Matthew 24:15
New International Version
“So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand—

New Living Translation
“The day is coming when you will see what Daniel the prophet spoke about—the sacrilegious object that causes desecration standing in the Holy Place.” (Reader, pay attention!)

English Standard Version
“So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),

Berean Standard Bible
So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination of desolation,’ described by the prophet Daniel (let the reader understand),

Berean Literal Bible
Therefore when you shall see 'the abomination of desolation,' having been spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place--the one reading, let him understand--

King James Bible
When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)

New King James Version
“Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand),

New American Standard Bible
“Therefore when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place—let the reader understand—

NASB 1995
“Therefore when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),

NASB 1977
“Therefore when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),

Legacy Standard Bible
“Therefore when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),

Amplified Bible
“So when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION [the appalling sacrilege that astonishes and makes desolate], spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the Holy Place (let the reader understand),

Christian Standard Bible
“So when you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place” (let the reader understand),

Holman Christian Standard Bible
“So when you see the abomination that causes desolation, spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place” (let the reader understand),

American Standard Version
When therefore ye see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let him that readeth understand),

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
But whenever you will see the desecrated sign of desolation that was spoken by Daniel the Prophet, standing in the holy place, ( he who reads should consider )

Contemporary English Version
Someday you will see that "Horrible Thing" in the holy place, just as the prophet Daniel said. Everyone who reads this must try to understand!

Douay-Rheims Bible
When therefore you shall see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place: he that readeth let him understand.

English Revised Version
When therefore ye see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let him that readeth understand),

GOD'S WORD® Translation
"The prophet Daniel said that the disgusting thing that will cause destruction will stand in the holy place. When you see this (let the reader take note),

Good News Translation
"You will see 'The Awful Horror' of which the prophet Daniel spoke. It will be standing in the holy place." (Note to the reader: understand what this means!)

International Standard Version
"So when you see the destructive desecration, mentioned by the prophet Daniel, standing in the Holy Place (let the reader take note),

Literal Standard Version
Whenever, therefore, you may see the abomination of the desolation, that was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (whoever is reading let him observe)

Majority Standard Bible
So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination of desolation,’ described by the prophet Daniel (let the reader understand),

New American Bible
“When you see the desolating abomination spoken of through Daniel the prophet standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),

NET Bible
"So when you see the abomination of desolation--spoken about by Daniel the prophet--standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),

New Revised Standard Version
“So when you see the desolating sacrilege standing in the holy place, as was spoken of by the prophet Daniel (let the reader understand),

New Heart English Bible
"When, therefore, you see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),

Webster's Bible Translation
When therefore ye shall see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoever readeth, let him understand,)

Weymouth New Testament
"When you have seen (to use the language of the Prophet Daniel)

World English Bible
“When, therefore, you see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),

Young's Literal Translation
'Whenever, therefore, ye may see the abomination of the desolation, that was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (whoever is reading let him observe)

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Abomination of Desolation
14And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. 15So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination of desolation,’ described by the prophet Daniel (let the reader understand), 16then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.…

Cross References
Jeremiah 44:29
This will be a sign to you that I will punish you in this place, declares the LORD, so that you may know that My threats of harm against you will surely stand.

Daniel 1:6
Among these young men were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.

Daniel 9:23
At the beginning of your petitions, an answer went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are highly precious. So consider the message and understand the vision:

Daniel 9:27
And he will confirm a covenant with many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of the temple will come the abomination that causes desolation, until the decreed destruction is poured out upon him."

Daniel 11:31
His forces will rise up and desecrate the temple fortress. They will abolish the daily sacrifice and set up the abomination of desolation.

Daniel 12:11
And from the time the daily sacrifice is abolished and the abomination of desolation set up, there will be 1,290 days.

Matthew 24:16
then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.


Treasury of Scripture

When you therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoever reads, let him understand:)

ye.

Mark 13:14
But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains:

Luke 19:43
For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side,

Luke 21:20
And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.

by.

Daniel 9:27
And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

Daniel 12:11
And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.

whoso.

Ezekiel 40:4
And the man said unto me, Son of man, behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears, and set thine heart upon all that I shall shew thee; for to the intent that I might shew them unto thee art thou brought hither: declare all that thou seest to the house of Israel.

Daniel 9:23,25
At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision…

Daniel 10:12-14
Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words…

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Abomination Clear Daniel Desolating Desolation Destruction Holy Language Makes Observe Prophet Reader Readeth Reading Reads Stand Standing Unclean Understand Use Whenever Word
Matthew 24
1. Jesus foretells the destruction of the temple;
3. what and how great calamities shall be before it;
29. the signs of his coming to judgment.
36. And because that day and hour are unknown,
42. we ought to watch like good servants, expecting our Master's coming.














(15) The abomination of desolation.--The words, as they stand in Daniel 12:11, seem to refer to the desecration of the sanctuary by the mad attempt of Antiochus Epiphanes to stop the "daily sacrifice," and to substitute an idolatrous worship in its place (2 Maccabees 6:1-9). What analogous desecration our Lord's words point to, is a question that has received very different answers. We may at once narrow the range of choice by remembering (1) that it is before the destruction of the Temple, and therefore cannot be the presence of the plundering troops, or of the eagles of the legions in it; (2) that the "abomination" stands in the "Holy Place," and therefore it cannot be identified with the appearance of the Roman eagles in the lines of the besieging legions under Cestius, A.D. 68. The answer is probably to be found in the faction-fights, the murders and outrages, the profane consecration of usurping priests, which the Jewish historian describes so fully (Jos. Wars, iv. 6, ?? 6-8). The Zealots had got possession of the Temple at an early stage in the siege, and profaned it by these and other like outrages; they made the Holy Place (in the very words of the historian) "a garrison and stronghold" of their tyrannous and lawless rule; while the better priests looked on from afar and wept tears of horror. The mysterious prediction of 2Thessalonians 2:4 may point, in the first instance, to some kindred "abomination."

The words "spoken of by Daniel the prophet" have been urged as absolutely decisive of the questions that have been raised as to the authorship of the book that bears the name of that prophet. This is not the place to discuss those questions, but it is well in all cases not to put upon words a strain which they will scarcely bear. It has been urged, with some degree of reasonableness, that a reference of this kind was necessarily made to the book as commonly received and known, and that critical questions of this kind, as in reference to David as the writer of the Psalms, or Moses as the author of the books commonly ascribed to him, lay altogether outside the scope of our Lord's teaching. The questions themselves had not been then raised, and were not present to the thoughts either of the hearers or the readers of his prophetic warnings.

Whoso readeth, let him understand.--The words have been supposed by some commentators to have been a marginal note in the first written report of the discourse, calling attention to this special prediction on account of its practical bearing on the action of the disciples of Christ at the time. There appears, however, to be no sufficient reason why they should not be received as part of the discourse itself, bidding one who read the words of Daniel to ponder over their meaning till he learnt to recognise their fulfilment in the events that should pass before his eyes.

Verse 15. - In this second strain of the prophecy contained in vers. 15-22, our Lord confines himself almost entirely to the fate of Jerusalem. Therefore. The illative particle carries us back to the signs given in the previous section (vers. 5-14). By saying when ye shall see, he implies that some of his hearers shall behold this mysterious sign, and have the opportunity of profiting by the knowledge thereof. The abomination of desolation (τὸ βδέλυγμα τῆς ἐρημώσεως). The term is from the Septuagint Version (with which Theodotion's agrees) of Daniel 12:11; in Daniel 9:27 we find βδέλυγμα τῶν ἐρημώσεων, where the Hebrew gives, Upon the wing [or, 'pinnacle'] of abominations shall come the desolater." Also in Daniel 11:31 we have the simple βδέλυγμα. What is meant by the term in our text is a matter of unsettled dispute. The prophecy in Daniel 11:31 has been generally referred to the doings of Antiochus Epiphanes (see 1 Macc. 1:54), and the present is considered to relate to something analogous. "Abomination" in the Old Testament is generally connected with idolatry or sacrilege; "of desolation" is equivalent to "that causes desolation." Among the many explanation; of this passage which have been offered, two only seem worthy of consideration.

(1) The desolating abomination is referred to the Roman armies encamped around Jerusalem (Luke 21:20), of which the symbol was the legionaries' eagles, regarded with reverence by the soldiers. But in opposition to this view it may be said, if the holy place, without the article, signifies the Holy Land, then the presence of the Latin forces would be no new sign to the Jewish people, as they had been familiar with such a sight for many years. If the temple itself is meant, it is plain that it would be too late to fly from that doomed city when the Roman eagles were already in the hallowed courts.

(2) The alternative interpretation, which has seemed to many more probable, explains it of the sanguinary deeds of the Zealots, who, after the war had been carried on for some years, seized the temple, put a stop to the daily sacrifice, deluged the sacred courts with blood, and were guilty of most hideous crimes and excesses, which, as Josephus testifies, were the immediate cause of the city's, ruin (see Josephus, 'Bell. Jud.,' 4:03, 7, etc.; 5:1, 2; 6:3; 5:9, 4; 6:2; and Wordsworth's note on this ver. 15). The presence and acts of these ruffians were to be the signal for the escape of the Christians. I must confess that neither of these explanations satisfies me. The primal fulfilment of Daniel's prophecy is found in the erection of the statue of Jupiter in the temple by the order of Antiochus Epiphanes, and the pollution of the altar by the sacrifice of swine thereon. Our Lord would seem to refer to something analogous which should give the Christians a signal for escape before the complete investiture of the city. The deeds of Zealots and assassins, however atrocious, could not with any propriety be described as "abomination that maketh desolate standing in the holy place." The term, according to scriptural analogy, must refer to some sacrilege and pollution connected with idolatry, of which certainly the Zealots were not guilty. The Fathers, recognizing this, have seen the fulfilment in the erection of images of the Roman emperors in the temple or its precincts. But we have no account of any such act preceding the final siege. Pilate's attempted introduction of the Roman ensigns was defeated by the threatening attitude of the people (Josephus, 'Ant.,' 18:03. 1), and the actual setting up of these ensigns in the sanctuary, and the erection of the statue of Titus, were subsequent to the capture of the city and temple ('Bell. Jud.,' 6:06. 1). Our Lord is plainly referring to something that transpired before the conclusion of the siege, otherwise we might recognize an allusion to the insurrection of Bar-cochebas, which ended in the destruction of the partially rebuilt city, the abolition of its old name, the erection of a temple to Jupiter on the site of the holy place, and the placing of a statue of the emperor upon the altar, A.D. 135. What the "abomination" was cannot now be accurately determined, though its character may be divined from what has been said, and it was probably some anticipation of the antichrist who is to appear before the final consummation, who "exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God" (2 Thessalonians 2:4, 8). Spoken of by Daniel the prophet, in three passages (Daniel 9:27; Daniel 11:31; Daniel 12:11), all obscure and difficult, and not necessarily referring to the same events. Christ takes it for granted that his auditors understand the allusion. Stand [standing] in the holy place. Those who take "the abomination" to be the Roman army, explain this clause to mean "posted on the holy soil." But τόπος ἅγιος, with or without the article, is never used but in reference to the temple and its adjuncts (comp. Acts 6:13; Acts 21:28; and in the Septuagint, Leviticus 10:13; Isaiah 60:13; 2 Macc. 8:17, etc.). Whatever the sign may be, it is to be seen within the temple. (Whoso readeth, let him understand.) There are three ways of regarding this parenthetical clause.

(1) Alford takes it as "an eeclesiastical note, which, like the doxology in ch. 6:13, has found its way into the text" This is a mere conjecture which has nothing to support it. . . .

Parallel Commentaries ...


Greek
So
οὖν (oun)
Conjunction
Strong's 3767: Therefore, then. Apparently a primary word; certainly, or accordingly.

when
Ὅταν (Hotan)
Conjunction
Strong's 3752: When, whenever. From hote and an; whenever; also causatively inasmuch as.

you see
ἴδητε (idēte)
Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 2nd Person Plural
Strong's 3708: Properly, to stare at, i.e. to discern clearly; by extension, to attend to; by Hebraism, to experience; passively, to appear.

standing
ἑστὸς (hestos)
Verb - Perfect Participle Active - Accusative Neuter Singular
Strong's 2476: A prolonged form of a primary stao stah'-o; to stand, used in various applications.

in
ἐν (en)
Preposition
Strong's 1722: In, on, among. A primary preposition denoting position, and instrumentality, i.e. A relation of rest; 'in, ' at, on, by, etc.

[the] holy
ἁγίῳ (hagiō)
Adjective - Dative Masculine Singular
Strong's 40: Set apart by (or for) God, holy, sacred. From hagos; sacred.

place
τόπῳ (topō)
Noun - Dative Masculine Singular
Strong's 5117: Apparently a primary word; a spot, i.e. Location; figuratively, condition, opportunity; specially, a scabbard.

‘the
Τὸ (To)
Article - Accusative Neuter Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

abomination
βδέλυγμα (bdelygma)
Noun - Accusative Neuter Singular
Strong's 946: An abominable thing, an accursed thing. From bdelusso; a detestation, i.e. idolatry.

of desolation,’
ἐρημώσεως (erēmōseōs)
Noun - Genitive Feminine Singular
Strong's 2050: A desolation, devastation. From eremoo; despoliation.

described
ῥηθὲν (rhēthen)
Verb - Aorist Participle Passive - Accusative Neuter Singular
Strong's 2046: Probably a fuller form of rheo; an alternate for epo in certain tenses; to utter, i.e. Speak or say.

by
διὰ (dia)
Preposition
Strong's 1223: A primary preposition denoting the channel of an act; through.

the
τοῦ (tou)
Article - Genitive Masculine Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

prophet
προφήτου (prophētou)
Noun - Genitive Masculine Singular
Strong's 4396: From a compound of pro and phemi; a foreteller; by analogy, an inspired speaker; by extension, a poet.

Daniel
Δανιὴλ (Daniēl)
Noun - Genitive Masculine Singular
Strong's 1158: Daniel. Of Hebrew origin; Daniel, an Israelite.

({let} the
(ho)
Article - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

reader
ἀναγινώσκων (anaginōskōn)
Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 314: To read, know again, know certainly, recognize, discern. From ana and ginosko; to know again, i.e. to read.

understand),
νοείτω (noeitō)
Verb - Present Imperative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 3539: From nous; to exercise the mind, i.e. to comprehend, heed.


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NT Gospels: Matthew 24:15 When therefore you see the abomination (Matt. Mat Mt)
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