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Monday, July 21st, 2025
the Week of Proper 11 / Ordinary 16
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Read the Bible

Easy-to-Read Version

Matthew 24:8

These things are only the beginning of troubles, like the first pains of a woman giving birth.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Jesus Continued;   Persecution;   The Topic Concordance - Affliction;   Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ;   End of the World;   Endurance;   Evangelism;   Hate;   Persecution;   Redemption;   Salvation;   Tribulation;   World;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Christ, the Prophet;   Jerusalem;   Prophets;   Second Coming of Christ, the;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Prophecy;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Day of the lord;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Jesus Christ;   Prophet, Christ as;   War, Holy War;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Jews;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Jerusalem;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Matthew, the Gospel of;   Olivet Discourse, the;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Jesus Christ;   Jude, Epistle of;   Kingdom of God;   Olives, Mount of;   Text of the New Testament;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Day of Judgment;   Earthquake ;   Groaning;   Progress;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Judah, the Kingdom of;   Matthew, Gospel by;   45 Pain Travail Labour Weariness;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Chief parables and miracles in the bible;   Jerusalem;   Matthew;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Jesus of Nazareth;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Eschatology of the New Testament;   Travail;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Eschatology;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
All these events are the beginning of labor pains.
King James Version (1611)
All these are the beginning of sorrowes.
King James Version
All these are the beginning of sorrows.
English Standard Version
All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.
New American Standard Bible
"But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pains.
New Century Version
These things are like the first pains when something new is about to be born.
Amplified Bible
"But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs [of the intolerable anguish and the time of unprecedented trouble].
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.
Legacy Standard Bible
But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pains.
Berean Standard Bible
All these are the beginning of birth pains.
Contemporary English Version
But this is just the beginning of troubles.
Complete Jewish Bible
all this is but the beginning of the ‘birth-pains.'
Darby Translation
But all these [are the] beginning of throes.
Geneva Bible (1587)
All these are but ye beginning of sorowes.
George Lamsa Translation
But all these things are just the beginning of travail.
Good News Translation
All these things are like the first pains of childbirth.
Lexham English Bible
But all these things are the beginning of birth pains.
Literal Translation
But all these are a beginning of throes.
American Standard Version
But all these things are the beginning of travail.
Bible in Basic English
But all these things are the first of the troubles.
Hebrew Names Version
But all these things are the beginning of birth pains.
International Standard Version
But all these things are only the beginning of the birth pains."
Etheridge Translation
But these are all the beginning of sorrows.
Murdock Translation
But all these are only the commencement of sorrows.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
All these are the begynnynges of sorowes.
English Revised Version
But all these things are the beginning of travail.
World English Bible
But all these things are the beginning of birth pains.
Wesley's New Testament (1755)
All these are the beginning of sorrows.
Weymouth's New Testament
but all these miseries are but like the early pains of childbirth.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
and alle these ben bigynnyngis of sorewes.
Update Bible Version
But all these things are the beginning of travail.
Webster's Bible Translation
All these [are] the beginning of sorrows.
New English Translation
All these things are the beginning of birth pains.
New King James Version
All these are the beginning of sorrows.
New Living Translation
But all this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come.
New Life Bible
These things are the beginning of sorrows and pains.
New Revised Standard
all this is but the beginning of the birth pangs.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
But, all these things, are a beginning of birth-pangs.
Douay-Rheims Bible
Now all these are the beginnings of sorrows.
Revised Standard Version
all this is but the beginning of the birth-pangs.
Tyndale New Testament (1525)
All these are the beginninge of sorowes.
Young's Literal Translation
and all these [are] the beginning of sorrows;
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
All these are the begynnynge of sorowes.
Mace New Testament (1729)
yet all this is but the beginning of sorrow.
Simplified Cowboy Version
But this is just the birthin' of the problems that will follow.

Contextual Overview

4 Jesus answered, "Be careful! Don't let anyone fool you. 5 Many people will come and use my name. They will say, ‘I am the Messiah.' And they will fool many people. 6 You will hear about wars that are being fought. And you will hear stories about other wars beginning. But don't be afraid. These things must happen before the end comes. 7 Nations will fight against other nations. Kingdoms will fight against other kingdoms. There will be times when there is no food for people to eat. And there will be earthquakes in different places. 8 These things are only the beginning of troubles, like the first pains of a woman giving birth. 9 "Then you will be arrested and handed over to be punished and killed. People all over the world will hate you because you believe in me. 10 During that time many believers will lose their faith. They will turn against each other and hate each other. 11 Many false prophets will come and cause many people to believe things that are wrong. 12 There will be so much more evil in the world that the love of most believers will grow cold. 13 But the one who remains faithful to the end will be saved.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Leviticus 26:18-29, Deuteronomy 28:59, Isaiah 9:12, Isaiah 9:17, Isaiah 9:21, Isaiah 10:4, 1 Thessalonians 5:3, 1 Peter 4:17, 1 Peter 4:18

Reciprocal: Deuteronomy 28:65 - failing of eyes Deuteronomy 32:23 - heap mischiefs Psalms 59:15 - for meat Jeremiah 38:2 - He Matthew 24:29 - Immediately Mark 13:8 - these

Cross-References

Genesis 24:4
Go back to my country, to my own people, to find a wife for my son Isaac. Bring her here to him."
Genesis 24:6
Abraham said to him, "No, don't take my son to that place.
Genesis 24:17
Then the servant ran to her and said, "Please give me a little water to drink from your jar."
Genesis 24:20
So Rebekah quickly poured all the water from her jar into the drinking trough for the camels. Then she ran to the well to get more water, and she gave water to all the camels.
Numbers 30:5
But if her father hears about the promise and does not agree, she is free from her promise. She does not have to do what she promised. Her father stopped her, so the Lord will forgive her.
Numbers 30:8
But if the husband hears about the promise and refuses to let her keep her promise, the wife does not have to do what she promised. Her husband broke the promise—he did not let her do what she said. So the Lord will forgive her.
Joshua 9:20
This is what we must do. We must let them live. We cannot hurt them or God will be angry with us because we broke the promise we made to them.
John 8:32
You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free."
Acts 7:2
Stephen answered, "My Jewish fathers and brothers, listen to me. Our great and glorious God appeared to Abraham, our ancestor, when he was in Mesopotamia. This was before he lived in Haran.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

All these are the beginning of sorrows,.... They were only a prelude unto them, and forerunners of them; they were only some foretastes of what would be, and were far from being the worst that should be endured. These were but light, in comparison of what befell the Jews, in their dreadful destruction. The word here used, signifies the sorrows and pains of a woman in travail. The Jews expect great sorrows and distresses in the times of the Messiah, and use a word to express them by, which answers to this, and call them, חבלי המשיח, "the sorrows of the Messiah"; חבלי, they say r, signifies the sorrows of a woman in travail; and the Syriac version uses the same word here. These they represent to be very great, and express much concern to be delivered from them. They s ask,

"what shall a man do, to be delivered from "the sorrows of the Messiah?" He must employ himself in the law, and in liberality.''

And again t,

"he that observes the three meals on the sabbath day, shall be delivered from three punishments; from "the sorrows of the Messiah", from the judgment of hell, and from Gog and Magog.''

But alas there was no other way of escaping them, but by faith in the true Messiah, Jesus; and it was for their disbelief and rejection of him, that these came upon them.

r Gloss. in T. Bab. Sabbat, fol. 118. 2. s T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 98. 2. t T. Bab. Sabbat, fol. 118. 2.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The beginning of sorrows - Far heavier calamities are yet to come before the end.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Matthew 24:8. All these are the beginning of sorrows. — ωδινων, travailing pains. The whole land of Judea is represented under the notion of a woman in grievous travail; but our Lord intimates, that all that had already been mentioned were only the first pangs and throes, and nothing in comparison of that hard and death-bringing labour, which should afterwards take place.

From the calamities of the nation in general, our Lord passes to those of the Christians; and, indeed, the sufferings of his followers were often occasioned by the judgments sent upon the land, as the poor Christians were charged with being the cause of these national calamities, and were cruelly persecuted on that account.


 
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