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Matthew 24

Jesus Foretells Destruction of the Temple

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

Signs of the End of the Age

3 As he sat on ^cthe Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him ^dprivately, saying, “Tell us ^ewhen will these things be, and what will be the sign of your ^fcoming and of ^gthe end of the age?” 4 And Jesus answered them, ^h“See that no one leads you astray. 5 For ⁱmany will come in my name, saying, ‘I am ^jthe Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you ^kare not alarmed, for this ^lmust take place, but the end is not yet. 7 For ^mnation will rise against nation, and ⁿkingdom against kingdom, and there will be ^ofamines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are but the beginning of ^pthe birth pains.

9 “Then ^qthey will deliver you up ^rto tribulation and ^sput you to death, and ^tyou will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. 10 And then many will fall away ^{▼

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Or stumble} and ^vbetray one another and hate one another. 11 And many ^wfalse prophets will arise ^xand lead many astray. 12 And because lawlessness will be increased ^ythe love of many will grow cold. 13 ^zBut the one who endures to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom ^aawill be proclaimed throughout the whole world ^abas a testimony ^acto all nations, and ^adthen the end will come.

The Abomination of Desolation

15 “So when you see the abomination of desolation ^aespoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in ^afthe holy place ( ^aglet the reader understand), 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 ^ahLet the one who is on ^aithe housetop not go down to take what is in his house, 18 and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. 19 And ^ajalas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! 20 Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. 21 For then there will be ^akgreat tribulation ^alsuch as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. 22 And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for ^amthe sake of the elect those days will be cut short. 23 ^anThen if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. 24 For ^aofalse christs and ^apfalse prophets will arise and ^aqperform great signs and wonders ^arso as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. 25 See ^asI have told you beforehand. 26 So, if they say to you, ‘Look ^athe is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27 ^auFor as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be ^avthe coming of the Son of Man. 28 ^awWherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.

The Coming of the Son of Man

29 “Immediately after ^axthe tribulation of those days ^aythe sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and ^azthe stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then ^bawill appear in heaven ^bbthe sign of the Son of Man, and then ^bcall the tribes of the earth will mourn, and ^bdthey will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven ^bewith power and great glory. 31 And ^bfhe will send out his angels with a loud ^bgtrumpet call, and they will ^bhgather ^bihis elect from ^bjthe four winds ^bkfrom 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 ^blat the very gates. 34 ^bmTruly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 35 ^bnHeaven and earth will pass away, but ^bomy words will not pass away.

No One Knows That Day and Hour

36 “But concerning that day and hour ^bpno one knows, not even the angels of heaven ^bqnor the Son ^{▼

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Some manuscripts omit nor the Son} ^bsbut the Father only. 37 ^btFor as were the days of Noah ^buso will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38 ^bvFor as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking ^bwmarrying and giving in marriage, until ^bxthe day when Noah entered the ark, 39 and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away ^byso 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 ^bzTwo women will be grinding ^caat the mill; one will be taken and one left. 42 Therefore ^cbstay awake, for you do not know on what day ^ccyour Lord is coming. 43 ^cdBut know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night ^cethe thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 Therefore you also must be ^cfready, for ^cgthe Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

45 “Who then is ^chthe faithful and ^ciwise servant ^{▼

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Greek bondservant; also verses 46, 48, 50} whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? 46 ^ckBlessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. 47 Truly, I say to you ^clhe will set him over all his possessions. 48 But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master ^cmis delayed,’ 49 and begins to beat his fellow servants ^{▼

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Greek bondservants} and eats and drinks with ^codrunkards, 50 the master of that servant will come ^cpon 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 ^cqthere will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.