Matthew 24
New American Standard Bible
Signs of Christ’s Return
24 (A)Jesus (B)left the temple area and was going on His way [a]when His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him. 2 But He responded and said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, (C)not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down.”
3 And as He was sitting on (D)the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of (E)Your coming, and of the [b]end of the age?”
4 And Jesus answered and said to them, “(F)See to it that no one [c]misleads you. 5 For (G)many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the [d]Christ,’ and they will [e]mislead many people. 6 And you will be hearing of (H)wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. 7 For (I)nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be (J)famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 (K)But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pains.
9 “(L)Then they will hand you over to tribulation and kill you, and (M)you will be hated by all nations because of My name. 10 And at that time many will [f](N)fall away, and they will [g]betray one another and hate one another. 11 And many (O)false prophets will rise up and [h]mislead many people. 12 And because lawlessness is increased, [i]most people’s love will become cold. 13 (P)But the one who endures to the end is the one who will be saved. 14 This (Q)gospel of the kingdom (R)shall be preached in the whole [j](S)world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.
Perilous Times
15 “Therefore when you see the (T)abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in (U)the holy place—[k](V)let the [l]reader understand— 16 then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. 17 [m]Whoever is on (W)the [n]housetop must not go down to get things out of his house. 18 And [o]whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. 19 But (X)woe to those women who are pregnant, and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 20 Moreover, pray that [p]when you flee, it will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath. 21 For then there will be a (Y)great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will again. 22 And if those days had not been cut short, no [q]life would have been saved; but for (Z)the sake of the [r]elect those days will be cut short. 23 (AA)Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the [s]Christ,’ or ‘He is over here,’ do not believe him. 24 For false christs and (AB)false prophets will arise and will provide great [t](AC)signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even (AD)the [u]elect. 25 Behold, I have told you in advance. 26 So if they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe them. 27 (AE)For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will the (AF)coming of the (AG)Son of Man [v]be. 28 (AH)Wherever the corpse is, there the [w]vultures will gather.
The Glorious Return
29 “But immediately after the (AI)tribulation of those days (AJ)the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and (AK)the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 And then (AL)the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see (AM)the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. 31 And (AN)He will send forth His angels with (AO)a great trumpet blast, and they will gather together His [x](AP)elect from (AQ)the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.
Parable of the Fig Tree
32 “Now learn the parable from the fig tree: as soon as its branch has become tender and sprouts its leaves, you know that summer is near; 33 so you too, when you see all these things, [y]recognize that [z]He is near, right (AR)at the [aa]door. 34 Truly I say to you, (AS)this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 35 (AT)Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.
36 “But (AU)about that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. 37 For [ab]the (AV)coming of the Son of Man will be (AW)just like the days of Noah. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, (AX)marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that (AY)Noah entered the ark, 39 and they did not [ac]understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the (AZ)coming of the Son of Man be. 40 At that time there will be two men in the field; one [ad]will be taken and one [ae]will be left. 41 (BA)Two women will be grinding at the [af](BB)mill; one [ag]will be taken and one [ah]will be left.
Be Ready for His Coming
42 “Therefore (BC)be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. 43 But [ai]be sure of this, that (BD)if the head of the house had known (BE)at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. 44 For this reason (BF)you must be ready as well; for (BG)the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.
45 “(BH)Who then is the (BI)faithful and (BJ)sensible slave whom his [aj]master (BK)put in charge of his household slaves, to give them their food at the proper time? 46 Blessed is that slave whom his [ak]master finds so doing when he comes. 47 Truly I say to you that (BL)he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 48 But if that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My [al]master [am]is not coming for a long time,’ 49 and he begins to beat his fellow slaves, and he eats and drinks with those habitually drunk; 50 then the [an]master of that slave will come on a day that he does not expect, and at an hour that he does not know, 51 and he will [ao]cut him in two and assign [ap]him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be (BM)weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Footnotes
- Matthew 24:1 Lit and
- Matthew 24:3 Or consummation
- Matthew 24:4 Or deceives
- Matthew 24:5 I.e., Messiah
- Matthew 24:5 Or deceive
- Matthew 24:10 I.e., from the faith
- Matthew 24:10 Or hand over
- Matthew 24:11 Or deceive
- Matthew 24:12 Lit the love of the many
- Matthew 24:14 Lit inhabited earth
- Matthew 24:15 Or the reader is to understand
- Matthew 24:15 I.e., the reader of Daniel
- Matthew 24:17 Lit The one who
- Matthew 24:17 Housetops were flat living areas
- Matthew 24:18 Lit the one who
- Matthew 24:20 Lit your flight will not be
- Matthew 24:22 Lit flesh
- Matthew 24:22 Or chosen ones
- Matthew 24:23 I.e., Messiah
- Matthew 24:24 I.e., confirming miracles
- Matthew 24:24 Or chosen ones
- Matthew 24:27 I.e., be visible everywhere
- Matthew 24:28 Or eagles
- Matthew 24:31 Or chosen ones
- Matthew 24:33 Or know
- Matthew 24:33 Or it
- Matthew 24:33 Lit doors
- Matthew 24:37 Lit just like the days...so will be
- Matthew 24:39 Lit know
- Matthew 24:40 Lit is
- Matthew 24:40 Lit is
- Matthew 24:41 I.e., handmill
- Matthew 24:41 Lit is
- Matthew 24:41 Lit is
- Matthew 24:43 Lit know that
- Matthew 24:45 Or lord
- Matthew 24:46 Or lord
- Matthew 24:48 Or lord
- Matthew 24:48 Lit lingers
- Matthew 24:50 Or lord
- Matthew 24:51 Possibly referring to other extreme punishment
- Matthew 24:51 Lit his portion with
Matthew 24
GOD’S WORD Translation
Jesus Teaches His Disciples on the Mount of Olives(A)
24 As Jesus left the temple courtyard and was walking away, his disciples came to him. They proudly pointed out to him the temple buildings. 2 Jesus said to them, “You see all these buildings, don’t you? I can guarantee this truth: Not one of these stones will be left on top of another. Each one will be torn down.”
3 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, his disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will this happen? What will be the sign that you are coming again, and when will the world come to an end?”
4 Jesus answered them, “Be careful not to let anyone deceive you. 5 Many will come using my name. They will say, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and they will deceive many people.
6 “You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. Don’t be alarmed! These things must happen, but they don’t mean that the end has come. 7 Nation will fight against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All of these are only the beginning pains ⌞of the end⌟.
9 “Then they will hand you over to those who will torture and kill you. All nations will hate you because you are committed to me. 10 Then many will lose faith. They will betray and hate each other. 11 Many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12 And because there will be more and more lawlessness, most people’s love will grow cold. 13 But the person who endures to the end will be saved.
14 “This Good News about the kingdom will be spread throughout the world as a testimony to all nations. Then the end will come.
15 “The prophet Daniel said that the disgusting thing that will cause destruction will stand in the holy place. When you see this (let the reader take note), 16 those of you in Judea should flee to the mountains. 17 Those who are on the roof should not come down to get anything out of their houses. 18 Those who are in the field should not turn back to get their coats.
19 “How horrible it will be for the women who are pregnant or who are nursing babies in those days. 20 Pray that it will not be winter or a day of rest—a holy day, when you flee. 21 There will be a lot of misery at that time, a kind of misery that has not happened from the beginning of the world until now and will certainly never happen again. 22 If God does not reduce the number of those days, no one will be saved. But those days will be reduced because of those whom God has chosen.
23 “At that time don’t believe anyone who tells you, ‘Here is the Messiah!’ or ‘There he is!’ 24 False messiahs and false prophets will appear. They will work spectacular, miraculous signs and do wonderful things to deceive, if possible, even those whom God has chosen. 25 Listen! I’ve told you this before it happens. 26 So if someone tells you, ‘He’s in the desert!’ don’t go out ⌞looking for him⌟. And don’t believe anyone who says, ‘He’s in a secret place!’ 27 The Son of Man will come again just as lightning flashes from east to west. 28 Vultures will gather wherever there is a dead body.
29 “Immediately after the misery of those days, the sun will turn dark, the moon will not give light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the universe will be shaken.
30 “Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky. All the people on earth will cry in agony when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds in the sky with power and great glory. 31 He will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and from every direction under the sky, they will gather those whom God has chosen.
32 “Learn from the story of the fig tree. When its branch becomes tender and it sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near. 33 In the same way, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the door.
34 “I can guarantee this truth: This generation will not disappear until all these things take place. 35 The earth and the heavens will disappear, but my words will never disappear.
No One Knows When the Son of Man Will Return
36 “No one knows when that day or hour will come. Even the angels in heaven and the Son don’t know. Only the Father knows.
37 “When the Son of Man comes again, it will be exactly like the days of Noah. 38 In the days before the flood, people were eating, drinking, and getting married until the day that Noah went into the ship. 39 They were not aware of what was happening until the flood came and swept all of them away. That is how it will be when the Son of Man comes again.
40 “At that time two men will be working in the field. One will be taken, and the other one will be left. 41 Two women will be working at a mill. One will be taken, and the other one will be left.
42 “Therefore, be alert, because you don’t know on what day your Lord will return. 43 You realize that if a homeowner had known at what time of the night a thief was coming, he would have stayed awake. He would not have let the thief break into his house. 44 Therefore, you, too, must be ready because the Son of Man will return when you least expect him.
45 “Who, then, is the faithful and wise servant? The master will put that person in charge of giving the other servants their food at the right time. 46 That servant will be blessed if his master finds him doing this job when he comes. 47 I can guarantee this truth: He will put that servant in charge of all his property. 48 On the other hand, that servant, if he is wicked, may think that it will be a long time before his master comes. 49 The servant may begin to beat the other servants and eat and drink with the drunks. 50 His master will return unexpectedly. 51 Then his master will severely punish him and assign him a place with the hypocrites. People will cry and be in extreme pain there.
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