place, do not go out of the places where you are to see, or hear, and know the truth of things; lest you should, in any respect, be stumbled, ensnared, and brought into danger. It was usual for these impostors to lead their followers into deserts, pretending to work wonders in such solitary places: so, during the siege, Simon, the son of Giora, collected together many thousands in the mountainous and desert parts of Judea t; and the above mentioned Jonathan, after the destruction of the city, led great multitudes into the desert:
behold, he is in the secret chambers, believe it not; or should others say behold, or for certain, the Messiah is in some one of the secret and fortified places of the temple; where, during some time of the siege, were John and Eleazar, the heads of the zealots u; do not believe them. Some reference may be had to the chamber of secrets, which was in the temple w;
"for in the sanctuary there were two chambers; one was called ×ש×ת ×ש×××, "the chamber of secrets", and the other the chamber of vessels.''
Or else some respect may be had to the notions of the Jews, concerning the Messiah, which they imbibed about these times, and ever since retained, that he was born the day Jerusalem was destroyed, but is hid, for their sins, in some secret place, and will in time be revealed x. Some say, that he is hid in the sea; others, in the walks of the garden of Eden; and others, that he sits among the lepers at the gates of Rome y. The Syriac version here reads in the singular number, "in the bedchamber"; in some private apartment, where he remains till a proper time of showing himself offers, for fear of the Romans: but these are all idle notions, and none of them to be believed. The true Messiah is come, and has showed himself to Israel; and even the giving out these things discovers a consciousness, and a conviction that the Messiah is come.
t Joseph de Bello. Jud. l. 5. c. 7. u Ib. c. 6. l. 4. w Misn. Shekalim, c. 5. sect. 6. x Aben Ezra in Cant. vii. 5. Targum in Mic. iv. 8. y Vid. Buxtorf. Synag. Jud. c. 50.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
Behold, he is in the desert - The Jews had formed the expectation that the Messiah would appear suddenly from some unexpected quarter; hence, many would be looking to desert places, expecting that he would come from them. Accordingly, most of the impostors and pretended prophets led their people into the deserts.
Go not forth - Do not follow them; they will only deceive you.
In secret chambers - Concealed in some house, or some retired part of the city. Many would, doubtless, pretend that the Messiah was concealed there, and, either for the purpose of encouraging or deceiving the people, would pretend that they had discovered him.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Matthew 24:26. If they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert — Is it not worthy of remark that our Lord not only foretold the appearance of these impostors, but also the manner and circumstances of their conduct? Some he mentions as appearing in the desert. Josephus says, ANT. b. xx. c. 7, and WAR, book ii. c. 13: That many impostors and cheats persuaded the people to follow them to the desert, promising to show them signs and wonders done by the providence of God, is well attested. An Egyptian false prophet, mentioned by Josephus, ANT. b. xx. c. 7, and in the Acts, Acts 21:38, led out into the DESERT four thousand men, who were murderers, but these were all taken or destroyed by Felix. Another promised salvation to the people, if they would follow him to the DESERT, and he was destroyed by Festus, ANT. b. xx. c. 7. Also, one Jonathan, a weaver, persuaded a number to follow him to the DESERT, but he was taken and burnt alive by Vespasian. See WAR, b. vii. c. 11.
As some conducted their deluded followers to the DESERT, so did others to the secret chambers. Josephus mentions a false prophet, WAR, b. vi. c. 5, who declared to the people in the city, that God commanded them to go up into the temple, and there they should receive the signs of deliverance. A multitude of men, women, and children, went up accordingly; but, instead of deliverance, the place was set on fire by the Romans, and 6,000 perished miserably in the flames, or in attempting to escape them.
