The Barren Fig Tree

^18 (A)Now in the morning, when He was returning to the city, He became hungry. ¹⁹ And seeing a lone ^(B)fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it except leaves only; and He *said to it, “No longer shall there ever be any fruit from you.” And at once the fig tree withered.

²⁰ And seeing this, the disciples marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither all at once?” ²¹ And Jesus answered and said to them, “Truly I say to you, ^(C)if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it will happen. ²² And ^(D)all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”

The Authority of Jesus Challenged

^23 (E)And when He entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to Him ^(F)while He was teaching, and said, “By what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?” ²⁴ And Jesus answered and said to them, “I will also ask you one ^[a]thing, which if you tell Me, I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. ²⁵ The baptism of John was from what source, from heaven or from men?” And they began reasoning among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say to us, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ ²⁶ But if we say, ‘From men,’ we fear the crowd; for they all regard John as ^(G)a prophet.” ²⁷ And they answered Jesus and said, “We do not know.” He also said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

Parable of Two Sons

²⁸ “But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go work today in the ^(H)vineyard.’ ²⁹ And he answered and said, ‘I will not’; but afterward he regretted it and went. ³⁰ And the man came to the second and said the same thing; and he answered and said, ‘I will, sir’; but he did not go. ³¹ Which of the two did the will of his father?” They *said, “The first.” Jesus *said to them, “Truly I say to you that ^(I)the tax collectors and prostitutes ^[b]will get into the kingdom of God before you. ³² For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but ^(J)the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even regret afterward so as to believe him.

Parable of the Vine-Growers

³³ “Listen to another parable. ^(K)There was a ^[c]landowner who ^(L)planted a ^(M)vineyard and put a ^[d]wall around it and dug a wine press in it, and built a tower, and rented it out to ^[e]vine-growers and ^(N)went on a journey. ³⁴ Now when the ^[f]harvest time approached, he ^(O)sent his slaves to the vine-growers to receive his fruit. ³⁵ And the vine-growers took his slaves and beat one, and killed another, and stoned a third. ³⁶ Again he ^(P)sent another group of slaves larger than the first; and they did the same thing to them. ³⁷ But afterward he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ ³⁸ But when the vine-growers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’ ³⁹ And they took him, and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. ⁴⁰ Therefore when the ^[g]owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vine-growers?” ⁴¹ They *said to Him, “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end, and ^(Q)will rent out the vineyard to other vine-growers who will pay him the proceeds at the proper seasons.”

⁴² Jesus *said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures,

⁴³ Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation, producing the fruit of it. ⁴⁴ And ^(S)he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.”

⁴⁵ And when the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they understood that He *was speaking about them. ⁴⁶ And although they were seeking to seize Him, they ^(T)feared the crowds, because they were regarding Him to be a ^(U)prophet.

Parable of the Wedding Feast

22 And Jesus answered and spoke to them again in parables, saying, ² “^(V)The kingdom of heaven ^[i]may be compared to ^[j]a king who ^[k]gave a ^(W)wedding feast for his son. ³ And he ^(X)sent out his slaves to call those who had been called to the wedding feast, and they were unwilling to come. ⁴ Again he ^(Y)sent out other slaves saying, ‘Tell those who have been called, “Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fattened livestock are all butchered and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast.”’ ⁵ But they paid no attention and went their way, one to his own ^[l]farm, another to his business, ⁶ and the rest seized his slaves and mistreated them and killed them. ⁷ But the king was enraged, and he sent his armies and destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire. ⁸ Then he *said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were called were not worthy. ⁹ Go therefore to ^(Z)the main highways, and as many as you find there, call to the wedding feast.’ ¹⁰ And those slaves went out into the streets and gathered together all they found, both evil and good; and the wedding hall was filled with ^[m]dinner guests.

¹¹ “But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw ^(AA)a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, ¹² and he *said to him, ‘^(AB)Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?’ And the man was speechless. ¹³ Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into ^(AC)the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ ¹⁴ For many are ^[n](AD)called, but few are ^(AE)chosen.”

Taxes to Caesar

^15 (AF)Then the Pharisees went and took counsel together about how they might trap Him ^[o]in what He said. ¹⁶ And they *sent their disciples to Him, along with the ^(AG)Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and teach the way of God in truth, and ^[p]defer to no one; for You are not partial to any. ¹⁷ Therefore, tell us, what do You think? Is it ^[q]lawful to give a ^(AH)tax to ^(AI)Caesar, or not?” ¹⁸ But Jesus, knowing their wickedness, said, “Why are you testing Me, you hypocrites? ¹⁹ Show Me the ^(AJ)coin used for the tax.” And they brought Him a ^[r]denarius. ²⁰ And He *said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” ²¹ They *said to Him, “Caesar’s.” Then He *said to them, “^(AK)Therefore, render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s.” ²² And hearing this, they marveled, and ^(AL)leaving Him, they went away.

The Sadducees and the Resurrection

^23 (AM)On that day some ^(AN)Sadducees (who say ^(AO)there is no resurrection) came to Jesus and asked Him a question, ²⁴ saying, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘^(AP)If a man dies having no children, his brother as next of kin shall marry his wife and raise up a seed for his brother.’ ²⁵ Now there were seven brothers with us; and the first married and died, and having no ^[s]seed, he left his wife to his brother; ²⁶ so also the second, and the third, down to the seventh. ²⁷ And last of all, the woman died. ²⁸ In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had married her.”

²⁹ But Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, ^(AQ)not ^[t]understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God. ³⁰ For in the resurrection they neither ^(AR)marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. ³¹ But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, ³² ‘^(AS)I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.” ³³ And when the crowds heard this, ^(AT)they were astonished at His teaching.

The Foremost Commandment

^34 (AU)But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced ^(AV)the Sadducees, they gathered themselves together. ³⁵ And one of them, ^(AW)a scholar of the Law, asked Him a question, testing Him, ³⁶ “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” ³⁷ And He said to him, “‘^(AX)You shall love the ^[u]Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the great and ^[v]foremost commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it, ‘^(AY)You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ^40 (AZ)On these two commandments hang the whole Law and the Prophets.”

^41 (BA)Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, ⁴² saying, “What do you think about ^[w]the Christ, whose son is He?” They *said to Him, “^(BB)The son of David.” ⁴³ He *said to them, “Then how does David ^[x](BC)in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying,

⁴⁵ Therefore, if David calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his son?” ^46 (BE)And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask Him ^[z]another question.

The Scribes and Pharisees Denounced

23 ^(BF)Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, ² saying: “^(BG)The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; ³ therefore all that they tell you, do and keep, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them. ^4 (BH)And they tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger. ⁵ But they do all their deeds ^(BI)to be noticed by men; for they ^(BJ)broaden their ^[aa]phylacteries and lengthen ^(BK)the tassels of their garments. ⁶ And they ^(BL)love the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues, ⁷ and respectful greetings in the marketplaces, and being called ^(BM)Rabbi by men. ⁸ But ^(BN)do not be called ^(BO)Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. ⁹ And do not call anyone on earth your father; for ^(BP)One is your Father, He who is in heaven. ¹⁰ Do not be called instructors; for One is your Instructor, that is, Christ. ^11 (BQ)But the greatest among you shall be your servant. ^12 (BR)And whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.

Woes to the Scribes and Pharisees

¹³ “^(BS)But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, ^(BT)because you shut off the kingdom of heaven ^[ab]from ^[ac]people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. ^14 [ad][Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because ^(BU)you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive greater condemnation.]

¹⁵ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one ^[ae](BV)proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of ^[af](BW)hell as yourselves.

¹⁶ “Woe to you, ^(BX)blind guides, who say, ‘^(BY)Whoever swears by the ^[ag]sanctuary, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the ^[ah]sanctuary is obligated.’ ¹⁷ You fools and blind men! For ^(BZ)which is ^[ai]more important, the gold or the sanctuary that sanctified the gold? ¹⁸ And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, that is nothing, but whoever swears by the ^[aj]offering on it, he is obligated.’ ¹⁹ You blind men, ^(CA)which is ^[ak]more important, the ^[al]offering, or the altar that sanctifies the ^[am]offering? ²⁰ Therefore, ^[an]whoever swears by the altar, swears both by ^[ao]the altar and by everything on it. ²¹ And ^[ap]whoever swears by the sanctuary, swears both by the ^[aq]sanctuary and by Him who ^(CB)dwells within it. ²² And ^[ar]whoever swears by heaven, ^(CC)swears both by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it.

²³ “^(CD)Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and ^[as]cumin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the Law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. ²⁴ You ^(CE)blind guides, who strain out a gnat but swallow a camel!

²⁵ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ^(CF)you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full ^[at]of robbery and self-indulgence. ²⁶ You blind Pharisee, first ^(CG)clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also.

²⁷ “^(CH)Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. ²⁸ In this way, you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

²⁹ “^(CI)Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, ³⁰ and say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ ³¹ So you bear witness against yourselves, that you ^(CJ)are ^[au]sons of those who murdered the prophets. ³² Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers. ³³ You serpents, ^(CK)you brood of vipers, how ^[av]will you escape the ^[aw]sentence of ^[ax](CL)hell?

³⁴ “^(CM)On account of this, behold, ^(CN)I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will ^(CO)flog in your synagogues, and ^(CP)persecute from city to city, ³⁵ so that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous ^(CQ)Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the ^(CR)son of Berechiah, whom ^(CS)you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. ³⁶ Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon ^(CT)this generation.

Lament over Jerusalem

³⁷ “^(CU)Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who ^(CV)kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, ^(CW)the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you did not want it. ³⁸ Behold, ^(CX)your house is being left to you desolate! ³⁹ For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say, ‘^(CY)Blessed is He who comes in the name of the ^[ay]Lord!’”

Signs of Christ’s Return

24 ^(CZ)And coming ^(DA)out from the temple, Jesus was going along, and His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him. ² And He answered and said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, ^(DB)not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down.”

³ Now as He was sitting on ^(DC)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 ^(DD)Your coming and of the ^[az]end of the age?”

⁴ And Jesus answered and said to them, “^(DE)See to it that no one deceives you. ⁵ For ^(DF)many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the ^[ba]Christ,’ and will deceive many. ⁶ And you are going to hear of ^(DG)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 ^(DH)nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be ^(DI)famines and earthquakes. ^8 (DJ)But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pains.

⁹ “^(DK)Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and ^(DL)you will be hated by all nations because of My name. ¹⁰ And at that time many will ^[bb](DM)fall away and will ^[bc]betray one another and hate one another. ¹¹ Many ^(DN)false prophets will arise and will deceive many. ¹² And because lawlessness is multiplied, ^[bd]most people’s love will grow cold. ^13 (DO)But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. ¹⁴ And this ^(DP)gospel of the kingdom ^(DQ)shall be proclaimed in the whole ^[be](DR)world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

Abomination of Desolation and the Tribulation

¹⁵ “Therefore when you see the ^(DS)abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in ^(DT)the holy place (^(DU)let the reader understand), ¹⁶ then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. ^17 [bf]Whoever is on ^(DV)the housetop must not go down to get the things out that are in his house. ¹⁸ And ^[bg]whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his garment. ¹⁹ But ^(DW)woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! ²⁰ But pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath. ²¹ For then there will be a ^(DX)great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. ²² And unless those days had been cut short, no ^[bh]life would have been saved; but for ^(DY)the sake of the ^[bi]elect those days will be cut short. ^23 (DZ)Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the ^[bj]Christ,’ or ‘^[bk]There He is,’ do not believe him. ²⁴ For false christs and ^(EA)false prophets will arise and will ^[bl]show great ^[bm](EB)signs and wonders, so as to deceive, if possible, even ^(EC)the ^[bn]elect. ²⁵ Behold, I have told you in advance. ²⁶ Therefore, 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 (ED)For just as the lightning comes from the east and appears even to the west, so will the ^(EE)coming of the ^(EF)Son of Man be. ^28 (EG)Wherever the corpse is, there the ^[bo]vultures will gather.

The Coming of the Son of Man

²⁹ “But immediately after the ^(EH)tribulation of those days ^(EI)the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and ^(EJ)the stars will fall from ^[bp]the sky, and the powers of ^[bq]the heavens will be shaken. ³⁰ And then ^(EK)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 ^(EL)the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. ³¹ And ^(EM)He will send forth His angels with ^(EN)a great trumpet and they will gather together His ^[br](EO)elect from ^(EP)the four winds, from one end of the sky to the ^[bs]other.

The Parable of the Fig Tree

³² “Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near; ³³ so, you too, when you see all these things, ^[bt]recognize that ^[bu]He is near, right ^(EQ)at the ^[bv]door. ³⁴ Truly I say to you, ^(ER)this ^[bw]generation will not pass away until all these things take place. ^35 (ES)Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.

³⁶ “But ^(ET)of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. ³⁷ For ^(EU)just as the days of Noah were, so the ^(EV)coming of the Son of Man will be. ³⁸ For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, ^(EW)marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that ^(EX)Noah entered the ark, ³⁹ and they did not ^[bx]understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the ^(EY)coming of the Son of Man be. ⁴⁰ Then there will be two in the field; one ^[by]will be taken, and one ^[bz]will be left. ^41 (EZ)Two women will be grinding grain at the ^[ca](FA)mill; one ^[cb]will be taken and one ^[cc]will be left.

Be Ready for His Coming

⁴² “Therefore ^(FB)stay awake, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. ⁴³ But ^[cd]be sure of this, that ^(FC)if the head of the house had known ^(FD)at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have allowed his house to be ^[ce]broken into. ⁴⁴ For this reason ^(FE)you also must be ready; for ^(FF)the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.

⁴⁵ “^(FG)Who then is the ^(FH)faithful and ^(FI)prudent slave whom his ^[cf]master ^(FJ)put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time? ⁴⁶ Blessed is that slave whom his ^[cg]master finds so doing when he comes. ⁴⁷ Truly I say to you that ^(FK)he will put him in charge of all his possessions. ⁴⁸ But if that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My ^[ch]master ^[ci]is not coming for a long time,’ ⁴⁹ and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards; ⁵⁰ the ^[cj]master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know, ⁵¹ and will ^[ck]cut him in pieces and ^[cl]assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be ^(FL)weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Parable of Ten Virgins

25 “Then ^(FM)the kingdom of heaven may be compared to ten virgins, who took their ^(FN)lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. ² Now five of them were foolish, and five were ^(FO)prudent. ³ For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, ⁴ but the ^(FP)prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps. ⁵ Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep. ⁶ But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ ⁷ Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. ⁸ And the foolish said to the prudent, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ ⁹ But the ^(FQ)prudent answered, saying, ‘No, there will not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ ¹⁰ And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were ^(FR)ready went in with him to ^(FS)the wedding feast; and ^(FT)the door was shut. ¹¹ And later the other virgins also *came, saying, ‘^(FU)Lord, lord, open up for us.’ ¹² But he answered and said, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.’ ^13 (FV)Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know the day nor the hour.

Parable of the Talents

¹⁴ “^(FW)For it is just like a man ^(FX)about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and handed over his possessions to them. ¹⁵ And to one he gave five ^[cm](FY)talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he ^(FZ)went on his journey. ¹⁶ Immediately the one who had received the five ^(GA)talents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents. ¹⁷ In the same manner the one who had received the two talents gained two more. ¹⁸ But he who received the one talent went away, and dug a hole in the ground and hid his ^[cn]master’s money.

¹⁹ “Now after a long time the master of those slaves *came and *^(GB)settled accounts with them. ²⁰ And the one who had received the five ^(GC)talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you handed five talents over to me. See, I have gained five more talents.’ ²¹ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and ^(GD)faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will ^(GE)put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your ^[co]master.’

²² “Also the one who had received the two ^(GF)talents came up and said, ‘Master, you handed two talents over to me. See, I have gained two more talents.’ ²³ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and ^(GG)faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’

²⁴ “And the one also who had received the one ^(GH)talent came up and said, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed. ²⁵ And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’

²⁶ “But his master answered and said to him, ‘You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed. ²⁷ Therefore, you ought to have put my money ^[cp]in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest. ²⁸ Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’

²⁹ “^(GI)For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. ³⁰ And throw out the worthless slave into ^(GJ)the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The Final Judgment

³¹ “But when ^(GK)the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then ^(GL)He will sit on His glorious throne. ³² And all the nations will be ^(GM)gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, ^(GN)as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; ³³ and He will put the sheep ^(GO)on His right, and the goats ^(GP)on the left.

³⁴ “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, ^(GQ)inherit the kingdom, which has been prepared for you ^(GR)from the foundation of the world. ³⁵ For ^(GS)I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; ^(GT)I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; ^36 (GU)naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you ^(GV)visited Me; ^(GW)I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ ³⁷ Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? ³⁸ And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? ³⁹ And when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ ^40 (GX)And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, ^(GY)to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’

⁴¹ “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘^(GZ)Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the ^(HA)eternal fire which has been prepared for ^(HB)the devil and his angels; ⁴² for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; ⁴³ I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ ⁴⁴ Then they themselves also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not ^[cq]take care of You?’ ⁴⁵ Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ ⁴⁶ And these will go away into ^(HC)eternal punishment, but the righteous into ^(HD)eternal life.”

The Plot to Kill Jesus

26 ^[cr](HE)Now it happened that when Jesus had finished all these words, He said to His disciples, ² “^(HF)You know that after two days ^(HG)the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man is to be ^(HH)delivered over for crucifixion.”

^3 (HI)Then the chief priests and the elders of the people were gathered together in ^(HJ)the court of the high priest, named ^(HK)Caiaphas; ⁴ and they ^(HL)plotted together to seize Jesus by stealth and kill Him. ⁵ But they were saying, “Not during the festival, ^(HM)lest a riot occur among the people.”

The Costly Perfume

^6 (HN)Now when Jesus was in ^(HO)Bethany, at the home of Simon the leper, ^7 (HP)a woman came to Him with an alabaster jar of very costly perfume, and she poured it on His head as He reclined at the table. ⁸ But when the disciples saw this, they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste? ⁹ For this perfume might have been sold for a high price and the money given to the poor.” ¹⁰ But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you bother the woman? For she has done a good work to Me. ¹¹ For you always have ^(HQ)the poor with you; but you do not always have Me. ¹² For when she poured this perfume on My body, she did it ^(HR)to prepare Me for burial. ¹³ Truly I say to you, ^(HS)wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in memory of her.”

Judas Looks to Betray Jesus

^14 (HT)Then one of the twelve, named ^(HU)Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests ¹⁵ and said, “What are you willing to give me ^[cs]to ^(HV)deliver Him to you?” And ^(HW)they weighed out ^[ct]thirty pieces of silver to him. ¹⁶ And from then on he began looking for a good opportunity to ^[cu]betray ^[cv]Jesus.

^11 (A)And Jesus entered Jerusalem and came into the temple; and after looking around at everything, ^(B)He left for Bethany with the twelve, since it was already late.

The Barren Fig Tree

^12 (C)And on the next day, when they had left Bethany, He became hungry. ¹³ And seeing at a distance a fig tree that had leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find anything on it; and when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. ¹⁴ And He answered and said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” And His disciples were listening.

Jesus Drives Merchants from the Temple

^15 (D)Then they *came to Jerusalem. And He entered the temple and began to drive out those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling ^[a]doves; ¹⁶ and He was not permitting anyone to carry ^[b]merchandise through the temple. ¹⁷ And He began to teach and say to them, “Is it not written, ‘^(E)My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? ^(F)But you have made it a robbers’ ^[c]den.” ¹⁸ And the chief priests and the scribes heard this, and ^(G)began seeking how to destroy Him; for they were afraid of Him, for ^(H)the whole crowd was astonished at His teaching.

^19 (I)And when evening came, ^[d]they were going out of the city.

^20 (J)And as they were passing by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. ²¹ And being reminded, Peter *said to Him, “^(K)Rabbi, look, the fig tree which You cursed has withered.” ²² And Jesus answered and *said to them, “^(L)Have faith in God. ^23 (M)Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says ^[e]is going to happen, it will be granted him. ²⁴ For this reason I say to you, ^(N)all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted to you. ²⁵ And whenever you ^(O)stand praying, ^(P)forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions. ^26 [f][^(Q)But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your transgressions.”]

The Authority of Jesus Challenged

²⁷ Then they *came again to Jerusalem. ^(R)And as He was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders *came to Him, ²⁸ and began saying to Him, “By what authority are You doing these things, or who gave You this authority to do these things?” ²⁹ And Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question, and you answer Me, and then I will tell you by what authority I do these things. ³⁰ Was the baptism of John from heaven, or from men? Answer Me.” ³¹ And they began reasoning among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ ³² But if we say, ‘From men’?”—they were afraid of the crowd, for everyone was regarding John to have been a real prophet. ³³ And answering Jesus, they *said, “We do not know.” And Jesus *said to them, “Neither ^[g]will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

Parable of the Vine-Growers

12 ^(S)And He began to speak to them in parables: “^(T)A man ^(U)planted a vineyard and put a ^[h]wall around it, and dug a vat under the wine press and built a tower, and rented it out to ^[i]vine-growers and went on a journey. ² And at the harvest time he sent a slave to the vine-growers, in order to receive some of the fruit of the vineyard from the vine-growers. ³ And they took him, and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. ⁴ And again he sent them another slave, and they wounded him in the head, and treated him shamefully. ⁵ And he sent another, and that one they killed; and so with many others, beating some and killing others. ⁶ He had one more, a beloved son; he sent him last of all to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ ⁷ But those vine-growers said to one another, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours!’ ⁸ And they took him, and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard. ⁹ What will the ^[j]owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the vine-growers, and will give the vineyard to others. ¹⁰ Have you not even read this Scripture:

^12 (X)And they were seeking to seize Him, and yet they feared the crowd, for they understood that He spoke the parable against them. And so ^(Y)they left Him and went away.

Taxes to Caesar

^13 (Z)Then they *sent some of the Pharisees and ^(AA)Herodians to Him in order to ^(AB)trap Him in a statement. ¹⁴ And they *came and *said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and ^[l]defer to no one; for You are not partial to any, but teach the way of God in truth. Is it ^[m]lawful to pay a tax to Caesar, or not? ¹⁵ Shall we pay or shall we not pay?” But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a ^[n]denarius to look at.” ¹⁶ And they brought one. And He *said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” And they said to Him, “Caesar’s.” ¹⁷ And Jesus said to them, “^(AC)Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they ^[o]were amazed at Him.

The Sadducees and the Resurrection

^18 (AD)Then some Sadducees (who say that there is no resurrection) *came to Jesus, and began questioning Him, saying, ¹⁹ “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that ^(AE)if a man’s brother dies and leaves behind a wife and leaves no child, his brother should ^[p]marry the wife and raise up a seed for his brother. ²⁰ There were seven brothers; and the first ^[q]married a wife, and died leaving no ^[r]seed. ²¹ And the second one ^[s]married her, and died leaving behind no seed; and the third likewise; ²² and so ^[t]all seven left no seed. Last of all the woman died also. ²³ In the resurrection, ^[u]when they rise again, whose wife will she be? For ^[v]all seven ^[w]had married her.” ²⁴ Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are mistaken, that you do not ^[x]understand the Scriptures nor the power of God? ²⁵ For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. ²⁶ But ^[y]regarding the fact that the dead are raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, ^(AF)in the passage about the burning bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘^(AG)I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? ^27 (AH)He is not the God of the dead, but of the living; you are greatly mistaken.”

The Foremost Commandment

^28 (AI)And when one of the scribes came and heard them arguing, he ^(AJ)recognized that He had answered them well and asked Him, “What commandment is the ^[z]foremost of all?” ²⁹ Jesus answered, “The foremost is, ‘^(AK)Hear, O Israel! The ^[aa]Lord our God is one ^[ab]Lord; ^30 (AL)and you shall love the ^[ac]Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ ³¹ The second is this, ‘^(AM)You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” ³² And the scribe said to Him, “Right, Teacher; You have truly stated that ^(AN)He is One, and there is no one else besides Him; ^33 (AO)and to love Him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as himself, ^(AP)is much more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” ³⁴ And when Jesus saw that he had answered thoughtfully, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” ^(AQ)After that, no one would dare to ask Him any more questions.

^35 (AR)And Jesus began to say, as He ^(AS)taught in the temple, “How is it that the scribes say that the ^[ad]Christ is the ^(AT)son of David? ³⁶ David himself said ^[ae]in the Holy Spirit,

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

^38 (AW)And in His teaching He was saying: “Beware of the scribes who want to walk around in long robes, and want ^(AX)respectful greetings in the marketplaces, ³⁹ and best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets, ^40 (AY)who devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers; these will receive greater condemnation.”

The Widow’s Offering

^41 (AZ)And He sat down opposite ^(BA)the treasury, and began observing how the crowd was ^(BB)putting ^[ah]money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums. ⁴² And a poor widow came and put in two ^[ai]lepta, which amount to a ^[aj]quadrans. ⁴³ And calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all those putting money into the treasury; ⁴⁴ for they all put in out of their ^[ak]surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, ^[al]all she had ^(BC)to live on.”

Signs of Christ’s Return

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

³ And as He was sitting on ^(BF)the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, ^(BG)Peter and James and John and Andrew were questioning Him privately, ⁴ “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the ^[ao]sign when all these things are going to be fulfilled?” ⁵ And Jesus began to say to them, “See to it that no one deceives you. ⁶ Many will come in My name, saying, ‘^(BH)I am He!’ and will mislead many. ⁷ And 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 merely the beginning of birth pains.

⁹ “But see to yourselves; for they will ^(BI)deliver you to the ^[ap]courts, and you will be beaten ^(BJ)in the synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for My sake, as a witness to them. ^10 (BK)And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all the nations. ^11 (BL)And when they lead you away, delivering you up, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say, but say whatever is given to you in that hour; for it is not you who speak, 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 ^[aq]have them put to death. ^13 (BM)And you will be hated by all because of My name, but the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.

The Abomination of Desolation and the Tribulation

¹⁴ “But ^(BN)when you see the ^(BO)abomination of desolation standing where it should not be (let the reader understand), then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. ^15 (BP)And the one who is on the housetop must not go down, or go in to get anything out of his house; ¹⁶ and the one who is in the field must not turn back to get his garment. ¹⁷ But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! ¹⁸ But pray that it may not happen in the winter. ¹⁹ For those days will be a time of tribulation such as has not occurred ^(BQ)since the beginning of the creation which God created until now, and never will. ²⁰ And unless the Lord had shortened those days, no ^[ar]life would have been saved; but for the sake of the ^[as]elect, whom He chose, He shortened the days. ²¹ And then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the ^[at]Christ’; or, ‘Behold, He is there’; do not believe him; ²² for false christs and ^(BR)false prophets will arise, and will show ^[au](BS)signs and ^(BT)wonders, in order to lead astray, if possible, the elect. ²³ But as for you, see! I have told you everything in advance.

The Coming of the Son of Man

²⁴ “But in those days, after that tribulation, ^(BU)the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light, ^25 (BV)and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers that are in ^[av]the heavens will be shaken. ²⁶ And then they will see ^(BW)the Son of Man ^(BX)coming in clouds with great power and glory. ²⁷ And then He will send forth the angels, and ^(BY)will gather together His ^[aw]elect from the four winds, ^(BZ)from the farthest end of the earth to the farthest end of heaven.

The Parable of the Fig Tree

²⁸ “Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. ²⁹ Even so, you too, when you see these things happening, ^[ax]recognize that ^[ay]He is near, right at the ^[az]door. ³⁰ Truly I say to you, this ^[ba]generation will not pass away until all these things take place. ³¹ Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away. ^32 (CA)But of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.

³³ “See to it, ^(CB)keep on the alert; for you do not know when the appointed time ^[bb]will come. ^34 (CC)It is like a man away on a journey, who, leaving his house and giving authority to his slaves—each one his task, also commanded the doorkeeper to stay awake. ³⁵ Therefore, ^(CD)stay awake—for you do not know when the ^[bc]master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at midnight, or ^(CE)when the rooster crows, or ^(CF)in the morning— ³⁶ lest he come suddenly and find you ^(CG)sleeping. ³⁷ And what I say to you I say to all, ‘^(CH)Stay awake!’”

The Plot to Kill Jesus

14 ^(CI)Now ^(CJ)the Passover and Unleavened Bread were two days away; and the chief priests and the scribes ^(CK)were seeking how, after seizing Him in secret, they might kill Him; ² for they were saying, “Not during the festival, lest there be a riot of the people.”

The Costly Perfume

^3 (CL)And while He was in ^(CM)Bethany at the home of Simon the leper, and reclining at the table, there came a woman with an alabaster jar of perfume of very ^(CN)costly pure ^[bd]nard; and she broke the jar and poured it over His head. ⁴ But some were indignantly remarking to one another, “Why has this perfume been wasted? ⁵ For this perfume might have been sold for over three hundred ^[be]denarii and given to the poor.” And they were scolding her. ⁶ But Jesus said, “Let her alone; why do you bother her? She did a good work to Me. ⁷ For you always have ^(CO)the poor with you, and whenever you wish you can do good to them; but you do not always have Me. ⁸ She has done what she could; ^(CP)she anointed My body beforehand for the burial. ⁹ And truly I say to you, ^(CQ)wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what this woman did will also be spoken of in memory of her.”

^10 (CR)Then Judas Iscariot, ^(CS)who was one of the twelve, went away to the chief priests in order to ^[bf]betray Him to them. ¹¹ And when they heard this, they were glad and promised to give him money. And he began seeking how to betray Him at an opportune time.

The Authority of Jesus Challenged

20 ^(A)And it happened that on one of the days while ^(B)He was teaching the people in the temple and ^(C)proclaiming the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders ^(D)came up to Him, ² and they spoke, saying to Him, “Tell us by what authority You are doing these things, or who is the one who gave You this authority?” ³ And Jesus answered and said to them, “I will also ask you a ^[a]question, and you tell Me: ⁴ Was the baptism of John from heaven or from men?” ⁵ And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ ⁶ But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was a ^(E)prophet.” ⁷ So they answered that they did not know where it came from. ⁸ And Jesus said to them, “Neither ^[b]will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

Parable of the Vine-Growers

^9 (F)And He began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard and rented it out to ^[c]vine-growers, and went on a journey for a long time. ¹⁰ And at the harvest time he sent a slave to the vine-growers, so that they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the vine-growers sent him away empty-handed having beaten him. ¹¹ And he proceeded to send another slave; and when they beat him also and treated him shamefully, they sent him away empty-handed. ¹² And he proceeded to send a third; and this one also they wounded and cast out. ¹³ Now the ^[d]owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will ^(G)respect him.’ ¹⁴ But when the vine-growers saw him, they were reasoning with one another, saying, ‘This is the heir; let us kill him so that the inheritance will be ours.’ ¹⁵ So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What, then, will the ^[e]owner of the vineyard do to them? ¹⁶ He will come and ^(H)destroy these vine-growers and will give the vineyard to others.” When they heard this, they said, “^(I)May it never be!” ¹⁷ But when ^[f]Jesus looked at them, He said, “What then is this that is written:

^18 (L)Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.”

Taxes to Caesar

¹⁹ And the scribes and the chief priests ^(M)tried to lay hands on Him that very hour, but they feared the people. For they understood that He spoke this parable against them. ^20 (N)So they watched Him, and sent spies who ^[g]pretended to be righteous, so ^(O)that they might ^[h]catch Him in some statement, in order to deliver Him to the rule and the authority of ^(P)the governor. ²¹ And they questioned Him, saying, “Teacher, we know that You speak and teach correctly, and You ^[i]are not partial to any, but teach the way of God in truth. ²² Is it ^[j]lawful for us ^(Q)to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” ²³ But He perceived their craftiness and said to them, ²⁴ “Show Me a ^[k]denarius. Whose ^[l]likeness and inscription does it have?” They said, “Caesar’s.” ²⁵ And He said to them, “Then ^(R)render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” ²⁶ And they were unable to ^[m](S)catch Him in a word in the presence of the people; and marveling at His answer, they became silent.

The Sadducees Ask About the Resurrection

^27 (T)Now some of the ^(U)Sadducees (who say that there is no resurrection) came to Him, ²⁸ and they questioned Him, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that ^(V)if a man’s brother dies, having a wife, and he is childless, his brother should ^[n]marry the wife and raise up ^[o]seed for his brother. ²⁹ Now there were seven brothers; and the first married a wife and died childless, ³⁰ and the second ³¹ and the third ^[p]married her; and in the same way, ^[q]all seven ^[r]died, leaving no children. ³² Finally the woman died also. ³³ Therefore, this woman—in the resurrection—whose wife will she be? For all seven had her as a wife.”

³⁴ And Jesus said to them, “The sons of ^(W)this age marry and are given in marriage, ³⁵ but those who are considered worthy to attain to ^(X)that age and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage. ³⁶ For they cannot even die anymore, because they are like angels and are ^(Y)sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. ³⁷ But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed in ^(Z)the passage about the burning bush, where he calls the ^[s]Lord ^(AA)the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. ^38 (AB)Now He is not the God of the dead but of the living; for ^(AC)all live to Him.” ³⁹ And some of the scribes answered and said, “Teacher, You have spoken well.” ⁴⁰ For ^(AD)they did not dare to question Him any longer about anything.

^41 (AE)Then He said to them, “How is it that they say the ^[t]Christ is ^(AF)David’s son? ⁴² For David himself says in the book of Psalms,

⁴⁴ Therefore David calls Him ‘Lord,’ so how is He his son?”

^45 (AI)And while all the people were listening, He said to the disciples, ⁴⁶ “Beware of the scribes, ^(AJ)who want to walk around in long robes, and love greetings in the marketplaces, and best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets, ⁴⁷ who devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation.”

The Widow’s Offering

21 ^(AK)And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury. ² And He saw a poor widow putting ^[v]in ^(AL)two ^[w]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 ^[x]that she had ^(AM)for living.”

^5 (AN)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 ^(AO)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 ^[y]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, ‘^(AP)I am He,’ and, ‘The time is at hand.’ ^(AQ)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 ^[z]signs from heaven.

¹² “But before all these things, ^(AR)they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you to the synagogues and prisons, ^[aa]bringing you before kings and governors for My name’s sake. ^13 (AS)It will result in ^[ab]an opportunity for your testimony. ^14 (AT)So set in your hearts not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves; ¹⁵ for ^(AU)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 ^(AV)not a hair of your head will perish. ^19 (AW)By your perseverance you will gain your ^[ac]lives.

²⁰ “But when you see Jerusalem ^(AX)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 ^[ad]the city must leave, and ^(AY)those who are in the countryside must not enter ^[ae]the city; ²² because these are ^(AZ)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 ^(BA)there will be great distress upon the ^[af]land and wrath against this people, ²⁴ and they will fall by ^(BB)the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations, and ^(BC)Jerusalem will be ^(BD)trampled under foot by the Gentiles until ^(BE)the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

When Christ Returns

²⁵ “And there will be ^[ag]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 ^[ah]world; for the powers of ^[ai]the heavens will be shaken. ^27 (BF)And then they will see ^(BG)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 ^(BH)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, ^(BI)know that summer is now near. ³¹ So you also, when you see these things happening, know that ^(BJ)the kingdom of God is near. ³² Truly I say to you, this ^[aj]generation will not pass away until all things take place. ^33 (BK)Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.

³⁴ “^(BL)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 ^(BM)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 ^(BN)stand before the Son of Man.”

³⁷ Now ^[ak]during the day He was ^(BO)teaching in the temple, but ^[al](BP)during the night He would go out and spend it on ^[am](BQ)the mount called “of ^[an]Olives.” ³⁸ And all the people would get up ^(BR)early in the morning to come to Him in the temple to listen to Him.

The Plot to Kill Jesus

22 ^(BS)Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which is called the ^(BT)Passover, was drawing near. ² And the chief priests and the scribes ^(BU)were seeking how they might put Him to death; for they were afraid of the people.

^3 (BV)And ^(BW)Satan entered into Judas who was called Iscariot, who ^[ao]belonged to the number of the twelve. ⁴ And he went away and discussed with the chief priests and ^(BX)officers how he might betray Him to them. ⁵ And they were glad and agreed to give him money. ⁶ So he consented, and began seeking a good opportunity to betray Him to them ^[ap]apart from the crowd.