This saying, in a somewhat abbreviated form, is found earlier in the Marcan discourse on the last things (13.10). Matthew seems to have transferred it here in order to focus upon the urgency of love (verse 12).

Gospel was discussed at 1.1. Kingdom was first discussed at 3.2. This gospel of the kingdom may best be interpreted with Good News Translation to mean “Good News about the Kingdom,” or “… about the coming rule of God,” or “… about how God is coming to rule.” In Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, 1st edition the first part of this verse is translated “The good news must first be proclaimed throughout the entire world. Everyone must hear the invitation to God’s new world.” In this context the gospel of the kingdom may also be expressed as “this Good News about God’s reign” or “this Good News about being part of God’s Kingdom.”

Will be preached is a passive construction which must often be expressed as an active one, as in “People will preach everywhere in the world about the Good News of God’s ruling” or “People must proclaim everywhere in the world the Good News about how God will reign.” But it must be related if possible to as a testimony to all nations. Barclay has “so that all nations may be confronted with the truth,” but another possibility is “so that everyone will have the chance to hear (or, accept) it.” The sentence can possibly be restructured, as for example “And it must happen that people proclaim the Good News about God’s rule everywhere in the world, so that all countries have an opportunity to accept it.”

And then the end will come may be translated “only then will the end of the world come” or “only then will God bring the world to an end.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1988. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .