Luke 21
Legacy Standard Bible
The Widow’s Offering
21 (A)And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury. 2 And He saw a poor widow putting [a]in (B)two [b]lepta. 3 And He said, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all of them. 4 For they all put in their gifts out of their abundance; but she, out of what she lacked, put in all [c]that she had (C)for living.”
5 (D)And while some were talking about the temple, that it had been adorned with beautiful stones and dedicated gifts, He said, 6 “As for these things which you are looking at, the days will come in which (E)there will not be left one stone upon another which will not be torn down.”
7 So they questioned Him, saying, “Teacher, when therefore will these things happen? And what will be the [d]sign when these things are about to take place?” 8 And He said, “See to it that you are not deceived; for many will come in My name, saying, ‘(F)I am He,’ and, ‘The time is at hand.’ (G)Do not go after them. 9 And when you hear of wars and disturbances, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end does not follow immediately.”
Signs of Christ’s Return
10 Then He continued saying to them, “Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, 11 and there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be terrors and great [e]signs from heaven.
12 “But before all these things, (H)they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you to the synagogues and prisons, [f]bringing you before kings and governors for My name’s sake. 13 (I)It will result in [g]an opportunity for your testimony. 14 (J)So set in your hearts not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves; 15 for (K)I will give you a mouth and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute. 16 But you will be betrayed even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death, 17 and you will be hated by all because of My name. 18 Yet (L)not a hair of your head will perish. 19 (M)By your perseverance you will gain your [h]lives.
20 “But when you see Jerusalem (N)surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is at hand. 21 Then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those who are in the midst of [i]the city must leave, and (O)those who are in the countryside must not enter [j]the city; 22 because these are (P)days of vengeance, so that all things which are written will be fulfilled. 23 Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days; for (Q)there will be great distress upon the [k]land and wrath against this people, 24 and they will fall by (R)the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations, and (S)Jerusalem will be (T)trampled under foot by the Gentiles until (U)the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
When Christ Returns
25 “And there will be [l]signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth anguish among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, 26 men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the [m]world; for the powers of [n]the heavens will be shaken. 27 (V)And then they will see (W)the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because (X)your redemption is drawing near.”
The Parable of the Fig Tree
29 Then He told them a parable: “Behold the fig tree and all the trees; 30 as soon as they put forth leaves and you see it for yourselves, (Y)know that summer is now near. 31 So you also, when you see these things happening, know that (Z)the kingdom of God is near. 32 Truly I say to you, this [o]generation will not pass away until all things take place. 33 (AA)Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.
34 “(AB)But be on guard, so that your hearts will not be overcome with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day will not come on you suddenly like a trap; 35 for it will come upon all those who inhabit the face of all the earth. 36 But (AC)keep on the alert at all times, praying earnestly that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to (AD)stand before the Son of Man.”
37 Now [p]during the day He was (AE)teaching in the temple, but [q](AF)during the night He would go out and spend it on [r](AG)the mount called “of [s]Olives.” 38 And all the people would get up (AH)early in the morning to come to Him in the temple to listen to Him.
Footnotes
- Luke 21:2 Lit there
- Luke 21:2 Smallest Greek copper coin, approx. 1/128 of a laborer’s daily wage
- Luke 21:4 Lit the living that she had
- Luke 21:7 Or attesting miracle
- Luke 21:11 Or attesting miracles
- Luke 21:12 Lit being brought
- Luke 21:13 Lit a testimony for you
- Luke 21:19 Lit souls
- Luke 21:21 Lit her
- Luke 21:21 Lit her
- Luke 21:23 Or earth
- Luke 21:25 Or attesting miracles
- Luke 21:26 Lit inhabited earth
- Luke 21:26 Or heaven
- Luke 21:32 Or race
- Luke 21:37 Lit days
- Luke 21:37 Lit nights
- Luke 21:37 Or the hill
- Luke 21:37 Or Olive Grove
Luke 21
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Widow’s Offering
21 He looked up and saw rich people putting their gifts into the treasury;(A) 2 he also saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins.(B) 3 He said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them, 4 for all of them have contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on.”
The Destruction of the Temple Foretold
5 When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, he said,(C) 6 “As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down.”(D)
Signs and Persecutions
7 They asked him, “Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?” 8 And he said, “Beware that you are not led astray, for many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’[a] and, ‘The time is near!’[b] Do not go after them.(E)
9 “When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified, for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately.” 10 Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom;(F) 11 there will be great earthquakes and in various places famines and plagues, and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven.
12 “But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name.(G) 13 This will give you an opportunity to testify.(H) 14 So make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance,(I) 15 for I will give you words[c] and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict.(J) 16 You will be betrayed even by parents and siblings, by relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death.(K) 17 You will be hated by all because of my name.(L) 18 But not a hair of your head will perish.(M) 19 By your endurance you will gain your souls.(N)
The Destruction of Jerusalem Foretold
20 “When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near.[d](O) 21 Then those in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those inside the city must leave it, and those out in the country must not enter it,(P) 22 for these are days of vengeance, as a fulfillment of all that is written.(Q) 23 Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing infants in those days! For there will be great distress on the earth and wrath against this people; 24 they will fall by the edge of the sword and be taken away as captives among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled on by the nations, until the times of the nations are fulfilled.(R)
The Coming of the Son of Man
25 “There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves.(S) 26 People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in a cloud’ with power and great glory.(T) 28 Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”[e](U)
The Lesson of the Fig Tree
29 Then he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees; 30 as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. 31 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near.(V) 32 Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.(W)
Exhortation to Watch
34 “Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life and that day does not catch you unexpectedly,(X) 35 like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. 36 Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place and to stand before the Son of Man.”(Y)
37 Every day he was teaching in the temple, and at night he would go out and spend the night on the Mount of Olives, as it was called.(Z) 38 And all the people would get up early in the morning to listen to him in the temple.
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New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.