Matthew 24:17

THE MESSAGE

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
A man on the housetop

King James Version (1611)
Let him which is on the house top, not come downe, to take any thing out of his house:

King James Version
Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:

English Standard Version
Let the one who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house,

New American Standard Bible
"Whoever is on the housetop must not go down to get things out of his house.

New Century Version
If people are on the roofs of their houses, they must not go down to get anything out of their houses.

Amplified Bible
"Whoever is on the housetop must not go down to get the things that are in his house [because there will not be enough time].

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Whoever is on the housetop must not go down to get the things out that are in his house.

Legacy Standard Bible
Whoever is on the housetop must not go down to get the things out that are in his house.

Berean Standard Bible
Let no one on the housetop come down to retrieve anything from his house.

Contemporary English Version
If you are on the roof of your house, don't go inside to get anything.

Complete Jewish Bible
If someone is on the roof, he must not go down to gather his belongings from his house;

Darby Translation
let not him that is on the house come down to take the things out of his house;

Easy-to-Read Version
They should run away without wasting time to stop for anything. If they are on the roof of their house, they must not go down to get anything out of the house.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Let him which is on the house top, not come downe to fetch any thing out of his house.

George Lamsa Translation
And he who is on the roof, let him not come down to take things out of his house.

Good News Translation
Someone who is on the roof of a house must not take the time to go down and get any belongings from the house.

Lexham English Bible
The one who is on his housetop must not come down to take things out of his house,

Literal Translation
the one on the housetop, let him not go down to take anything out of his house;

American Standard Version
let him that is on the housetop not go down to take out the things that are in his house:

Bible in Basic English
Let not him who is on the house-top go down to take anything out of his house:

Hebrew Names Version
Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take out things that are in his house.

International Standard Version
The person who is on the housetop must not come down to get what is in his house,

Etheridge Translation
And let not him who is on the roof descend to take what [fn] his house;

Murdock Translation
and let him who is on the roof, not come down to take what is in his house:

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And let hym which is on the house toppe, not come downe to fet any thyng out of his house:

English Revised Version
let him that is on the housetop not go down to take out the things that are in his house:

World English Bible
Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take out things that are in his house.

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
come down to take any thing out of his house:

Weymouth's New Testament
let him who is on the roof not go down to fetch what is in his house;

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
come not doun to take ony thing of his hous; and he that is in the feeld,

Update Bible Version
let him that is on the housetop not go down to take out things that are in his house:

Webster's Bible Translation
Let him who is on the house-top not come down to take any thing out of his house:

New English Translation
The one on the roof must not come down to take anything out of his house,

New King James Version
Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house.

New Living Translation
A person out on the deck of a roof must not go down into the house to pack.

New Life Bible
The man who is on the top of his house should not come down to take anything out of his house.

New Revised Standard
the one on the housetop must not go down to take what is in the house;

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And, he that is on the house-top, let him not come down, to take away the things out of his house;

Douay-Rheims Bible
And he that is on the housetop, let him not come down to take any thing out of his house:

Revised Standard Version
let him who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house;

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
And let him which is on ye housse toppe not come downe to fet eny thinge out of his housse.

Young's Literal Translation
he on the house-top -- let him not come down to take up any thing out of his house;

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
and let him which is on the house toppe, not come downe to fet eny thinge out of his house:

Mace New Testament (1729)
he that is on the battlements, let him not venture to go in to take any thing out of his house.

Simplified Cowboy Version
If you're patchin' some shakes on the roof, don't even go back inside, just ride.

Contextual Overview

⁴Jesus said, "Watch out for doomsday deceivers. Many leaders are going to show up with forged identities, claiming, ‘I am Christ, the Messiah.' They will deceive a lot of people. When reports come in of wars and rumored wars, keep your head and don't panic. This is routine history; this is no sign of the end. Nation will fight nation and ruler fight ruler, over and over. Famines and earthquakes will occur in various places. This is nothing compared to what is coming. ⁹"They are going to throw you to the wolves and kill you, everyone hating you because you carry my name. And then, going from bad to worse, it will be dog-eat-dog, everyone at each other's throat, everyone hating each other. ¹¹"In the confusion, lying preachers will come forward and deceive a lot of people. For many others, the overwhelming spread of evil will do them in—nothing left of their love but a mound of ashes. ¹³"Staying with it—that's what God requires. Stay with it to the end. You won't be sorry, and you'll be saved. All during this time, the good news—the Message of the kingdom—will be preached all over the world, a witness staked out in every country. And then the end will come. ¹⁵"But be ready to run for it when you see the monster of desecration set up in the Temple sanctuary. The prophet Daniel described this. If you've read Daniel, you'll know what I'm talking about. If you're living in Judea at the time, run for the hills; if you're working in the yard, don't return to the house to get anything; if you're out in the field, don't go back and get your coat. Pregnant and nursing mothers will have it especially hard. Hope and pray this won't happen during the winter or on a Sabbath. ²¹"This is going to be trouble on a scale beyond what the world has ever seen, or will see again. If these days of trouble were left to run their course, nobody would make it. But on account of God's chosen people, the trouble will be cut short. ²³"If anyone tries to flag you down, calling out, ‘Here's the Messiah!' or points, ‘There he is!' don't fall for it. Fake Messiahs and lying preachers are going to pop up everywhere. Their impressive credentials and dazzling performances will pull the wool over the eyes of even those who ought to know better. But I've given you fair warning. ²⁶"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. ²⁹ "Following those hard times, Sun will fade out, moon cloud over, Stars fall out of the sky, cosmic powers tremble. ³⁰"Then, the Arrival of the Son of Man! It will fill the skies—no one will miss it. Unready people all over the world, outsiders to the splendor and power, will raise a huge lament as they watch the Son of Man blazing out of heaven. At that same moment, he'll dispatch his angels with a trumpet-blast summons, pulling in God's chosen from the four winds, from pole to pole.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

which: Matthew 6:25, Job 2:4, Proverbs 6:4, Proverbs 6:5, Mark 13:15, Mark 13:16, Luke 17:31-33

the housetop: Matthew 10:27, Deuteronomy 22:8

Reciprocal: Genesis 45:20 - stuff Joshua 2:6 - to the roof Joshua 2:19 - whosoever

Cross-References

Genesis 24:1
Abraham was now an old man. God had blessed Abraham in every way.

Genesis 24:6
Abraham said, "Oh no. Never. By no means are you to take my son back there. God , the God of Heaven, took me from the home of my father and from the country of my birth and spoke to me in solemn promise, ‘I'm giving this land to your descendants.' This God will send his angel ahead of you to get a wife for my son. And if the woman won't come, you are free from this oath you've sworn to me. But under no circumstances are you to take my son back there."

Genesis 24:18
She said, "Certainly, drink!" And she held the jug so that he could drink. When he had satisfied his thirst she said, "I'll get water for your camels, too, until they've drunk their fill." She promptly emptied her jug into the trough and ran back to the well to fill it, and she kept at it until she had watered all the camels. The man watched, silent. Was this God 's answer? Had God made his trip a success or not?

1 Kings 17:10
So he got up and went to Zarephath. As he came to the entrance of the village he met a woman, a widow, gathering firewood. He asked her, "Please, would you bring me a little water in a jug? I need a drink." As she went to get it, he called out, "And while you're at it, would you bring me something to eat?"

John 4:7
A woman, a Samaritan, came to draw water. Jesus said, "Would you give me a drink of water?" (His disciples had gone to the village to buy food for lunch.)

John 4:9
The Samaritan woman, taken aback, asked, "How come you, a Jew, are asking me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?" (Jews in those days wouldn't be caught dead talking to Samaritans.)

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Let him which is on the housetop,.... Who should be there either for his devotion or recreation; for the houses of the Jews were built with flat roofs and battlements about them, which they made use of both for diversion and pleasure, and for private meditation and prayer, for social conversation, and sometimes for public preaching; see Matthew 10:27

not come down to take anything out of his house: that is, let him not come down in the inner way, but by the stairs, or ladder, on the outside of the house, which was usual. They had two ways of going out of, and into their houses; the one they call d, דרך פתחים, "the way of the doors"; the other, דרך גגין, "the way of the roof": upon which the gloss is,

"to go up on the outside, דרך פולם, "by way" or "means" of a ladder, fixed at the entrance of the door of the upper room, and from thence he goes down into the house by a ladder;''

and in the same way they could come out; see Mark 2:4 and let him not go into his house to take any of his goods, or money, or food along with him necessary for his sustenance in his flight; lest, whilst he is busy in taking care of these, he loses his life, or, at least, the opportunity of making his escape; so sudden is this desolation represented to be.

d T. Bab. Bava Metzia, fol. 117. 1.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Him which is on the house-top - The roofs of the houses in Eastern countries were made flat, so that they were favorable places for walking and retirement. See the notes at Matthew 9:1-8. The meaning here is, that He who should be on the house-top when this calamity came upon the city “should flee without delay;” He should not even take time to secure any article of apparel from his house. So sudden would be the calamity, that by attempting to do this He would endanger his life.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Matthew 24:17. Let him which is on the house top — The houses of the Jews, as well as those of the ancient Greeks and Romans, were flat-roofed, and had stairs on the outside, by which persons might ascend and descend without coming into the house. In the eastern walled cities, these flat-roofed houses usually formed continued terraces from one end of the city to the other; which terraces terminated at the gates. He, therefore, who is walking on the house top, let him not come down to take any thing out of his house; but let him instantly pursue his course along the tops of the houses, and escape out at the city gate as fast as he can.

Any thing — Instead of τι, any thing, we should read τα, the things; which reading is supported by all the best MSS., versions, and fathers.