Matthew 24

English Standard Version

Jesus Foretells Destruction of the Temple

24 ^(A)Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. ²But he answered them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, ^(B)there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”

Signs of the End of the Age

³As he sat on ^(C)the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him ^(D)privately, saying, “Tell us, ^(E)when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your ^(F)coming and of ^(G)the end of the age?” ⁴And Jesus answered them, ^(H)“See that no one leads you astray. ⁵For ^(I)many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am ^(J)the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. ⁶And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you ^(K)are not alarmed, for this ^(L)must take place, but the end is not yet. ⁷For ^(M)nation will rise against nation, and ^(N)kingdom against kingdom, and there will be ^(O)famines and earthquakes in various places. ⁸All these are but the beginning of ^(P)the birth pains.

⁹“Then ^(Q)they will deliver you up ^(R)to tribulation and ^(S)put you to death, and ^(T)you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. ¹⁰And then many will fall away^[a] and ^(U)betray one another and hate one another. ¹¹And many ^(V)false prophets will arise ^(W)and lead many astray. ¹²And because lawlessness will be increased, ^(X)the love of many will grow cold. ¹³^(Y)But the one who endures to the end will be saved. ¹⁴And this gospel of the kingdom ^(Z)will be proclaimed throughout the whole world ^(AA)as a testimony ^(AB)to all nations, and ^(AC)then the end will come.

The Abomination of Desolation

¹⁵“So when you see the abomination of desolation ^(AD)spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in ^(AE)the holy place (^(AF)let the reader understand), ¹⁶then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. ¹⁷^(AG)Let the one who is on ^(AH)the housetop not go down to take what is in his house, ¹⁸and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. ¹⁹And ^(AI)alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! ²⁰Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. ²¹For then there will be ^(AJ)great tribulation, ^(AK)such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. ²²And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for ^(AL)the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. ²³^(AM)Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. ²⁴For ^(AN)false christs and ^(AO)false prophets will arise and ^(AP)perform great signs and wonders, ^(AQ)so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. ²⁵See, ^(AR)I have told you beforehand. ²⁶So, if they say to you, ‘Look, ^(AS)he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. ²⁷^(AT)For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be ^(AU)the coming of the Son of Man. ²⁸^(AV)Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.

The Coming of the Son of Man

²⁹“Immediately after ^(AW)the tribulation of those days ^(AX)the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and ^(AY)the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ³⁰Then ^(AZ)will appear in heaven ^(BA)the sign of the Son of Man, and then ^(BB)all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and ^(BC)they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven ^(BD)with power and great glory. ³¹And ^(BE)he will send out his angels with a loud ^(BF)trumpet call, and they will ^(BG)gather ^(BH)his elect from ^(BI)the four winds, ^(BJ)from one end of heaven to the other.

The Lesson of the Fig Tree

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. ³³So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, ^(BK)at the very gates. ³⁴^(BL)Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. ³⁵^(BM)Heaven and earth will pass away, but ^(BN)my words will not pass away.

No One Knows That Day and Hour

³⁶“But concerning that day and hour ^(BO)no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, ^(BP)nor the Son,^[b] ^(BQ)but the Father only. ³⁷^(BR)For as were the days of Noah, ^(BS)so will be the coming of the Son of Man. ³⁸^(BT)For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, ^(BU)marrying and giving in marriage, until ^(BV)the day when Noah entered the ark, ³⁹and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, ^(BW)so will be the coming of the Son of Man. ⁴⁰Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. ⁴¹^(BX)Two women will be grinding ^(BY)at the mill; one will be taken and one left. ⁴²Therefore, ^(BZ)stay awake, for you do not know on what day ^(CA)your Lord is coming. ⁴³^(CB)But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night ^(CC)the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. ⁴⁴Therefore you also must be ^(CD)ready, for ^(CE)the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

⁴⁵“Who then is ^(CF)the faithful and ^(CG)wise servant,^[c] whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? ⁴⁶^(CH)Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. ⁴⁷Truly, I say to you, ^(CI)he will set him over all his possessions. ⁴⁸But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master ^(CJ)is delayed,’ ⁴⁹and begins to beat his fellow servants^[d] and eats and drinks with ^(CK)drunkards, ⁵⁰the master of that servant will come ^(CL)on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know ⁵¹and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place ^(CM)there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.