Matthew 24:1–25:46
DESTRUCTION OF THE TEMPLE PREDICTED
24 As Jesus left and was going out of the temple,n his discipleso came up and called his attention to its buildings. 2 He replied to them, “Do you see all these things? Truly I tell you, not one stone will be left here on another that will not be thrown down.”
3 While he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples approached him privately and said, “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what is the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”p
4 Jesus replied to them, “Watch out that no one deceivesq you. 5 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and they will deceive many.r 6 You are going to hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, because these things must take place, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be faminesH,s and earthquakes in various places.t 8 All these events are the beginning of labor pains.u
9 “Then they will hand you over to be persecuted, and they will kill you. You will be hated by all nations because of my name.v 10 Then many will fall away, betray one another, and hate one another. 11 Many false prophetsw will rise up and deceive many. 12 Because lawlessnessx will multiply, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 14 This good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed in all the worldI as a testimony to all nations,y and then the end will come.z
15 “So when you see the abomination of desolation,J spoken of by the prophet Daniel,aa standing in the holy place”ab (let the reader understand), 16 “then those in Judea must flee to the mountains. 17 A man on the housetopK must not come down to get things out of his house,ac 18 and a man in the field must not go back to get his coat. 19 Woe to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days! 20 Pray that your escape may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. 21 For at that time there will be great distress,* ad the kind that hasn’t taken place from the beginning of the world until now and never will again. 22 Unless those days were cut short, no one wouldM be saved. But those days will be cut short because of the elect.ae
23 “If anyone tells you then, ‘See, here is the Messiah!’a or, ‘Over here!’ do not believe it.b 24 For false messiahs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders to lead astray,c if possible, even the elect. 25 Take note: I have told you in advance. 26 So if they tell you, ‘See, he’s in the wilderness!’ don’t go out; or, ‘See, he’s in the storerooms!’ do not believe it. 27 For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.d 28 Wherever the carcass is, there the vulturesA will gather.e
29 “Immediately after the distressf of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not shed its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the peoples of the earthB will mourn;C and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.g 31 He will send out his angels with a loud trumpet,h and they will gather his elect from the four winds,i from one end of the sky to the other.
32 “Learn this lessonj from the fig tree: As soon as its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near. 33 In the same way, when you see all these things, recognizeD that heE is near—at the door.k 34 Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things take place.l 35 Heaven and earth will pass away,m but my words will never pass away.n
36 “Now concerning that day and hour no one knows—neither the angels of heaven nor the SonF—except the Father alone.o 37 As the days of Noah were, so the coming of the Son of Man will be. 38 For in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah boarded the ark.p 39 They didn’t know until the flood came and swept them all away. This is the way the coming of the Son of Man will be. 40 Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. 41 Two women will be grinding grain with a hand mill; one will be taken and one left.q 42 Therefore be alert, since you don’t know what dayG your Lord is coming.r 43 But know this: If the homeowner had known what timeH the thief was coming, he would have stayed alert and not let his house be broken into.s 44 This is why you are also to be ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.t
45 “Who then is a faithful and wise servant,u whom his master has put in charge of his household, to give them food at the proper time?v 46 Blessed is that servant whom the master finds doing his job when he comes.w 47 Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 48 But if that wicked servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delayed,’ 49 and starts to beat his fellow servants, and eats and drinks with drunkards,x 50 that servant’s master will come on a day he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know. 51 He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
THE PARABLE OF THE TEN VIRGINS
25 “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virginsI who took their lamps* and went out to meet the groom.y 2 Five of them were foolish and five were wise.z 3 When the foolish took their lamps, they didn’t take oil with them; 4 but the wise ones took oil in their flasks with their lamps. 5 When the groom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
6 “In the middle of the night there was a shout: ‘Here’s the groom! Come out to meet him.’
7 “Then all the virgins got up and trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish ones said to the wise ones, ‘Give us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out.’
9 “The wise ones answered, ‘No, there won’t be enough for us and for you. Go instead to those who sell oil, and buy some for yourselves.’
10 “When they had gone to buy some, the groom arrived, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet, and the door was shut.aa 11 Later the rest of the virgins also came and said, ‘Master, master, open up for us!’
12 “He replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you!’
13 “Therefore be alert, because you don’t know either the day or the hour.A
14 “For it is just like a man about to go on a journey.a He called his own servants and entrusted his possessions to them. 15 To one he gave five talents,B to another two talents, and to another one talent, depending on each one’s ability. Then he went on a journey.b Immediately 16 the man who had received five talents went, put them to work, and earned five more. 17 In the same way the man with two earned two more. 18 But the man who had received one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master’s money.
19 “After a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 The man who had received five talents approached, presented five more talents, and said, ‘Master, you gave me five talents. See, I’ve earned five more talents.’
21 “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share your master’s joy.’c
22 “The man with two talents also approached. He said, ‘Master, you gave me two talents. See, I’ve earned two more talents.’
23 “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share your master’s joy.’
24 “The man who had received one talent also approached and said, ‘Master, I know you. You’re a harsh man, reaping where you haven’t sown and gathering where you haven’t scattered seed.d 25 So I was afraid and went off and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’
26 “His master replied to him, ‘You evil, lazy servant!e If you knew that I reap where I haven’t sown and gather where I haven’t scattered, 27 thenC you should have deposited my money with the bankers, and I would have received my moneyD back with interest when I returned.
28 “ ‘So take the talent from him and give it to the one who has ten talents. 29 For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have more than enough. But from the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.f 30 And throw this good-for-nothing servant into the outer darkness,g where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angelsE,h with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne.i 32 All the nationsF,j will be gathered before him, and he will separate them one from another, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.k 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; inherit the kingdoml prepared for you from the foundation of the world.m
35 “ ‘For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink; I was a stranger and you took me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you took care of me; I was in prison and you visited me.’n
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and take you in, or without clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick, or in prison, and visit you?’
40 “And the King will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of