Matthew

Temple Destruction and Other Signs

1As Jesus left the temple and was walking away, His disciples came up to Him to point out its buildings.

2“Do you see all these things?” He replied. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”

3While Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age?”

4Jesus answered, “See to it that no one deceives you.

5For many will come in My name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.

6You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. These things must happen, but the end is still to come.

7Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.

8All these are the beginning of birth pains.

Witnessing to All Nations

9Then they will deliver you over to be persecuted and killed, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name.

10At that time many will fall away and will betray and hate one another,

11and many false prophets will arise and deceive many.

12Because of the multiplication of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold.

13But the one who perseveres to the end will be saved.

14And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

The Abomination of Desolation

15So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination of desolation,’spoken of by the prophet Daniel (let the reader understand),

16then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.

17Let no one on the housetop come down to retrieve anything from his house.

18And let no one in the field return for his cloak.

19How miserable those days will be for pregnant and nursing mothers!

20Pray that your flight will not occur in the winter or on the Sabbath.

21For at that time there will be great tribulation, unseen from the beginning of the world until now, and never to be seen again.

22If those days had not been cut short, nobody would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, those days will be cut short.

23At that time, if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There He is!’ do not believe it.

24For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive even the elect, if that were possible.

25See, I have told you in advance.

The Return of the Son of Man

26So if they tell you, ‘There He is, in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or, ‘Here He is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it.

27For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

28Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.

29Immediately after the tribulation of those days: ‘The sun will be darkened,and the moon will not give its light;the stars will fall from the sky,and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.’

30At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven,and all the tribes of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

31And He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

The Lesson of the Fig Tree

32Now learn this lessonfrom the fig tree: As soon as its branches become tender and sprout leaves, you know that summer is near.

33So also, when you see all these things, you will know that He is near,right at the door.

34Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have happened.

35Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.

Readiness at Any Hour

36No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,but only the Father.

37As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be at the coming of the Son of Man.

38For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark.

39And they were oblivious until the flood came and swept them all away. So will it be at the coming of the Son of Man.

40Two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left.

41Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left.

42Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day on which your Lord will come.

43But understand this: If the homeowner had known in which watch of the night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into.

44For this reason, you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour you do not expect.

45Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of his household, to give the others their food at the proper time?

46Blessed is that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns.

47Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions.

48But suppose that servant is wicked and says in his heart, ‘My master will be away a long time.’

49And he begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards.

50The master of that servant will come on a day he does not expect and at an hour he does not anticipate.

51Then he will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

1And having gone forth, Jesus departed from the temple, and his disciples came near to show him the buildings of the temple,

2and Jesus said to them, 'Do ye not see all these? verily I say to you, There may not be left here a stone upon a stone, that shall not be thrown down.'

3And when he is sitting on the mount of the Olives, the disciples came near to him by himself, saying, 'Tell us, when shall these be? and what [is] the sign of thy presence, and of the full end of the age?'

4And Jesus answering said to them, 'Take heed that no one may lead you astray,

5for many shall come in my name, saying, I am the Christ, and they shall lead many astray,

6and ye shall begin to hear of wars, and reports of wars; see, be not troubled, for it behoveth all [these] to come to pass, but the end is not yet.

7'For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places;

8and all these [are] the beginning of sorrows;

9then they shall deliver you up to tribulation, and shall kill you, and ye shall be hated by all the nations because of my name;

10and then shall many be stumbled, and they shall deliver up one another, and shall hate one another.

11'And many false prophets shall arise, and shall lead many astray;

12and because of the abounding of the lawlessness, the love of the many shall become cold;

13but he who did endure to the end, he shall be saved;

14and this good news of the reign shall be proclaimed in all the world, for a testimony to all the nations; and then shall the end arrive.

15'Whenever, therefore, ye may see the abomination of the desolation, that was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (whoever is reading let him observe)

16then those in Judea — let them flee to the mounts;

17he on the house-top — let him not come down to take up any thing out of his house;

18and he in the field — let him not turn back to take his garments.

19'And woe to those with child, and to those giving suck in those days;

20and pray ye that your flight may not be in winter, nor on a sabbath;

21for there shall be then great tribulation, such as was not from the beginning of the world till now, no, nor may be.

22And if those days were not shortened, no flesh would have been saved; but because of the chosen, shall those days be shortened.

23'Then if any one may say to you, Lo, here [is] the Christ! or here! ye may not believe;

24for there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and they shall give great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, also the chosen.

25Lo, I did tell you beforehand.

26'If therefore they may say to you, Lo, in the wilderness he is, ye may not go forth; lo, in the inner chambers, ye may not believe;

27for as the lightning doth come forth from the east, and doth appear unto the west, so shall be also the presence of the Son of Man;

28for wherever the carcase may be, there shall the eagles be gathered together.

29'And immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from the heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken;

30and then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in the heaven; and then shall all the tribes of the earth smite the breast, and they shall see the Son of Man coming upon the clouds of the heaven, with power and much glory;

31and he shall send his messengers with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his chosen from the four winds, from the ends of the heavens unto the ends thereof.

32'And from the fig-tree learn ye the simile: When already its branch may have become tender, and the leaves it may put forth, ye know that summer [is] nigh,

33so also ye, when ye may see all these, ye know that it is nigh — at the doors.

34Verily I say to you, this generation may not pass away till all these may come to pass.

35The heaven and the earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

36'And concerning that day and the hour no one hath known — not even the messengers of the heavens — except my Father only;

37and as the days of Noah — so shall be also the presence of the Son of Man;

38for as they were, in the days before the flood, eating, and drinking, marrying, and giving in marriage, till the day Noah entered into the ark,

39and they did not know till the flood came and took all away; so shall be also the presence of the Son of Man.

40Then two men shall be in the field, the one is received, and the one is left;

41two women shall be grinding in the mill, one is received, and one is left.

42'Watch ye therefore, because ye have not known in what hour your Lord doth come;

43and this know, that if the master of the house had known in what watch the thief doth come, he had watched, and not suffered his house to be broken through;

44because of this also ye, become ye ready, because in what hour ye do not think, the Son of Man doth come.

45'Who, then, is the servant, faithful and wise, whom his lord did set over his household, to give them the nourishment in season?

46Happy that servant, whom his lord, having come, shall find doing so;

47verily I say to you, that over all his substance he will set him.

48'And, if that evil servant may say in his heart, My Lord doth delay to come,

49and may begin to beat the fellow-servants, and to eat and to drink with the drunken,

50the lord of that servant will arrive in a day when he doth not expect, and in an hour of which he doth not know,

51and will cut him off, and his portion with the hypocrites will appoint; there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of the teeth.