King James Bible
"And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through."
Jesus introduces a parable with emphatic urgency, commanding his listeners to understand what follows. This phrase signals the importance of the teaching about spiritual readiness that will follow. The 'goodman' (householder) represents any person responsible for their spiritual state, while the thief's arrival symbolizes Christ's unexpected return. The impossibility of knowing the exact timing emphasizes the unpredictable nature of the Second Coming. Had the homeowner known the timing, he would have prevented the break-in through vigilant watching. This illustrates how believers must maintain constant spiritual alertness since they cannot know when Christ will return, making perpetual readiness essential.