What Does Matthew 25:13 Mean in the King James?
Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
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
The unknown hour does not hide the point of the verse; it makes watchfulness a way of being awake now.
THE MEANING
The time of the coming remains unknown, while watchfulness is present and possible. The verse turns attention from calculating when to the state of being awake now.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that readiness can wait until the timing is known.
THE ROOT
γρηγορεῖτε
grēgoreite
GROWS FROM
ἐγείρω
egeirō
To awaken or raise; γρηγορέω is linked to the perfect form ἐγρήγορα, “I am awake.”
“Watch” in this verse is grēgoreite. The Greek word for watching carries the sense of staying awake. Its root links watchfulness with awakening: the verse places the reader in a state of alertness even while the time remains hidden.
ALSO GROWS
egeirō: Awaken, raise
ἐγείρω
This related verb makes the waking sense inside “watch” audible.
egersis: Rising, resurrection
ἔγερσις
This noun from the same word family extends the image of awakening into rising.
THE PATTERN
When the time of a coming remains hidden, the text places attention on watchfulness in the present.
Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning:Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.THE THREAD
Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.The Greek verb translated “watch” is from the same word family in both verses. Here it stands beside “not sleep,” making the waking image in Matthew’s command unmistakable.
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