Matthew24:16

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Translation

those in Judea

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should flee

to the mountains;

Paraphrase

Those in an unprotected place should get out of the way by fleeing to the caves and other protecting hiding places.

Footnotes

1: “those in Judea”

Jesus chose to say it this way because by the time they actually saw or heard that the defilement was happening, Jerusalem would be under siege and no one would get out or go in. But most had run to Jerusalem for safety because it had strong walls around it, whereas the small villages had no such protection and were easy targets for any armed force. So Jesus meant, anyone who can get to the mountains should do so. Everyone knew that there were many caves and even hand dug tunnels in those mountains and the Romans were unlikely to try to flush out every cave. So some people could possibly save their lives by hiding in caves – if they could find enough to eat.