Why is 'travail' used instead of 'sorrow' in Matthew 24:8?
Travail is the better word because Jesus is speaking in terms of a delivery. The events in Matthew 24 are the beginning of travail, pointing to the earth's coming delivery from the curse instituted at the garden, rather than mere sorrow.
Les explains that Matthew 24:8 in the King James uses "sorrow," but "travail" is a better word because Jesus is speaking in terms of a delivery. After the four horsemen appear, with famine, pestilence, and earthquakes in diverse places, Jesus says these are only the beginning. Les connects this to Revelation chapter 5, where the scroll was a paying off of a mortgage and also the delivery of the earth from the curse instituted back at the garden. Thus travail fits because it points to the earth's coming deliverance, not just sorrow.
All these are the beginning of sorrows.
More Questions
What does 'the beginning of sorrows' in Matthew 24:8 mean?
The opening stages of the tribulation are what Jesus calls 'the beginning of sorrows'; some newer translations render this as 'the beginning of travail.'
Why do newer translations say 'beginning of travail' instead of 'beginning of sorrows' in Matthew 24:8?
The KJV phrase 'beginning of sorrows' in Matthew 24:8 is better translated 'beginning of travail' because Jesus is speaking in terms of a birth or delivery.