Bible Strands
Luke 12:39
But understand this: If the homeowner had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jesus addresses his disciples through a domestic parable during a teaching on watchfulness and sudden return.
The words — The text highlights οἰκοδεσπότης (oikodespotēs), meaning master of the house, and ᾔδει (ēdei), meaning had known, to establish a conditional scenario about property security.
The thread — The sudden intrusion motif appears in 2 Peter 3:10, Revelation 3:3, and Revelation 16:15, while Luke 12:38 and 12:40 anchor it within a sequence demanding uninterrupted alertness.
Why it lands — The verse states that foreknowledge of timing would prevent negligence, requiring readers to maintain constant readiness rather than attempt to calculate the moment of return.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through.
Cross-references
- 2 Peter 3:10 But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar, the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and its works will be laid bare.
- Revelation 3:3 Remember, then, what you have received and heard. Keep it and repent. If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know the hour when I will come upon you.
- Revelation 16:15 “Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who remains awake and clothed, so that he will not go naked and let his shame be exposed.”
- Matthew 24:43 But understand this: If the homeowner had known in which watch of the night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:2 For you are fully aware that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.
- Matthew 6:19 Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.