The Coming of the Son of Man

29 “Immediately after (A)the tribulation of those days (B)the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and (C)the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then (D)will appear in heaven (E)the sign of the Son of Man, and then (F)all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and (G)they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven (H)with power and great glory. 31 And (I)he will send out his angels with a loud (J)trumpet call, and they will (K)gather (L)his elect from (M)the four winds, (N)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. 33 So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, (O)at the very gates. 34 (P)Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 35 (Q)Heaven and earth will pass away, but (R)my words will not pass away.

No One Knows That Day and Hour

36 “But concerning that day and hour (S)no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, (T)nor the Son,[a] (U)but the Father only. 37 (V)For as were the days of Noah, (W)so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38 (X)For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, (Y)marrying and giving in marriage, until (Z)the day when Noah entered the ark, 39 and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, (AA)so 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 (AB)Two women will be grinding (AC)at the mill; one will be taken and one left. 42 Therefore, (AD)stay awake, for you do not know on what day (AE)your Lord is coming. 43 (AF)But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night (AG)the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 Therefore you also must be (AH)ready, for (AI)the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

45 “Who then is (AJ)the faithful and (AK)wise servant,[b] whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? 46 (AL)Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. 47 Truly, I say to you, (AM)he will set him over all his possessions. 48 But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master (AN)is delayed,’ 49 and begins to beat his fellow servants[c] and eats and drinks with (AO)drunkards, 50 the master of that servant will come (AP)on 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 (AQ)there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The Parable of the Ten Virgins

25 “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like (AR)ten virgins who took their lamps[d] and went to meet (AS)the bridegroom.[e] Five of them were foolish, and five were (AT)wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom (AU)was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. But (AV)at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those virgins rose and (AW)trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 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 (AX)those who were ready went in with him to (AY)the marriage feast, and (AZ)the door was shut. 11 Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, (BA)‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ 12 (BB)But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, (BC)I do not know you.’ 13 (BD)Watch therefore, for you (BE)know neither the day nor the hour.

The Parable of the Talents

14 (BF)“For (BG)it will be like a man (BH)going on a journey, who called his servants[f] and entrusted to them his property. 15 To one he gave five (BI)talents,[g] to another two, to another one, (BJ)to each according to his ability. Then he (BK)went 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 (BL)dug in the ground and hid his master's money. 19 Now (BM)after a long time the master of those servants came and (BN)settled 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 (BO)faithful servant.[h] (BP)You have been faithful over a little; (BQ)I will set you over much. Enter into (BR)the 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 (BS)a hard man, reaping (BT)where 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, (BU)you have what is yours.’ 26 But his master answered him, ‘You (BV)wicked and (BW)slothful 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 (BX)For 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 (BY)cast (BZ)the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place (CA)there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

The Final Judgment

31 (CB)“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, (CC)then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him (CD)will be gathered (CE)all the nations, and (CF)he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates (CG)the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then (CH)the King will say to (CI)those on his right, ‘Come, you (CJ)who are blessed by my Father, (CK)inherit (CL)the kingdom (CM)prepared for you (CN)from the foundation of the world. 35 For (CO)I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you (CP)gave me drink, (CQ)I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 (CR)I was naked and you clothed me, (CS)I was sick and you (CT)visited me, (CU)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 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 (CV)the King will answer them, (CW)‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these (CX)my brothers,[i] you did it to me.’

41 “Then he will say to those on his left, (CY)‘Depart from me, you (CZ)cursed, into (DA)the eternal fire prepared for (DB)the devil and his angels. 42 For (DC)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 welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, 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, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, (DD)you did not do it to me.’ 46 And these will go away (DE)into eternal punishment, but the righteous (DF)into (DG)eternal life.”

Footnotes

  1. Matthew 24:36 Some manuscripts omit nor the Son
  2. Matthew 24:45 Or bondservant; also verses 46, 48, 50
  3. Matthew 24:49 Or bondservants
  4. Matthew 25:1 Or torches
  5. Matthew 25:1 Some manuscripts add and the bride
  6. Matthew 25:14 Or bondservants; also verse 19
  7. Matthew 25:15 A talent was a monetary unit worth about twenty years' wages for a laborer
  8. Matthew 25:21 Or bondservant; also verses 23, 26, 30
  9. Matthew 25:40 Or brothers and sisters

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