Matthew 24-25

New King James Version

Jesus Predicts the Destruction of the Temple^(A)

24 Then ^(B)Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. ² And Jesus said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, ^(C)not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”

The Signs of the Times and the End of the Age^(D)

³ Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, ^(E)the disciples came to Him privately, saying, ^(F)“Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”

⁴ And Jesus answered and said to them: ^(G)“Take heed that no one deceives you. ⁵ For ^(H)many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ ^(I)and will deceive many. ⁶ And you will hear of ^(J)wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for ^[a]all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. ⁷ For ^(K)nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be ^(L)famines, ^[b]pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. ⁸ All these are the beginning of sorrows.

^9 (M)“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. ¹⁰ And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. ¹¹ Then ^(N)many false prophets will rise up and ^(O)deceive many. ¹² And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow ^(P)cold. ^13 (Q)But he who endures to the end shall be saved. ¹⁴ And this ^(R)gospel of the kingdom ^(S)will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

The Great Tribulation^(T)

^15 (U)“Therefore when you see the ^(V)‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” ^(W)(whoever reads, let him understand), ¹⁶ “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. ¹⁷ Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. ¹⁸ And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. ¹⁹ But ^(X)woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! ²⁰ And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. ²¹ For ^(Y)then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. ²² And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; ^(Z)but for the ^[c]elect’s sake those days will be shortened.

^23 (AA)“Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. ²⁴ For ^(AB)false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, ^(AC)if possible, even the elect. ²⁵ See, I have told you beforehand.

²⁶ “Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it. ^27 (AD)For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. ^28 (AE)For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.

The Coming of the Son of Man^(AF)

^29 (AG)“Immediately after the tribulation of those days ^(AH)the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ^30 (AI)Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, ^(AJ)and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. ^31 (AK)And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His ^[d]elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

The Parable of the Fig Tree^(AL)

³² “Now learn ^(AM)this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. ³³ So you also, when you see all these things, know ^(AN)that ^[e]it is near—at the doors! ³⁴ Assuredly, I say to you, ^(AO)this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. ^35 (AP)Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.

No One Knows the Day or Hour^(AQ)

^36 (AR)“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of ^[f]heaven, ^(AS)but My Father only. ³⁷ But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. ^38 (AT)For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, ³⁹ and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. ^40 (AU)Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. ⁴¹ Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. ^42 (AV)Watch therefore, for you do not know what ^[g]hour your Lord is coming. ^43 (AW)But know this, that if the master of the house had known what ^[h]hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. ^44 (AX)Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

The Faithful Servant and the Evil Servant^(AY)

^45 (AZ)“Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food ^[i]in due season? ^46 (BA)Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing. ⁴⁷ Assuredly, I say to you that ^(BB)he will make him ruler over all his goods. ⁴⁸ But if that evil servant says in his heart, ‘My master ^(BC)is delaying ^[j]his coming,’ ⁴⁹ and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, ⁵⁰ the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is ^(BD)not aware of, ⁵¹ and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. ^(BE)There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins

25 “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet ^(BF)the bridegroom. ^2 (BG)Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. ³ Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, ⁴ but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. ⁵ But while the bridegroom was delayed, ^(BH)they all slumbered and slept.

⁶ “And at midnight ^(BI)a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom ^[k]is coming; go out to meet him!’ ⁷ Then all those virgins arose and ^(BJ)trimmed 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, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ ¹⁰ And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and ^(BK)the door was shut.

¹¹ “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ^(BL)‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ ¹² But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, ^(BM)I do not know you.’

^13 (BN)“Watch therefore, for you ^(BO)know neither the day nor the hour ^[l]in which the Son of Man is coming.

The Parable of the Talents^(BP)

^14 (BQ)“For the kingdom of heaven is ^(BR)like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. ¹⁵ And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, ^(BS)to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. ¹⁶ Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. ¹⁷ And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. ¹⁸ But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money. ¹⁹ After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them.

²⁰ “So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’ ²¹ His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were ^(BT)faithful over a few things, ^(BU)I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into ^(BV)the joy of your lord.’ ²² He also who had received two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.’ ²³ His lord said to him, ^(BW)‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into ^(BX)the joy of your lord.’

²⁴ “Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. ²⁵ And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’

²⁶ “But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You ^(BY)wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. ²⁷ So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. ²⁸ So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents.

^29 (BZ)‘For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. ³⁰ And cast the unprofitable servant ^(CA)into the outer darkness. ^(CB)There will be weeping and ^(CC)gnashing of teeth.’

The Son of Man Will Judge the Nations

^31 (CD)“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the ^[m]holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. ^32 (CE)All the nations will be gathered before Him, and ^(CF)He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. ³³ And He will set the ^(CG)sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. ³⁴ Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, ^(CH)inherit the kingdom ^(CI)prepared for you from the foundation of the world: ^35 (CJ)for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; ^(CK)I was a stranger and you took Me in; ³⁶ I was ^(CL)naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; ^(CM)I 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 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? ³⁹ Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ ⁴⁰ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, ^(CN)inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’

⁴¹ “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ^(CO)‘Depart from Me, you cursed, ^(CP)into the everlasting fire prepared for ^(CQ)the devil and his angels: ⁴² for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; ⁴³ I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’

⁴⁴ “Then they also will answer ^[n]Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ ⁴⁵ Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, ^(CR)inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ ⁴⁶ And ^(CS)these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”