Matius 24:28-29

24:28 Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures ¹  will gather. ² 

The Arrival of the Son of Man

24:29 “Immediately ³  after the suffering ⁴  of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven will be shaken. ⁵ 

[24:28]  ¹ tn The same Greek term can refer to “eagles” or “vultures” (L&N 4.42; BDAG 22 s.v. ἀετός), but in this context it must mean vultures because the gruesome image is one of dead bodies being consumed by scavengers.

[24:28]  sn Jesus’ answer is that when the judgment comes, the scenes of death will be obvious and so will the location of the judgment. See also Luke 17:37.

[24:28]  ² tn Grk “will be gathered.” The passive construction has been translated as an active one in English.

[24:29]  ³ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[24:29]  ⁴ tn Traditionally, “tribulation.”

[24:29]  ⁵ sn An allusion to Isa 13:10, 34:4 (LXX); Joel 2:10. The heavens were seen as the abode of heavenly forces, so their shaking indicates distress in the spiritual realm. Although some take the powers as a reference to bodies in the heavens (like stars and planets, “the heavenly bodies,” NIV) this is not as likely.