Mat 24:39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
Mat 24:40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
Mat 24:41 Two [women shall be] grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
Mat 24:42 Watch therefore: for you know not what hour your Lord comes.

Alternate version: And they didn't know until the flood came and swept them all away; so it is also with the presence of the Son of man. When two are in the field, one will be taken prisoner and the other left alone. Two shall grind a the mill and one shall be taken prisoner and one left alone. Stay awake because you don't see what hour of your lord comes.

Alternate version 2: And they didn't know until the flood came and swept them all away; so it is also with the presence of the Son of man. When two are in the field, one will be invited and the other left alone. Two shall grind a the mill and one shall be invited and one left alone. Wake up because you don't see what hour your lord comes.

These are interesting passages to translate because they can be legitimately translated in many contradictory ways. Depending on whether or not you think Christ's presence (or arrival) means, being taken can be a good or bad thing.

As always, I take it to have ALL these meanings. We don't know when the lord comes or even when he is here. We also don't know if his presence or coming will be good or bad for us. That is why we must be vigilant.

The first verse refers to the son of man's presence, but the last verse refers to the "coming" of the lord. while we may want to assume the two things are the same, the use of BOTH different nouns and different verbs seems to indicate that the write thought of them as different events.

In Greek, many of the words used here a "sight" words. This refers us back to the continual theme in this chapter to that Christ is the light, enabling us to see what is hidden to most people, especially those who turn to false prophets.

Update: In thinking about these verses more over the last few days, I found myself wondering at why contrasts the people in the field with those at the mill. As always, I go forward with the thought that nothing Christ says is without meaning. We may choose our words haphazardly, but Christ is always putting more into the words than we can imagine. A number of ideas occured to me.

First, it occurred to me that the people in the field are not described as working while those at the mill are. This means that we must remain vigilant both when we are both at leasure and at work, both times when we can be distracted from what is really important.

Then, in thinking about the contrasting way that we can think about being "picked up" and "left behind" as good or bad, I realized that perhaps Christ was using a rhetorical device here. When he spoke the lines, he may have made it clear by his intonations and the contrast that being "picked up" and "left behind" could be either a good or bad thing. Perhaps being picked up and taken out of your life is a bad thing if you are just sitting around in a field, but a good thing if you are working hard in a mill.

Then I realized how Christ comes back again and again to every part of the process of making bread. The sowing of the seeds depends on the ground (Christ's symbol for emotional relationships) on which they fall. The grain is gathered with the weeds, so that killing the weeds do not damage the crop. Here, the grinding the grain can become a moment of survival and reward or captivity and death. Working the yeast into the dough is like the kingdom of heaven because a little of it mixing into everything, changing it. And finally, the dough is baked in the ovens that are fueled by the weeds that grew along side of the grain.

In each of these steps, there is the sense of the valuable and the worthless being part of the same whole. We must take the good with the bad. However, in the end, the seed, the spirit wins out, the bread is made and life is sustained.

The first "knew" is from gignôskô (ginosko) which means "to learn to know," "to know by reflection or observation," and "to perceive."

"Took them away" is from airo, which primarily means "to lift," and also means "to raise up," "to take up," "to raise a child," "to exalt," "to lift and take away," and "to remove." This is NOT the word used in the following verses and translated as "taken."

"Coming" is from parousia, which means "presence," "arrival," "occasion," "situation," "substance," and "property." It is not the word consistenly used to describe something coming or "on its way," which is erchomai, which is used in the final phrase.

"Then" is from hote, which means "when," "as when," "at the time when," and "sometimes."

"Taken" is from paralambanô (paralambano), which means "to receive from," "to take upon oneself," "to undertake," "to take a pledge," "to take or to receive as a substitute," "to take up," "to catch up," "to invite," "to take to oneself" (as in a wife), "to get control of," and "to take a prisoner."

"Left " is from aphiêmi (aphiemi), which means "to let fall," "to send away," "to let loose," "to get rid of," "to leave alone," "to pass by," "to permit," and "to send forth from oneself." This is the same word that is translated as "leave" and "forgive" in the New Testament.

"Grind" is from alêtos (aletho) which means "to grind at a mill." Only here and in the corresponding verse in Luke.

"Watch" is from grêgoreô (gregoreuo), which means "to be or to become fully awake."

"See" is from eido, which means "to see," "to examine," and "to know."

"What" is from poios, which means "of what kind," "whose," "what," and "which."

"Lord," is from kurios, which means "having power," "being in authority" and "being in posession of." It also means "lord," "master of the house," and "head of the family."

The final "comes" is from erchomai, which means "to come" and "to go." It means "to set out" and "to arrive at." It is a little like we use the phrase "he is on his way,"or "to be under way," which can mean either that he is coming or going with no direct reference to the position of the speaker.