Luke 17:24

24 For the Son of Man in his day^[a] will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other.

Luke 17:24 in Other Translations

24 For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day.

24 For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day.

24 For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other, so it will be on the day when the Son of Man comes.

24 The arrival of the Son of Man is not something you go out to see. He simply comes.

24 For as the lightning flashes from horizon to horizon and lights up the sky, so the Son of Man will be in His day.

Luke 17:24 Meaning and Commentary

Luke 17:24

For as the lightning that lighteneth out of the one
[part] under heaven
The Syriac version reads, "out of heaven", and the Arabic version, "in heaven"; which is the seat of lightning, and from whence it arises:

and shineth unto the other part under heaven;
enlightens the earth, which is under the heaven: though the sense of the words, as they lie in the original text, seems to be, that as the lightning lightens at one end of the heavens, and shines to the other; which is done at once, in a moment, in a twinkling of the eye, and to which agrees the Ethiopic version;

so shall also the son of man be in his day:
which is not to be understood of the swift progress of the Gospel, after his resurrection and ascension, and the pouring forth of his Spirit; but of his sudden coming, first to take vengeance on the Jewish nation for their rejection of him, and then at the last day, to judge both quick and dead. By his day, is meant his kingdom and glory, or his appearance with power, and great glory: Thus we read ^F6 for Solomon, (wtevb) , "in his hour", that is, in his glory, in the time of his kingdom, when he was in his greatest magnificence.

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FOOTNOTES:

F6 Misna Bava Metzia, c. 7. sect. 1. & Jarchi & Bartenora in ib. Vid. Shirhashirim Rabba, fol. 15. 4. & 16. 1.

Luke 17:24 In-Context

22 Then he said to his disciples, “The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it.

23 People will tell you, ‘There he is!’ or ‘Here he is!’ Do not go running off after them.

24 For the Son of Man in his daywill be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other.

25 But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.

26 “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man.

Cross References

• 1. Matthew 24:27

Footnotes

• [a]. Some manuscripts do not have "in his day."