diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index efa863360e2784b3654991ffbf104cff63d7bbf2..35ade8b4f4a596607292d1f55f9118a9fafd4148 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -27,6 +27,16 @@ endif
 SRC_DIST_DIRS += mk docs distrib $(ProjectsToBuild)
 SRC_DIST_FILES += configure.in config.guess config.sub configure aclocal.m4 acconfig.h README INSTALL Makefile install-sh
 
+# -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Make sure configure is up-to-date
+
+all boot :: configure
+configure :: configure.in
+	@echo "WARNING: configure needs to be regenerated.  Type"
+	@echo "      make -f Makefile.config ./configure"
+	@echo "and rerun make."
+	@exit 16
+
 # -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # Making a binary distribution
 #