Matthew 24:1–25:46
Jesus Foretells Destruction of the Temple
24 tJesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. 2 But he answered them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, uthere will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”
3 As he sat on vthe Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him wprivately, saying, “Tell us, xwhen will these things be, and what will be the sign of your ycoming and of zthe end of the age?” 4 And Jesus answered them, a“See that no one leads you astray. 5 For bmany will come in my name, saying, ‘I am cthe Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you dare not alarmed, for this emust take place, but the end is not yet. 7 For fnation will rise against nation, and gkingdom against kingdom, and there will be hfamines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are but the beginning of ithe birth pains.
9 “Then jthey will deliver you up kto tribulation and lput you to death, and myou will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. 10 And then many will fall away1 and nbetray one another and hate one another. 11 And many ofalse prophets will arise pand lead many astray. 12 And because lawlessness will be increased, qthe love of many will grow cold. 13 rBut the one who endures to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom swill be proclaimed throughout the whole world tas a testimony uto all nations, and vthen the end will come.
15 “So when you see the abomination of desolation wspoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in xthe holy place (ylet the reader understand), 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 zLet the one who is on athe housetop not go down to take what is in his house, 18 and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. 19 And balas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! 20 Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. 21 For then there will be cgreat tribulation, dsuch as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. 22 And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for ethe sake of the elect those days will be cut short. 23 fThen if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. 24 For gfalse christs and hfalse prophets will arise and iperform great signs and wonders, hso as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, jI have told you beforehand. 26 So, if they say to you, ‘Look, khe is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27 lFor as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be mthe coming of the Son of Man. 28 nWherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.
29 “Immediately after othe tribulation of those days pthe sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and qthe stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then rwill appear in heaven sthe sign of the Son of Man, and then tall the tribes of the earth will mourn, and uthey will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven vwith power and great glory. 31 And whe will send out his angels with a loud xtrumpet call, and they will ygather zhis elect from athe four winds, bfrom one end of heaven to the other.
32 “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. 33 So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, cat the very gates. 34 dTruly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 35 eHeaven and earth will pass away, but fmy words will not pass away.
No One Knows That Day and Hour
36 “But concerning that day and hour gno one knows, not even the angels of heaven, hnor the Son,2 ibut the Father only. 37 jFor as were the days of Noah, kso will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38 jFor as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, lmarrying and giving in marriage, until mthe day when Noah entered the ark, 39 and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, kso will be the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. 41 nTwo women will be grinding oat the mill; one will be taken and one left. 42 Therefore, pstay awake, for you do not know on what day qyour Lord is coming. 43 rBut know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night sthe thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 Therefore you also must be tready, for uthe Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
45 “Who then is vthe faithful and wwise servant,3 whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? 46 xBlessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. 47 Truly, I say to you, yhe will set him over all his possessions. 48 But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master zis delayed,’ 49 and begins to beat his fellow servants4 and eats and drinks with adrunkards, 50 the master of that servant will come bon a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know 51 and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place cthere will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
The Parable of the Ten Virgins
25 “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like dten virgins who took their lamps1 and went to meet ethe bridegroom.2 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wwise. 3 For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 5 As the bridegroom fwas delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. 6 But gat midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7 Then all those virgins rose and htrimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ 10 And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and ithose who were ready went in with him to jthe marriage feast, and kthe door was shut. 11 Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, l‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ 12 lBut he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, mI do not know you.’ 13 nWatch therefore, for you oknow neither the day nor the hour.
14 p“For qit will be like a man rgoing on a journey, who called his servants3 and entrusted to them his property. 15 To one he gave five stalents,4 to another two, to another one, tto each according to his ability. Then he rwent away. 16 He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. 17 So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. 18 But he who had received the one talent went and udug in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19 Now vafter a long time the master of those servants came and wsettled accounts with them. 20 And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and xfaithful servant.5 yYou have been faithful over a little; zI will set you over much. Enter into athe joy of your master.’ 22 And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 24 He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be ba hard man, reaping cwhere you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, dyou have what is yours.’ 26 But his master answered him, ‘You ewicked and eslothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. 29 fFor to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And gcast hthe worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place gthere will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
31 i“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, jthen he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him kwill be gathered lall the nations, and mhe will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates nthe sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then othe King will say to pthose on his right, ‘Come, you qwho are blessed by my Father, rinherit sthe kingdom tprepared for you ufrom the foundation of the world. 35 For vI was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you wgave me drink, xI was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 vI was naked and you clothed me, yI was sick and you zvisited me, aI was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And bthe King will answer them, c‘Truly, I say to you, as you …