Saul’s Conversion on the Damascus Road

9 But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest ² and^[a] asked for letters from him to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, both men and women, he could bring them^[b] tied up^[c] to Jerusalem. ³ Now as he proceeded, it happened that when he approached Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. ⁴ And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” ⁵ So he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting! ⁶ But get up and enter into the city, and it will be told to you what you must do.”^{[d] 7} (Now the men who were traveling together with him stood speechless, because they^[e] heard the voice but saw no one.) ⁸ So Saul got up from the ground, but although^[f] his eyes were open he could see nothing. And leading him by the hand, they brought him into Damascus. ⁹ And he was unable to see^[g] for three days, and he did not eat or drink.

Ananias Sent to Saul

¹⁰ Now there was a certain disciple in Damascus named^[h] Ananias, and the Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias!” And he said, “Behold, here I am, Lord!” ¹¹ And the Lord said to him, “Get up, go to the street called ‘Straight’ and in the house of Judas look for a man named Saul from Tarsus.^[i] For behold, he is praying, ¹² and he has seen in a vision a man named^[j] Ananias coming in and placing hands^[k] on him so that he may regain his sight.” ¹³ But Ananias replied, “Lord, I have heard from many people about this man, how much harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem, ¹⁴ and here he has authority from the chief priests to tie up^[l] all who call upon your name!” ¹⁵ But the Lord said to him, “Go, because this man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before Gentiles^[m] and kings and the sons of Israel. ¹⁶ For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” ¹⁷ So Ananias departed and entered into the house, and placing his^[n] hands on him, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road by which you came, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” ¹⁸ And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes and he regained his sight and got up and^[o] was baptized, ¹⁹ and after^[p] taking food, he regained his strength. And he was with the disciples in Damascus several days.

Saul Proclaims Christ in Damascus

²⁰ And immediately he began proclaiming^[q] Jesus in the synagogues: “This one is the Son of God!” ²¹ And all who heard him^[r] were amazed, and were saying, “Is this not the one who was wreaking havoc in Jerusalem on those who call upon this name, and had come here for this reason, that he could bring them tied up^[s] to the chief priests?”

Jesus Weeps over Jerusalem

⁴¹ And when he approached and^[a] saw the city, he wept over it, ⁴² saying, “If you had known on this day—even you—the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. ⁴³ For days will come upon you and your enemies will put up an embankment^[b] against you, and will surround you and press you hard from all directions. ⁴⁴ And they will raze you to the ground, you and your children within you, and will not leave a stone upon a stone within you, because^[c] you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”

The Destruction of the Temple Predicted

24 And as Jesus went out of the temple courts^[a] he was going along, and his disciples came up to point out to him the buildings of the temple. ² But he answered and^[b] said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone will be left here on another stone that will not be thrown down!”

Signs of the End of the Age

³ And as^[c] he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came up to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” ⁴ And Jesus answered and^[d] said to them, “Watch out that no one deceives you! ⁵ For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will deceive many. ⁶ And you are going to hear about wars and rumors of wars. See to it that you are not alarmed, for this must happen, but the end is not yet. ⁷ For nation will rise up against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places.^{[e] 8} But all these things are the beginning of birth pains.

Persecution of Disciples Predicted

⁹ “Then they will hand you over to persecution and will kill you, and you will be hated by all the nations^[f] because of my name. ¹⁰ And then many will be led into sin and will betray one another and will hate one another, ¹¹ and many false prophets will appear and will deceive many, ¹² and because lawlessness will increase, the love of many will grow cold. ¹³ But the one who endures to the end—this person will be saved. ¹⁴ And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed in the whole inhabited earth for a testimony to all the nations,^[g] and then the end will come.

The Abomination of Desolation

¹⁵ “So when you see the abomination of desolation^[h] spoken about by the prophet Daniel standing in the holy place” (let the one who reads understand), ¹⁶ “then those in Judea must flee to the mountains! ¹⁷ The one who is on his^[i] housetop must not come down to take things out of his house, ¹⁸ and the one who is in the field must not turn back to pick up his cloak. ¹⁹ And woe to those who are pregnant^[j] and to those who are nursing their babies^[k] in those days! ²⁰ But pray that your flight may not happen in winter or on a Sabbath. ²¹ For at that time there will be great tribulation, such as has not happened from the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will happen. ²² And unless those days had been shortened, no human being would be saved.^[l] But for the sake of the elect, those days will be shortened.

²³ “At that time if anyone should say to you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ,’ or ‘Here he is,’ do not believe him!^{[m] 24} For false messiahs and false prophets will appear, and will produce great signs and wonders in order to deceive, if possible, even the elect. ²⁵ Behold, I have told you ahead of time! ²⁶ Therefore if they say to you, ‘Behold, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or^[n] ‘Behold, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it!^{[o] 27} For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so the coming of the Son of Man will be. ²⁸ Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.

The Arrival of the Son of Man

²⁹ “And immediately after the tribulation of those days,

³⁰ And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven,^[q] and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man arriving on the clouds of heaven^[r] with power and great glory. ³¹ And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect together from the four winds, from one end of heaven^[s] to the other end of it.

The Parable of the Fig Tree

³² “Now learn the parable from the fig tree: Whenever its branch has already become tender and puts forth its^[t] leaves, you know that summer is near. ³³ So also you, when you see all these things, know^[u] that he is near, at the door. ³⁴ Truly I say to you that this generation will never pass away until all these things take place! ³⁵ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

The Unknown Day and Hour

³⁶ “But concerning that day and hour no one knows—not even the angels of heaven nor the Son—except the Father alone. ³⁷ For just as the days of Noah were, so the coming of the Son of Man will be. ³⁸ For as in the days^[v] before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered into the ark. ³⁹ And they did not know anything^[w] until the deluge came and swept them^[x] all away. So also the coming of the Son of Man will be. ⁴⁰ Then there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one left. ⁴¹ Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. ⁴² Therefore be on the alert, because you do not know what day your Lord is coming! ⁴³ But understand this: that if the master of the house had known what watch of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. ⁴⁴ For this reason you also must be ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not think he will come.^[y]

A Faithful Slave and an Unfaithful Slave

⁴⁵ “Who then is the faithful and wise slave whom the master has put in charge of his household slaves to give them their^[z] food at the right time? ⁴⁶ Blessed is that slave whom his master will find so doing when he^[aa] comes back. ⁴⁷ Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. ⁴⁸ But if that evil slave should say to himself,^[ab] ‘My master is staying away for a long time,’ ⁴⁹ and he begins to beat his fellow slaves and eats and drinks with drunkards, ⁵⁰ the 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 will cut him in two and assign his place with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!

The Destruction of the Temple Predicted

13 And as^[a] he was going out of the temple courts,^[b] one of his disciples said to him, “Teacher, look! What great stones and what wonderful buildings!” ² And Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here on another stone that will not be thrown down!”

Signs of the End of the Age

³ And as^[c] he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately, ⁴ “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?” ⁵ So Jesus began to say to them, “Watch out that no one deceives you! ⁶ Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ and they will deceive many. ⁷ And when you hear about wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. This must happen, but the end is not yet. ⁸ For nation will rise up against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places. There will be famines. These things are the beginning of birth pains.

Persecution of Disciples Predicted

⁹ “But you, watch out for yourselves! They will hand you over to councils and you will be beaten in the synagogues and will have to stand before governors and kings because of me, for a witness to them. ¹⁰ And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all the nations.^{[d] 11} And when they arrest you and^[e] hand you over, do not be anxious beforehand what you should say, but whatever is given to you at that hour, say this. For you are not the ones who are speaking, but the Holy Spirit. ¹² And brother will hand over brother to death, and a father his^[f] child, and children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. ¹³ And you will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end—this one will be saved.

The Abomination of Desolation

¹⁴ “But when you see the abomination of desolation standing where it should not be” (let the one who reads understand), “then those in Judea must flee to the mountains! ¹⁵ The one^[g] who is on his^[h] housetop must not come down or go inside to take anything out of his house, ¹⁶ and the one who is in the field must not turn back to pick up his cloak. ¹⁷ And woe to those who are pregnant^[i] and to those who are nursing their babies^[j] in those days! ¹⁸ But pray that it will not happen in winter. ¹⁹ For in those days there will be tribulation of such a kind as has not happened from the beginning of the creation that God created until now, and never will happen. ²⁰ And if the Lord had not shortened the days, no human being would be saved.^[k] But for the sake of the elect, whom he chose, he has shortened the days.

²¹ “And at that time if anyone should say to you, “Behold, here is the Christ,’ ‘Behold, there he is,’ do not believe him!^{[l] 22} For false messiahs and false prophets will appear, and will produce signs and wonders in order to mislead, if possible, the elect. ²³ But you, watch out! I have told you everything ahead of time!

The Arrival of the Son of Man

²⁴ “But in those days, after that tribulation,

²⁶ And then they will see the Son of Man arriving in the clouds with great power and glory. ²⁷ And then he will send out the angels, and will gather the^[n] elect together from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of heaven.

The Parable of the Fig Tree

²⁸ “Now learn the parable from the fig tree: Whenever its branch has already become tender and puts forth its^[o] leaves, you know that summer is near. ²⁹ So also you, when you see these things happening, know^[p] that he is near, at the door. ³⁰ Truly I say to you that this generation will never pass away until all these things take place! ³¹ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

The Unknown Day and Hour

³² “But concerning that day or hour no one knows—not even the angels in heaven nor the Son—except the Father. ³³ Watch out! Be alert, because you do not know when the time is! ³⁴ It is like a man away on a journey, who left his house and gave his slaves authority—to each one his work—and to the doorkeeper he gave orders that he should be on the alert. ³⁵ Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or early in the morning— ³⁶ lest he arrive suddenly and^[q] find you sleeping. ³⁷ And what I say to you, I say to everyone: Be on the alert!”