Matthew 24 · Verse 30

Matthew 24:30

And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
Matthew 24:30, King James Version

Matthew 24:30 in other translations

BSBAt that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.
WEBand then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky. Then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory.
ASVand then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
YLTand then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in the heaven; and then shall all the tribes of the earth smite the breast, and they shall see the Son of Man coming upon the clouds of the heaven, with power and much glory;
DARBYAnd then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven; and then shall all the tribes of the land lament, and they shall see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
BBEAnd then the sign of the Son of man will be seen in heaven: and then all the nations of the earth will have sorrow, and they will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
WebsterAnd then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

What does Matthew 24:30 mean?

Barnes' Notes
Verse 30. The sign of the Son of man. The evidence that Christ is coming to destroy the city of Jerusalem. It is not to be denied, however, that this description is applicable also to his coming at the day of judgment. The disciples had asked him, Mt 24:3 what should be the sign of his coming, and of the end of the world. In his answer, he has reference to both events, and his language may be regarded as descriptive of both. At the destruction of Jerusalem, the sign or evidence of his coming was found in the fulfillment of these predictions. At the end of the world, the sign of his coming will be his personal approach with the glory of his Father and the holy angels, 1Thes 4:16, Lk 21:27, Mt 26:64, Acts 1:11.

All the tribes of the earth mourn. This is, either all the tribes or people of the land of Judea shall mourn at the great calamities coming upon them, or all the nations of the world shall wail when He comes to judgment. All the wicked shall mourn at the prospect of their doom, Rev 1:7. The cause of their wailing at the day of judgment shall be chiefly that they have pierced, killed, rejected the Saviour, and that they deserve the condemnation that is coming upon them, Jn 19:37, Zech 12:12.

And they shall see the Son of man. The Lord Jesus coming to judgment. Probably this refers more directly to his coming at the last day, though it may also mean that the evidence of his coming to destroy Jerusalem shall then be seen.

In the clouds of heaven. He ascended in a cloud, Acts 1:9. He shall return in like manner, Acts 1:11. The clouds of heaven denote not the clouds in heaven, but the clouds that appear to shut heaven, or the sky, from our view.

With power. Power, manifest in the destruction of Jerusalem, by the wonders that preceded it, and by the overturning of the temple and city. In the day of judgment, power manifest by consuming the material world, 2Pet 3:7,10,12by raising the dead, Jn 5:29, 30, 1Cor 15:52 by changing those who may be alive when he shall come; that is, making their bodies like those who have died, and been raised up, 1Thes 4:17, 1Cor 15:52 by bringing the affairs of the world to a close, receiving the righteous to heaven, Mt 25:34, 1Cor 15:57 and by sending the wicked, however numerous or however strong, down to hell, Mt 25:41,46, Jn 5:29.

Great glory. The word glory here means the visible display of his honour and majesty. This glory will be manifested by the manner of his coming, Mt 26:64 by the presence of the angels, Mt 25:31; and by the wonders that shall attend him down the sky.

(c) "of man in" Dan 7:13, Rev 1:7 (d) "and they shall" Mt 16:27, Mk 13:26, Lk 22:69

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 30 Then shall appear the sign of the Son of man - The plain meaning of this is, that the destruction of Jerusalem will be such a remarkable instance of Divine vengeance, such a signal manifestation of Christ's power and glory, that all the Jewish tribes shall mourn, and many will, in consequence of this manifestation of God, be led to acknowledge Christ and his religion. By της γης, of the land, in the text, is evidently meant here, as in several other places, the land of Judea and its tribes, either its then inhabitants, or the Jewish people wherever found.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Matthew 24:29-41

Christ foretells his second coming. It is usual for prophets to speak of things as near and just at hand, to express the greatness and certainty of them. Concerning Christ's second coming, it is foretold that there shall be a great change, in order to the making all things new. Then they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds. At his first coming, he was set for a sign that should be spoken against, but at…

Read the full comment on Matthew 24:29-41 →

Matthew 24:30 in the original Greek

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

καὶkaiAndG2532
τότεtotethenG5119
φανήσεταιphanēsetaiwill appearG5316
τὸtotheG3588
σημεῖονsēmeionsignG4592
τοῦtouof theG3588
υἱοῦhuiouSonG5207
τοῦtou<the>G3588
ἀνθρώπουanthrōpouof ManG444
ἐνeninG1722
οὐρανῷ·ouranōheaven;G3772
καὶkaiandG2532
τότεtotethenG5119
κόψονταιkopsontaiwill mournG2875
πᾶσαιpasaiallG3956
αἱhaitheG3588
φυλαὶphulaitribesG5443
τῆςtēsof theG3588
γῆςgēsearthG1093
καὶkaiandG2532
ὄψονταιopsontaithey will beholdG3700
τὸνtontheG3588
υἱὸνhuionSonG5207
τοῦtou<the>G3588
ἀνθρώπουanthrōpouof ManG444
ἐρχόμενονerchomenoncomingG2064
ἐπὶepionG1909
τῶνtōntheG3588
νεφελῶνnephelōncloudsG3507
τοῦtou<the>G3588
οὐρανοῦouranouof heavenG3772
μετὰmetawithG3326
δυνάμεωςdunameōspowerG1411
καὶkaiandG2532
δόξηςdoxēsgloryG1391
πολλῆς.pollēsgreat.G4183

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Matthew 24:30

  • Revelation 1:7

    Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

  • Daniel 7:13

    I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.

  • Luke 21:27

    And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

  • Acts 1:11

    Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

  • Matthew 26:64

    Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.

  • Matthew 16:27-28

    For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works. Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.

  • Zechariah 12:10

    And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.

  • Mark 13:26

    And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.

  • Matthew 24:3

    And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?

  • 2 Thessalonians 1:7

    And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,

  • Mark 14:62-64

    And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. Then the high priest rent his clothes, and saith, What need we any further witnesses? Ye have heard the blasphemy: what think ye? And they all condemned him to be guilty of death.

  • Luke 22:69

    Hereafter shall the Son of man sit on the right hand of the power of God.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
the sign.
3; Da 7:13; Mr 13:4; Re 1:7
and then shall all.
Zec 12:10; Re 1:7
see.
16:27,28; 26:64; Mr 13:26; 14:62-64; Lu 21:27; 22:69; Ac 1:11
2Th 1:7

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Matthew 24:29

    Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:

  • Matthew 24:30

    And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

  • Matthew 24:31

    And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Read all of Matthew 24

Matthew 24:30 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y entonces se mostrará la señal del Hijo del hombre en el cielo; y entonces lamentarán todas las tribus de la tierra, y verán al Hijo del hombre que vendrá sobre las nubes del cielo, con grande poder y gloria.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et alors paraîtra le signe du fils de l’homme dans le ciel: et alors toutes les tribus de la terre se lamenteront et verront le fils de l’homme venant sur les nuées du ciel, avec puissance et une grande gloire.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und dann wird das Zeichen des Sohnes des Menschen in dem Himmel erscheinen; und dann werden wehklagen alle Stämme des Landes, und sie werden den Sohn des Menschen kommen sehen auf den Wolken des Himmels mit Macht und großer Herrlichkeit.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		et tunc parebit signum Filii hominis in cælo: et tunc plangent omnes tribus terræ: et videbunt Filium hominis venientem in nubibus cæli cum virtute multa et majestate.