²⁸ “Therefore say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: None of my words will be delayed any longer; whatever I say will be fulfilled, declares the Sovereign Lord.’”

²³ Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am going to put an end to this proverb, and they will no longer quote it in Israel.’ Say to them, ‘The days are near^(A) when every vision will be fulfilled.^{(B) 24} For there will be no more false visions or flattering divinations^(C) among the people of Israel. ²⁵ But I the Lord will speak what I will, and it shall be fulfilled without delay.^(D) For in your days, you rebellious people, I will fulfill^(E) whatever I say, declares the Sovereign Lord.^(F)’”

⁴⁸ But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ ⁴⁹ and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards.^{(A) 50} The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. ⁵¹ He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.^(B)

² for you know very well that the day of the Lord^(A) will come like a thief in the night.^{(B) 3} While people are saying, “Peace and safety,”^(C) destruction will come on them suddenly,^(D) as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.^(E)

The Day and Hour Unknown

³² “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.^{(A) 33} Be on guard! Be alert^[a]!^(B) You do not know when that time will come. ³⁴ It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants^(C) in charge, each with their assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.

³⁵ “Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. ³⁶ If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. ³⁷ What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’”^(D)

²⁸ Those who escape the sword^(A) and return to the land of Judah from Egypt will be very few.^(B) Then the whole remnant^(C) of Judah who came to live in Egypt will know whose word will stand^(D)—mine or theirs.^(E)

³⁴ “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life,^(A) and that day will close on you suddenly^(B) like a trap. ³⁵ For it will come on all those who live on the face of the whole earth. ³⁶ Be always on the watch, and pray^(C) that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”