Matthew 24–25

DESTRUCTION OF THE TEMPLE PREDICTED

24As Jesus left and was going out of the temple,ⁿ his disciples^o came up and called his attention to its buildings. ²He 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.”

SIGNS OF THE END OF THE AGE

³While 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

⁴Jesus replied to them, “Watch out that no one deceives^q you. ⁵For 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. ⁷For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines^As and earthquakes in various places.^{t 8}All these events are the beginning of labor pains.^u

PERSECUTIONS PREDICTED

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. ¹¹Many false prophets^w will rise up and deceive many. ¹²Because lawlessness^x will multiply, the love of many will grow cold. ¹³But the one who endures to the end will be saved. ¹⁴This good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed in all the world^B as a testimony to all nations,^y and then the end will come.^z

THE GREAT TRIBULATION

¹⁵“So when you see the abomination of desolation,^C 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. ¹⁷A man on the housetop^D 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. ¹⁹Woe to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days! ²⁰Pray that your escape may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. ²¹For 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. ²²Unless those days were cut short, no one would^F 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. ²⁵Take note: I have told you in advance. ²⁶So 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. ²⁷For 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 vultures^G will gather.^e

THE COMING OF THE SON OF MAN

²⁹“Immediately after the distress^f 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. ³⁰Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the peoples of the earth^H will mourn;^I 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.

THE PARABLE OF THE FIG TREE

³²“Learn this lesson^j from the fig tree: As soon as its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near. ³³In the same way, when you see all these things, recognize^J that he^K 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

NO ONE KNOWS THE DAY OR HOUR

³⁶“Now concerning that day and hour no one knows—neither the angels of heaven nor the Son^A—except the Father alone.^{o 37}As the days of Noah were, so the coming of the Son of Man will be. ³⁸For 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. ⁴⁰Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. ⁴¹Two 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 day^B your Lord is coming.^{r 43}But know this: If the homeowner had known what time^C 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

FAITHFUL SERVICE TO CHRIST

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. ⁴⁸But if that wicked servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delayed,’ ⁴⁹and 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. ⁵¹He 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 virgins^D 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; ⁴but the wise ones took oil in their flasks with their lamps. ⁵When 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. ⁸The 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

THE PARABLE OF THE TALENTS

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. ¹⁵To 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 ¹⁶the man who had received five talents went, put them to work, and earned five more. ¹⁷In the same way the man with two earned two more. ¹⁸But 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. ²⁰The 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, ²⁷then^C you should have deposited my money with the bankers, and I would have received my money^D back with interest when I returned.

²⁸“ ‘So take the talent from him and give it to the one who has ten talents. ²⁹For 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.’

THE SHEEP AND THE GOATS

³¹“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels^Eh with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne.^{i 32}All the nations^Fj 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. ³⁴Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; inherit the kingdom^l 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; ³⁶I 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? ³⁸When did we see you a stranger and take you in, or without clothes and clothe you? ³⁹When 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…