Matthew 24:1–25:46
The Destruction of the Temple Predicted
24 And as Jesus went out of the temple courts* he was going along, and his disciples came up to point out to him the buildings of the temple. 2 But he answered and* said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone will be left here on another stone that will not be thrown down!”
3 And as* he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came up to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” 4 And Jesus answered and* said to them, “Watch out that no one deceives you! 5 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will deceive many. 6 And you are going to hear about wars and rumors of wars. See to it that you are not alarmed, for this must happen, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise up against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places.a 8 But all these things are the beginning of birth pains.
Persecution of Disciples Predicted
9 “Then they will hand you over to persecution and will kill you, and you will be hated by all the nationsb because of my name. 10 And then many will be led into sin and will betray one another and will hate one another, 11 and many false prophets will appear and will deceive many, 12 and because lawlessness will increase, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end—this person will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed in the whole inhabited earth for a testimony to all the nations,c and then the end will come.
15 “So when you see the abomination of desolationd spoken about by the prophet Daniel standing in the holy place” (let the one who reads understand), 16 “then those in Judea must flee to the mountains! 17 The one who is on his* housetop must not come down to take things out of his house, 18 and the one who is in the field must not turn back to pick up his cloak. 19 And woe to those ⌊who are pregnant⌋e and to those who are nursing their babies* in those days! 20 But pray that your flight may not happen in winter or on a Sabbath. 21 For at that time there will be great tribulation, such as has not happened from the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will happen. 22 And unless those days had been shortened, ⌊no human being would be saved⌋.f But for the sake of the elect, those days will be shortened.
23 “At that time if anyone should say to you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ,’ or ‘Here he is,’ do not believe him!* 24 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear, and will produce great signs and wonders in order to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 Behold, I have told you ahead of time! 26 Therefore if they say to you, ‘Behold, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or* ‘Behold, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it!* 27 For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so the coming of the Son of Man will be. 28 Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.
29 “And immediately after the tribulation of those days,
‘the sun will be darkened
and the moon will not give its light,
and the stars will fall from heaven,
and the powers of heaven will be shaken.’g
30 And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven,h and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man arriving on the clouds of heaveni with power and great glory. 31 And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect together from the four winds, from one end of heavenj to the other end of it.
32 “Now learn the parable from the fig tree: Whenever its branch has already become tender and puts forth its* leaves, you know that summer is near. 33 So also you, when you see all these things, knowk that he is near, at the door. 34 Truly I say to you that this generation will never pass away until all these things take place! 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
36 “But concerning that day and hour no one knows—not even the angels of heaven nor the Son—except the Father alone. 37 For just as the days of Noah were, so the coming of the Son of Man will be. 38 For as in the daysl before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered into the ark. 39 And they did not know anything* until the deluge came and swept them* all away. So also the coming of the Son of Man will be. 40 Then there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. 42 Therefore be on the alert, because you do not know what day your Lord is coming! 43 But understand this: that if the master of the house had known what watch of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 For this reason you also must be ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not think he will come.*
A Faithful Slave and an Unfaithful Slave
45 “Who then is the faithful and wise slave whom the master has put in charge of his household slaves to give them their* food at the right time? 46 Blessed is that slave whom his master will find so doing when he* comes back. 47 Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 48 But if that evil slave should say ⌊to himself⌋,m ‘My master is staying away for a long time,’ 49 and he begins to beat his fellow slaves and eats and drinks with drunkards, 50 the master of that slave will come on a day that he does not expect and at an hour that he does not know, 51 and will cut him in two and assign his place with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!
The Parable of the Ten Virgins
25 “Then the kingdom of heaven may be compared to ten virgins who took their lamps and* went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Now five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3 For when* the foolish ones took their lamps, they did not take olive oil with them. 4 But the wise ones took olive oil in flasks with their lamps. 5 And when* the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.a 6 But in the middle of the night there was a shout, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ 7 Then all those virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish ones said to the wise ones, ‘Give us some of your olive oil, because our lamps are going out!’ 9 But the wise ones answered saying, “Certainly there will never be enough for us and for you! Go instead to those who sell olive oil* and buy some* for yourselves.’ 10 But while* they had gone away to buy it* the bridegroom arrived, and those who were ready went inside with him to the wedding celebration, and the door was shut. 11 And later the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open the door* for us!’ 12 But he answered and* said, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you!’ 13 Therefore be on the alert, because you do not know the day or the hour!
14 For it is like a man going on a journey. He summoned his own slaves and handed over his property to them. 15 And to one he gave five talents, and to another two, and to another one, to each one according to his own ability, and he went on a journey immediately. 16 The one who had received the five talents went out and* traded with them and gained five more. 17 In the same way the one who had the two gained two more. 18 But the one who had received the one went away and* dug up the ground and hid his master’s money. 19 Now after a long time, the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. 20 And the one who had received the five talents came up and* brought five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me five talents. See, I have gained five more talents!’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge over many things. Enter into the joy of your master!’ 22 And the one who had the two talents also came up and* said, ‘Master, you handed over to me two talents. See, I have gained two talents more!’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge over many things. Enter into the joy of your master!’ 24 And the one who had received the one talent came up also and* said, ‘Master, because I* knew you, that you are a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering from where you did not scatter seed.* 25 And because I* was afraid, I went away and* hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours!’ 26 But his master answered and* said to him, ‘Evil and lazy slave! You knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather from where I did not scatter seed.* 27 Then you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and when I* returned I would have gotten back what was mine with interest! 28 Therefore take the talent from him and give it* to the one who has the ten talents. 29 For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 30 And throw the worthless slave into the outer darkness—in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!’
The Judgment of the Sheep and the Goats
31 Now when the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 And all the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate them from one another like a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place 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