Translation
And because lawlessness
Go to footnote numberwill definitely increase, the love of many will grow cold.
Go to footnote numberParaphrase
What’s more, because wickedness and a total disregard for the law will exponentially increase, the love and commitment of many will diminish.
Footnotes
1: “Lawlessness”
Although the word can mean simply “wickedness, or sinfulness” it is built using the word “law” and turning it into the opposite of it, i.e. “without law.” This word paints a picture of indulgent actions that are totally against God’s standard. God alone sets the standard; human society cannot do so.
2: “Grow cold”
Up to this point in Matthew 24 Jesus has been addressing the part of their question about the end of the age which He connects directly to the destruction of the temple which took place in AD 70. There is nothing to indicate that He has changed gears. Verse 12 accurately describes many cultures at many times in history; but I think this entire first section is addressing the destruction of the temple.
What did it look like when their love grew cold? In the lead-up to the destruction of the temple the three Jewish factions refused to get along or work together. As things with Rome became more tense the fighting between the three grew worse and worse. There was hatred of fellow Jews. Many of the things they were thinking, feeling, and doing were contrary to God’s law established through Moses. Jesus was saying that all these terrible things would accompany the powerful confirmation that one age had been completed and the new age had indeed begun.