Matthew 24:4-44
Amplified Bible, Classic Edition
4 Jesus answered them, Be careful that no one misleads you [deceiving you and leading you into error].
5 For many will come in (on the strength of) My name [[a]appropriating the name which belongs to Me], saying, I am the Christ (the Messiah), and they will lead many astray.
6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not frightened or troubled, for this must take place, but the end is not yet.
7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in place after place;
8 All this is but the beginning [the early pains] of the [b]birth pangs [of the [c]intolerable anguish].
9 Then they will hand you over to suffer affliction and tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake.
10 And then many will be offended and repelled and will [d]begin to distrust and desert [Him Whom they ought to trust and obey] and will stumble and fall away and betray one another and pursue one another with hatred.
11 And many false prophets will rise up and deceive and lead many into error.
12 And the love of [e]the great body of people will grow cold because of the multiplied lawlessness and iniquity,
13 But he who endures to the end will be saved.
14 And this good news of the kingdom (the Gospel) will be preached throughout the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then will come the end.
15 So when you see the appalling sacrilege [the abomination that astonishes and makes desolate], spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the Holy Place—let the reader take notice and [f]ponder and consider and heed [this]—(A)
16 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains;
17 Let him who is on the housetop not come down and go into the house to take anything;
18 And let him who is in the field not turn back to get his overcoat.
19 And alas for the women who are pregnant and for those who have nursing babies in those days!
20 Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath.
21 For then there will be great tribulation (affliction, distress, and oppression) such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now—no, and never will be [again].(B)
22 And if those days had not been shortened, no human being would endure and survive, but for the sake of the elect (God’s chosen ones) those days will be shortened.
23 If anyone says to you then, Behold, here is the Christ (the Messiah)! or, There He is!—do not believe it.
24 For false Christs and false prophets will arise, and they will show great signs and wonders so as to deceive and lead astray, if possible, even the elect (God’s chosen ones).
25 See, I have warned you beforehand.
26 So if they say to you, Behold, He is in the wilderness (desert)—do not go out there; if they tell you, Behold, He is in the secret places or inner rooms—do not believe it.
27 For just as the lightning flashes from the east and shines and [g]is seen as far as the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.
28 Wherever there is a fallen body (a corpse), there the vultures (or eagles) will flock together.(C)
29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not shed its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.(D)
30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn and [h]beat their breasts and lament in anguish, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory [in brilliancy and splendor].(E)
31 And He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect (His chosen ones) from the four winds, [even] from one end of the [i]universe to the other.(F)
32 From the fig tree learn this lesson: as soon as its [j]young shoots become soft and tender and it puts out its leaves, you know [k]of a surety that summer is near.
33 So also when you see these signs, [l]all taken together, coming to pass, you may know [m]of a surety that He is near, at the very doors.
34 Truly I tell you, this generation ([n]the whole multitude of people living at the same time, [o]in a definite, [p]given period) will not pass away till all these things [q]taken together take place.
35 [r]Sky and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.
36 But of that [exact] day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
37 As were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
38 For just as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, [men] marrying and [women] being given in marriage, until the [very] day when Noah went into the ark,
39 And they did not know or understand until the flood came and swept them all away—so will be the coming of the Son of Man.(G)
40 At that time two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left.
41 Two women will be grinding at the hand mill; one will be taken and one will be left.
42 Watch therefore [[s]give strict attention, be cautious and active], for you do not know in what kind of a day [[t]whether a near or remote one] your Lord is coming.
43 But understand this: had the householder known in what [part of the night, whether in a [u]night or a morning] watch the thief was coming, he would have watched and would not have allowed his house to be [v]undermined and broken into.
44 You also must be ready therefore, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not expect Him.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Matthew 24:5 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
- Matthew 24:8 Literal translation.
- Matthew 24:8 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
- Matthew 24:10 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
- Matthew 24:12 Marvin Vincent, Word Studies.
- Matthew 24:15 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
- Matthew 24:27 Marvin Vincent, Word Studies.
- Matthew 24:30 Marvin Vincent, Word Studies.
- Matthew 24:31 G. Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon.
- Matthew 24:32 Marvin Vincent, Word Studies.
- Matthew 24:32 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
- Matthew 24:33 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
- Matthew 24:33 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
- Matthew 24:34 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
- Matthew 24:34 Hermann Cremer, Biblico-Theological Lexicon.
- Matthew 24:34 G. Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon.
- Matthew 24:34 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
- Matthew 24:35 James Moulton and George Milligan, The Vocabulary.
- Matthew 24:42 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
- Matthew 24:42 Marvin Vincent, Word Studies.
- Matthew 24:43 Marvin Vincent, Word Studies.
- Matthew 24:43 John Wycliffe, The Wycliffe Bible.
Matthew 24:4-44
Living Bible
4 Jesus told them, “Don’t let anyone fool you. 5 For many will come claiming to be the Messiah and will lead many astray. 6 When you hear of wars beginning, this does not signal my return; these must come, but the end is not yet. 7 The nations and kingdoms of the earth will rise against each other, and there will be famines and earthquakes in many places. 8 But all this will be only the beginning of the horrors to come.
9 “Then you will be tortured and killed and hated all over the world because you are mine, 10 and many of you shall fall back into sin and betray and hate each other. 11 And many false prophets will appear and lead many astray. 12 Sin will be rampant everywhere and will cool the love of many. 13 But those enduring to the end shall be saved.
14 “And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it, and then, finally, the end will come.
15 “So, when you see the horrible thing[a] (told about by Daniel the prophet) standing in a holy place (Note to the reader: You know what is meant!), 16 then those in Judea must flee into the Judean hills. 17 Those on their porches[b] must not even go inside to pack before they flee. 18 Those in the fields should not return to their homes for their clothes.
19 “And woe to pregnant women and to those with babies in those days. 20 And pray that your flight will not be in winter, or on the Sabbath.[c] 21 For there will be persecution such as the world has never before seen in all its history and will never see again.
22 “In fact, unless those days are shortened, all mankind will perish. But they will be shortened for the sake of God’s chosen people.[d]
23 “Then if anyone tells you, ‘The Messiah has arrived at such and such a place, or has appeared here or there,’ don’t believe it. 24 For false Christs shall arise, and false prophets, and will do wonderful miracles so that if it were possible, even God’s chosen ones[e] would be deceived. 25 See, I have warned you.
26 “So if someone tells you the Messiah has returned and is out in the desert, don’t bother to go and look. Or, that he is hiding at a certain place, don’t believe it! 27 For as the lightning flashes across the sky from east to west, so shall my coming be, when I, the Messiah,[f] return. 28 And wherever the carcass is, there the vultures will gather.
29 “Immediately after the persecution of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give light, and the stars will seem to fall from the heavens,[g] and the powers overshadowing the earth will be convulsed.
30 “And then at last the signal of my coming[h] will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning all around the earth. And the nations of the world will see me arrive in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. 31 And I shall send forth my angels with the sound of a mighty trumpet blast, and they shall gather my chosen ones from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven.[i]
32 “Now learn a lesson from the fig tree. When her branch is tender and the leaves begin to sprout, you know that summer is almost here. 33 Just so, when you see all these things beginning to happen, you can know that my return is near,[j] even at the doors. 34 Then at last this age will come to its close.[k]
35 “Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words remain forever. 36 But no one knows the date and hour when the end will be—not even the angels. No, nor even God’s Son.[l] Only the Father knows.
37-38 “The world will be at ease[m] —banquets and parties and weddings—just as it was in Noah’s time before the sudden coming of the Flood; 39 people wouldn’t believe[n] what was going to happen until the Flood actually arrived and took them all away. So shall my coming be.
40 “Two men will be working together in the fields, and one will be taken, the other left. 41 Two women will be going about their household tasks; one will be taken, the other left.
42 “So be prepared, for you don’t know what day your Lord is coming.
43 “Just as a man can prevent trouble from thieves by keeping watch for them, 44 so you can avoid trouble by always being ready for my unannounced return.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Matthew 24:15 the horrible thing, literally, “the abomination of desolation.” Daniel, see Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11. Note to the reader: You know what is meant, literally, “Let the reader take note.”
- Matthew 24:17 porches, literally, “rooftops,” which, being flat, were used as porches at that time. See Acts 10:9.
- Matthew 24:20 on the Sabbath. The city gates were closed on the Sabbath.
- Matthew 24:22 God’s chosen people, literally, “the elect.”
- Matthew 24:24 God’s chosen ones, literally, “the elect.”
- Matthew 24:27 the Messiah, literally, “the Son of Man.”
- Matthew 24:29 the stars will seem to fall from the heavens, literally, “the stars shall fall from heaven.” the earth will be convulsed, literally, “the powers of the heavens shall be shaken”; see Ephesians 6:12.
- Matthew 24:30 of my coming, literally, “of the coming of the Son of Man.”
- Matthew 24:31 from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven, literally, “from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”
- Matthew 24:33 my return is near, literally, “he is nigh.”
- Matthew 24:34 this age will come to its close, literally, “this generation shall pass away.”
- Matthew 24:36 No, nor even God’s Son, literally, “Neither the Son.” Many ancient manuscripts omit this phrase.
- Matthew 24:37 The world will be at ease, implied.
- Matthew 24:39 wouldn’t believe, literally, “knew not.”
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