^35 (A)And Jesus responded and began saying, as He ^(B)taught in the temple area, “How is it that the scribes say that the ^[a]Christ is the ^(C)son of David? ³⁶ David himself said ^[b]in the Holy Spirit,

³⁷ David himself calls Him ‘Lord’; so in what sense is He his son?” And ^(E)the large crowd ^[c]enjoyed listening to Him.

^38 (F)And in His teaching He was saying: “Beware of the scribes who like to walk around in long robes, and like ^(G)personal greetings in the marketplaces, ³⁹ and seats of honor in the synagogues, and places of honor at banquets, ^40 (H)who devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers. These will receive all the more condemnation.”

The Widow’s Coins

^41 (I)And Jesus sat down opposite ^(J)the treasury, and began watching how the ^[d]people were ^(K)putting ^[e]money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large amounts. ⁴² And a poor widow came and put in two ^[f]lepta coins, which amount to a ^[g]quadrans. ⁴³ Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all ^[h]the contributors to the treasury; ⁴⁴ for they all put in out of their ^[i]surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, ^[j]all she had ^(L)to live on.”

Things to Come

13 ^(M)As He was going out of the temple, one of His disciples *said to Him, “Teacher, look! ^[k]What wonderful stones and ^[l]what wonderful buildings!” ² And Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? ^(N)Not one stone will be left upon another, which will not be torn down.”

³ As He was sitting on ^(O)the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, ^(P)Peter, ^[m]James, John, and Andrew were questioning Him privately, ⁴ “Tell us, when will these things come about, and what will be the ^[n]sign when all these things are going to be fulfilled?” ⁵ And Jesus began to say to them, “See to it that no one misleads you. ⁶ Many will come in My name, saying, ‘^(Q)I am He!’ and they will mislead many. ⁷ When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; those things must take place; but that is not yet the end. ⁸ For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will also be famines. These things are only the beginning of birth pains.

⁹ “But ^[o]be on your guard; for they will ^(R)hand you over to the ^[p]courts, and you will be flogged ^(S)in the synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them. ^10 (T)And the gospel must first be preached to all the nations. ^11 (U)And when they ^[q]arrest you and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say, but say whatever is given you at that time; for you are not the ones speaking, but it is the Holy Spirit. ¹² And brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and ^[r]have them put to death. ¹³ And ^(V)you will be hated by everyone because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.

Exaltation of the Afflicted

Purpose of This Letter

3 ^(A)Beloved, this is now the second letter I am writing to you in which I am ^(B)stirring up your sincere mind by way of a reminder, ² to ^(C)remember the words spoken beforehand by ^(D)the holy prophets and ^(E)the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles.

The Coming Day of the Lord

^3 (F)Know this first of all, that ^(G)in the last days ^(H)mockers will come with their mocking, ^(I)following after their own lusts, ⁴ and saying, “^(J)Where is the promise of His ^(K)coming? For ever since the fathers ^[a](L)fell asleep, all things continue just as they were ^(M)from the beginning of creation.” ⁵ For ^[b]when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that ^(N)by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was ^(O)formed out of water and by water, ⁶ through which ^(P)the world at that time was ^(Q)destroyed by being flooded with water. ⁷ But by His word ^(R)the present heavens and earth are being reserved for ^(S)fire, kept for ^(T)the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly people.

⁸ But do not let this one fact escape your notice, ^(U)beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and ^(V)a thousand years like one day. ^9 (W)The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but ^(X)is patient toward you, ^(Y)not willing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance.

A New Heaven and Earth

¹⁰ But ^(Z)the day of the Lord ^(AA)will come like a thief, in which ^(AB)the heavens ^(AC)will pass away with a roar and the ^(AD)elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and ^(AE)the earth and ^[c]its works will be ^[d]discovered.

¹¹ Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, ^12 (AF)looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which ^(AG)the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the ^(AH)elements will melt with intense heat! ¹³ But according to His ^(AI)promise we are looking for ^(AJ)new heavens and a new earth, ^(AK)in which righteousness dwells.

^14 (AL)Therefore, ^(AM)beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be ^(AN)found ^(AO)spotless and blameless by Him, at peace, ¹⁵ and regard the ^(AP)patience of our Lord as salvation; just as also ^(AQ)our beloved brother Paul, ^(AR)according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, ¹⁶ as also in all his letters, speaking in them of ^(AS)these things, ^(AT)in which there are some things that are hard to understand, which the untaught and ^(AU)unstable distort, as they do also ^(AV)the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction. ¹⁷ You therefore, ^(AW)beloved, knowing this beforehand, ^(AX)be on your guard so that you are not carried away by ^(AY)the error of ^[e](AZ)unscrupulous people and ^(BA)lose your own ^[f]firm commitment, ¹⁸ but grow in the grace and ^(BB)knowledge of our ^(BC)Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. ^(BD)To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.