What Does Luke 12:40 Mean in the King James?
Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
What you only suppose about the hour cannot govern the arrival.
THE MEANING
The verse meets you now: the Son of Man comes at an hour your expectations do not contain. Readiness does not depend on your ability to predict that hour.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that you can know the decisive moment in advance and prepare only when it feels near.
THE ROOT
δοκεῖτε
dokeite
GROWS FROM
δοκ
dok
To seem, appear, or form an opinion.
The word translated “think” can also mean “seem” or “suppose.” Its family includes δόξα (doxa), meaning opinion, reputation, or glory, what is regarded and carries weight. The verse draws a line between what seems likely to you and the hour that arrives.
ALSO GROWS
dokeō: To seem, think, or suppose.
δοκέω
This is the verb behind “think not”: your supposition does not set the hour.
doxa: Opinion, reputation, or glory; what is regarded.
δόξα
The shared root links what seems to be true with what is held in regard, while the verse places the arrival beyond your expectation.
THE PATTERN
The decisive hour exceeds human forecast.
Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.THE THREAD
Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.Matthew uses the same Greek verb, δοκέω (dokeō), for “think.” The shared wording ties readiness to the limits of supposition: your estimate cannot govern the hour of arrival.
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