Matthew 24:43

But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
But	δὲ de	G1161	but · conjunction
know	γινώσκετε, ginōskete	G1097	to "know" (absolutely) in a great variety of applicatio… · verb — present active imperative, 2nd person plural
this	ἐκεῖνο ekeino	G1565	that one (or (neuter) thing) · demonstrative pronoun — accusative singular neuter
that	ὅτι hoti	G3754	demonstrative · conjunction
if	εἰ ei	G1487	if · conditional particle
the goodman of the house	οἰκοδεσπότης oikodespotēs	G3617	the head of a family · noun — nominative singular masculine
had known	ᾔδει ēdei	G1492	used only in certain past tenses · verb — second pluperfect active indicative, 3rd person singular
in	φυλακῇ phulakēa	G5438	a guarding or (concretely · noun — dative singular feminine
what	ποίᾳ poia	G4169	individualizing interrogative (of character) what sort… · interrogative pronoun — dative singular feminine
watch	φυλακή phylakḗ	G5438	a guarding or (concretely
the thief	κλέπτης kleptēs	G2812	a stealer (literally or figuratively) · noun — nominative singular masculine
would come	ἔρχεται, erchetai	G2064	to come or go (in a great variety of applications · verb — present middle or passive deponent indicative, 3rd person singular
he would have watched	ἐγρηγόρησεν egrēgorēsen	G1127	to keep awake · verb — aorist active indicative, 3rd person singular
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
would	εἴασεν eiasen	G1439	to let be · verb — aorist active indicative, 3rd person singular
not	οὐκ ouk	G3756	the absolute negative (compare G3361 (μή)) adverb · particle — negative
have suffered	ἐάω eáō	G1439	to let be
his	αὐτοῦ. autou	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — genitive singular masculine
house	οἰκίαν oikian	G3614	properly · noun — accusative singular feminine
to be broken up	διορυχθῆναι dioruchthēnai	G1358	to penetrate burglariously · verb — aorist passive infinitive

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Luke 12:39 And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his h…
Matthew 24:44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
1 Thessalonians 5:2-6 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
2 Peter 3:10-11 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements sha…
Matthew 20:11 And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house,
Exodus 22:2-3 If a thief be found breaking up, and be smitten that he die, there shall no blood be shed for him.
Proverbs 7:19 For the goodman is not at home, he is gone a long journey:

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

John Gill on Matthew 24:43

But know this,.... Or you do know this: this may be illustrated by supposing a case well known to men, and in which common prudence would direct a man how to behave: that if the good man of the house, or householder, or master of the family, had known in what watch the thief would come; whether at the first, second, third, or fourth watch; for the night was divided into four watches; had he any previous notice given by any of the associates of the thief, or by those that had overheard, or by any means had got intelligence of his design and measures, and the time of his pursuing them, he would have watched; in every watch either in person, or by employing others, or both: and would not ha…

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John Calvin on Matthew 24:43–end

Matthew 24:43-51 Matthew 24:43-51 Mark 13:34-37 Luke 12:35-50 43. But know this, that if the householder had known at what hour the thief would come, he would certainly have watched, and would not have permitted his house to be broken into. 44. Therefore, be you also ready; because the Son of man will come at an hour when you are not aware. 45. Who is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master hath appointed over his household, to give them food in due season? 46. Blessed is that servant, whom his master, when he cometh, shall find acting in this manner. 47. Verily I say to you, He will appoint him [165] over all his property. 48. But if that wicked servant shall say in his heart, My…

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Tyndale Open Study Notes on Matthew 24:42

To keep watch is to maintain active, energetic, single-minded obedience to the Lord (see 25:13; 26:38-41).

Henry, Jamieson-Fausset-Brown, Clarke, Gill, Calvin and Keil & Delitzsch are in the public domain; Tyndale Open Study Notes © Tyndale House Publishers, CC BY-SA 4.0 — all from the Free Use Bible API (bible.helloao.org). Rashi: the Rosenbaum & Silbermann Pentateuch (public domain) and the Judaica Press and Metsudah Tanakh (CC BY), via Sefaria. Spurgeon's Treasury of David: public domain (lyteword's markdown edition, CC0).

The Church Fathers

And by the instance of the master of the household, He teaches more plainly why He keeps secret the day of the consummation.
— Jerome ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

In this He rebukes such as have less care for their souls, than they have of guarding their money against an expected thief.
— John Chrysostom ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

(Hom. in Ev. xiii. 5.) Or, the thief breaks into the house through the neglect of the master of the house, when the spirit has slept upon its post of guard, and death has come in unawares into the dwelling house of our flesh, and finding the lord of the house sleeping, slays him; that is, the spirit, little providing for coming evils, is taken off unprepared, to punishment, by death. But if he had watched he would have been secure from the thief; that is, looking forward to the coming of the Judge, who takes our lives unawares, he would meet Him with penitence, and not perish impenitent.
— Gregory the Dialogist ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Matthew, Gospel according to — The author of this book was beyond a doubt the Matthew, an apostle of our Lord, whose name it bears. He wrote the Gospel of Christ according to his own plans and aims, and from his own point of view,…
Olves, Mount of — So called from the olive trees with which its sides are clothed, is a mountain ridge on the east of Jerusalem (1 Kings 11:7; Ezek. 11:23; Zech. 14:4), from which it is separated by the valley of…
Commandments · DISCOURSE — DISCOURSE
Parables · Parables of christ: Man of the house watching — Parables of christ: Man of the house watching
Second Coming Of Christ, The · Signs preceding — Signs preceding
Watchfulness · 36:18-21; — 36:18-21;

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).