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Matthew 24:16

Then let them who are in Judea flee

A long section about "the end of the world" or, more precisely, "the culmination of an era."

Spoken to:: Apostles
KJV issues:: 3

KJV

Matthew 24:16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:

NIV

Matthew 24:16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.

What His Listeners Heard

Then, the ones in this Judea must flee into the mountains.

Greek

Matthew 24:16 τότε οἱ ἐν τῇ Ἰουδαίᾳ φευγέτωσαν εἰς τὰ ὄρη,

Greek Word Order

τότε οἱ ἐν τῇ Ἰουδαίᾳ φευγέτωσαν εἰς τὰ ὄρη,
Then, the ones in this Judea must flee into the mountains.

We cannot flee the world only a place in time.

Lost in Translation

If the larger context is the "end of the world," how could anyone escape? Yet Jesus uses a command to flee here, indicating that this is what he would want people to do. The context is best understood as the culmination of an age, a period of time on a certain place. In this case, the end of Judea. This section cannot describe the end of the world but the end of an era.

Vocabulary (Greek word by word)

τότε [53 verses](adv) "Then" is from tote, which means "at that time" and "then."-- The word translated as "then" means "at that time" when referencing a specific time or "then" in the continuation of a story.

οἱ [821 verses](article pl masc nom) "Them which be" is the Greek definite article, which usually precedes a noun and, without a noun, takes the meaning of "the one" or, in the plural, "the ones."

ἐν [413 verses](prep) "In" is from en, which means "in," "on," "at," "by," "among," "within," "surrounded by," "in one's hands," "in one's power," and "with." -- The word translated as "in" also means "within," "with," or "among."

τῇ [821 verses](article sg fem dat) "The" is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the"). -- The word translated as "the" is the Greek definite article, which usually precedes a noun and, without a noun, takes the meaning of "the one." The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those"). See this article for more.

Ἰουδαίᾳ [5 verses](adj sg fem dat) "Judea" is from Ioudaia, which means "a Jew," "Jewish," "Judea," or "Jewish."

φευγέτωσαν [7 verses](verb 3rd pl pres imperat) "Let...flee" is pheugo, which means "to flee," "to take flight," "avoid," "escape," "seek to avoid," "to be expelled," "to be driven out," "go into exile," "go into banishment," "to be accused," "to plead in defense," and "to flee from a charge."

εἰς [325 verses](prep) "Into" is from eis, which means "into (of place)," "up to (of time)," "until (of time)," "as much as (of measure or limit)," "as far as (of measure or limit)," "towards (to express relation)," "in regard to (to express relation)," "of an end or limit," and "for (of purpose or object)."

τὰ [821 verses](article pl neut acc) "The" is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the"). -- The word translated as "the" is the Greek definite article, which usually precedes a noun and, without a noun, takes the meaning of "the one." The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those"). See this article for more.

ὄρη, [10 verses](noun pl neut acc) "The mountains" is oros, which means "mountain," "hill," "canton," and "parish." In Egypt, it was also used to mean the "desert" and a place of burial. It's homonym means a "boundary," "landmark," "time limits," "decisions of judges," "memorial stones and pillars," "standard," "measure," "term (in logic)," "definition," "terms," and "conditions." Another, similar word, oreus, which matches oros in some forms means "mule."

KJV — word by word

then -- The word translated as "then" means "at that time" when referencing a specific time or "then" in the continuation of a story.

let -- This "let" is the helping verb used to translate the Greek form of the third-person command of "flee." In English all commands are in the second-person. This form is used as something like our word "must."

them -- (CW) The word translated as "them" is the Greek definite article, which usually precedes a noun and, without a noun, takes the meaning of "the one." The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those"). See this article for more.

that be -- (IW) There are no Greek words that can be translated as "that be" in the source we use today nor was there one in the source that the KJV translators used. It was added for clarity.

in -- The word translated as "in" also means "within," "with," or "among." With the accusative, it means "into," "on," and "for."

missing "the/this" -- (MW) The untranslated word is the Greek definite article, "the", which usually precedes a noun or changes the word it precedes (adjective, infinitive, participle, etc.) to act like a noun. The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this", "that", "these" and "those"). See this article for more.

Judaea "Judea" is translated from a Greek word that means "a Jew," "Jewish," "Judea," or "Jewish." Judea represents civilization.

flee - "Flee" is translated from a Greek word that means "to flee," "escape," and "to take flight." It is in the form of a third-person command, which isn't used in English. We would typically use the second person command instead or say that someone "must" or "may" do these things.

to - The word translated as "into" means "into" a place, "towards" as a direction, and "up to" limits in time and measure.

the -- The word translated as "the" is the Greek definite article. The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those"). See this article for more.

mountains: - The word translated as "mountains" means "mountain" or "hill" but for those raised in Egypt, as Jesus was, it also means "desert." In the forms that Jesus uses when talking about "moving mountains," it could be a homonym that means "mule" but the context here could only mean "mountains."

NIV — word by word