Luke 17:35

35 1There will be two women 2grinding together. One will be taken and the other left."[a]

Luke 17:35 Meaning and Commentary

Luke 17:35

Two [women] shall be grinding together
In ( Matthew 24:41 ) it is added, "in the mill"; in the house where the mill was, and at one and the same mill; and so the Ethiopic version here, "two shall grind in one mill": and it was common for two women to grind at one hand mill; and though the word "women" is not in the text, it is rightly put into the translation; since the word used is of the feminine gender, and since grinding was the business of women; and so the Persic version here supplies it, as we do; (See Gill on Matthew 24:42).

The one shall be taken and the other left;
the Roman soldiers entering the mill, will lay hold on the one, and carry her away with them, and leave the other; and for which no other reason can be given, but the sovereign will and providence of God, which should overrule and dispose the minds of these men, to act in such a manner.

Luke 17:35 In-Context

33 Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it.
34 I tell you, in that night there will be two in one bed. One will be taken and the other left.
35 There will be two women grinding together. One will be taken and the other left."
37 And they said to him, "Where, Lord?" He said to them, "Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather."

Cross References 2

  • 1. Matthew 24:41
  • 2. Exodus 11:5; Isaiah 47:2

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Some manuscripts add verse 36: Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.