Matthew 24:41
New International Version
Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.

New Living Translation
Two women will be grinding flour at the mill; one will be taken, the other left.

English Standard Version
Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left.

Berean Standard Bible
Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left.

Berean Literal Bible
Two women will be grinding at the mill: one is taken, and one is left.

King James Bible
Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

New King James Version
Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left.

New American Standard Bible
Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one will be left.

NASB 1995
“Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one will be left.

NASB 1977
“Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken, and one will be left.

Legacy Standard Bible
Two women will be grinding grain at the mill; one will be taken and one will be left.

Amplified Bible
Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken [for judgment] and one will be left.

Christian Standard Bible
Two women will be grinding grain with a hand mill; one will be taken and one left.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and one left.

American Standard Version
two women shall be grinding at the mill; one is taken, and one is left.

Contemporary English Version
Two women will be together grinding grain, but only one will be taken. The other will be left.

English Revised Version
two women shall be grinding at the mill; one is taken, and one is left.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Two women will be working at a mill. One will be taken, and the other one will be left.

Good News Translation
Two women will be at a mill grinding meal: one will be taken away, the other will be left behind.

International Standard Version
Two women will be grinding grain at the mill. One will be taken, and one will be left behind.

Majority Standard Bible
Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left.

NET Bible
There will be two women grinding grain with a mill; one will be taken and one left.

New Heart English Bible
Two will be grinding grain with a mill; one will be taken and the other left.

Webster's Bible Translation
Two women will be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

Weymouth New Testament
Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken away, and one left behind.

World English Bible
Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and one will be left.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
two [women] will be grinding in the mill: one is received, and one is left.

Berean Literal Bible
Two women will be grinding at the mill: one is taken, and one is left.

Young's Literal Translation
two women shall be grinding in the mill, one is received, and one is left.

Smith's Literal Translation
Two grinding in the mill; one shall be taken, and one let go.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Two women shall be grinding at the mill: one shall be taken, and one shall be left.

Catholic Public Domain Version
Two women will be grinding at a millstone: one will be taken up, and one will be left behind.

New American Bible
Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken, and one will be left.

New Revised Standard Version
Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Two women will be grinding at the handmill, one will be taken and the other left.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken captive and one will be left.
NT Translations
Anderson New Testament
Two women shall be grinding at the mill; one shall be taken, and the other left.

Godbey New Testament
Two women will be grinding at the mill; one is taken, and one is left.

Haweis New Testament
Two women grinding at the mill; the one taken, the other dismissed.

Mace New Testament
two women shall be grinding at the mill, the one shall be taken, and the other left.

Weymouth New Testament
Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken away, and one left behind.

Worrell New Testament
two women will be grinding at the mill, one is carried off, and one is left behind.

Worsley New Testament
and two women grinding at the mill, one taken and one left.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Readiness at Any Hour
40Two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. 41Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. 42Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day on which your Lord will come.…

Cross References
Luke 17:34-35
I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed: one will be taken and the other left. / Two women will be grinding grain together: one will be taken and the other left.”

Matthew 13:30
Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat into my barn.’”

Matthew 13:49
So will it be at the end of the age: The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous

Matthew 25:32
All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.

Matthew 25:10
But while they were on their way to buy it, the bridegroom arrived. Those who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet, and the door was shut.

Matthew 25:13
Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will be the first to rise. / After that, we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord.

1 Thessalonians 5:2-3
For you are fully aware that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. / While people are saying, “Peace and security,” destruction will come upon them suddenly, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

1 Corinthians 15:51-52
Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— / in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.

Revelation 14:14-16
And I looked and saw a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was One like the Son of Man, with a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand. / Then another angel came out of the temple, crying out in a loud voice to the One seated on the cloud, “Swing Your sickle and reap, because the time has come to harvest, for the crop of the earth is ripe.” / So the One seated on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.

Revelation 22:12
“Behold, I am coming soon, and My reward is with Me, to give to each one according to what he has done.

Genesis 7:23
And every living thing on the face of the earth was destroyed—man and livestock, crawling creatures and birds of the air; they were blotted out from the earth, and only Noah and those with him in the ark remained.

Genesis 19:15-17
At daybreak the angels hurried Lot along, saying, “Get up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away in the punishment of the city.” / But when Lot hesitated, the men grabbed his hand and the hands of his wife and his two daughters. And they led them safely out of the city, because of the LORD’s compassion for them. / As soon as the men had brought them out, one of them said, “Run for your lives! Do not look back, and do not stop anywhere on the plain! Flee to the mountains, or you will be swept away!”

Exodus 12:29-30
Now at midnight the LORD struck down every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on his throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner in the dungeon, as well as all the firstborn among the livestock. / During the night Pharaoh got up—he and all his officials and all the Egyptians—and there was loud wailing in Egypt; for there was no house without someone dead.

Isaiah 24:13
So will it be on the earth and among the nations, like a harvested olive tree, like a gleaning after a grape harvest.


Treasury of Scripture

Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

Two.

grinding.

Exodus 11:5
And all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill; and all the firstborn of beasts.

Isaiah 47:2
Take the millstones, and grind meal: uncover thy locks, make bare the leg, uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers.

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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.














Two women
In the context of ancient Jewish society, women often worked together in domestic tasks, such as grinding grain. This phrase highlights the ordinary, daily life activities that people were engaged in during biblical times. The mention of "two women" emphasizes the personal and communal nature of daily labor, reflecting the close-knit communities of the time. It also underscores the universality of Jesus' message, as it applies to all people, regardless of gender or social status.

will be grinding
Grinding grain was a common task in ancient times, typically done by hand using a millstone. This phrase indicates a routine, mundane activity, symbolizing the normalcy of life before an unexpected event. The Greek word used here, "ἀλήθουσαι" (alēthousai), suggests continuous action, emphasizing the ongoing nature of daily life. This serves as a metaphor for the suddenness of Christ's return, which will interrupt the regular flow of life.

at the mill
The mill was an essential part of daily life in ancient agrarian societies. It was a place of labor and sustenance, where grain was transformed into flour for bread, a staple food. The mention of the mill situates the scene in a familiar setting for Jesus' audience, grounding the eschatological message in the reality of everyday life. It reminds believers that the divine can intersect with the mundane at any moment.

one will be taken
This phrase has been the subject of much theological debate. The Greek word "παραλαμβάνεται" (paralambanetai) can mean to take or receive, often implying a positive connotation of being taken to a place of safety or honor. In the context of Matthew 24, it suggests the idea of being chosen or gathered by God, possibly referring to the rapture or the gathering of the elect at the end of the age. It serves as a reminder of the importance of being spiritually prepared for Christ's return.

and the other left
The Greek word "ἀφίεται" (aphiētai) means to leave or abandon. This phrase indicates a separation, a division between those who are prepared and those who are not. It underscores the theme of readiness and vigilance found throughout Matthew 24. The stark contrast between the two women serves as a warning to remain faithful and watchful, as the timing of Christ's return is unknown.

(41) Two women shall be grinding at the mill.--The words bring before us the picture of the lowest form of female labour, in which one woman holds the lower stone of the small hand-mill of the East, while another turns the upper stone and grinds the corn. In Judges 16:21, and Lamentations 5:13, the employment appears as the crowning degradation of male captives taken in battle. It is probable that in this case, as in that of the fig-tree, the illustration may have been suggested by what was present to our Lord's view at the time. The Mount of Olives might well have presented to His gaze, even as He spoke, the two labourers in the field, the two women at the mill.

Verse 41. - Two women shall be grinding at (ἐν) the mill. In the absence of mills turned by wind or water, which were of much later invention, every household had its own little handmill, worked by women of the family or by slaves (Exodus 11:5; Judges 16:21; Isaiah 47:2). "Two stones, about eighteen inches or two feet across, rest one on the other, the under one slightly higher towards the centre, and the upper one hollowed out to fit this convexity; a hole through it, in the middle, receiving the grain. Sometimes the under stone is bedded m cement, raised into a border round it, to catch and retain the flour, or meal, as it falls. A stick fastened into the upper one served as a handle. Occasionally two women sit at the same pair of stones, to lighten the task, one hand only being needed where two work together, whereas a single person has to use both hands" (Geikie, 'Holy Land and Bible,' p. 155). "Two women were busy in a cottage at the household mill, which attracted me by its sound To grind is very exhausting work, so that, where possible, one woman sits opposite the other, to divide the strain, though in a poor man's house the wife has to do this drudgery unaided" (ibid., p. 661). St. Luke (Luke 17:34) adds a third situation to the cases mentioned by our Lord, viz. "two men in one bed," or on one dining couch.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Greek
Two [women]
δύο (dyo)
Adjective - Nominative Feminine Plural
Strong's 1417: Two. A primary numeral; 'two'.

will be grinding
ἀλήθουσαι (alēthousai)
Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Feminine Plural
Strong's 229: To grind. From the same as aleuron; to grind.

at
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
τῷ (tō)
Article - Dative 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.

mill:
μύλῳ (mylō)
Noun - Dative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3458: A millstone, mill. Probably ultimately from the base of molis; a 'mill', i.e., a grinder.

one
μία (mia)
Adjective - Nominative Feminine Singular
Strong's 1520: One. (including the neuter Hen); a primary numeral; one.

will be taken
παραλαμβάνεται (paralambanetai)
Verb - Present Indicative Middle or Passive - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 3880: From para and lambano; to receive near, i.e. Associate with oneself; by analogy, to assume an office; figuratively, to learn.

and
καὶ (kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

[the other]
μία (mia)
Adjective - Nominative Feminine Singular
Strong's 1520: One. (including the neuter Hen); a primary numeral; one.

left.
ἀφίεται (aphietai)
Verb - Present Indicative Middle or Passive - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 863: From apo and hiemi; to send forth, in various applications.


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