Matthew 24:15-21

Contemporary English Version

The Horrible Thing

(Mark 13.14-23; Luke 21.20-24)

¹⁵^(A) Someday you will see that “Horrible Thing” in the holy place, just as the prophet Daniel said. Everyone who reads this must try to understand! ¹⁶If you are living in Judea at that time, run to the mountains. ¹⁷^(B) If you are on the roof^[a] of your house, don't go inside to get anything. ¹⁸If you are out in the field, don't go back for your coat. ¹⁹It will be a terrible time for women who are expecting babies or nursing young children. ²⁰And pray that you won't have to escape in winter or on a Sabbath.^[b] ²¹^(C) This will be the worst time of suffering since the beginning of the world, and nothing this terrible will ever happen again.

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Footnotes

24.17 roof: In Palestine the houses usually had a flat roof. Stairs on the outside led up to the roof, which was made of beams and boards covered with packed earth.
24.20 in winter or on a Sabbath: In Palestine the winters are cold and rainy and make travel difficult. The Jewish people were not allowed to travel much more than a kilometer on the Sabbath. For these reasons it was hard for them to escape from their enemies in the winter or on a Sabbath.