Matthew 24:3-28

English Standard Version

Signs of the End of the Age

³As he sat on ^(A)the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him ^(B)privately, saying, “Tell us, ^(C)when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your ^(D)coming and of ^(E)the end of the age?” ⁴And Jesus answered them, ^(F)“See that no one leads you astray. ⁵For ^(G)many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am ^(H)the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. ⁶And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you ^(I)are not alarmed, for this ^(J)must take place, but the end is not yet. ⁷For ^(K)nation will rise against nation, and ^(L)kingdom against kingdom, and there will be ^(M)famines and earthquakes in various places. ⁸All these are but the beginning of ^(N)the birth pains.

⁹“Then ^(O)they will deliver you up ^(P)to tribulation and ^(Q)put you to death, and ^(R)you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. ¹⁰And then many will fall away^[a] and ^(S)betray one another and hate one another. ¹¹And many ^(T)false prophets will arise ^(U)and lead many astray. ¹²And because lawlessness will be increased, ^(V)the love of many will grow cold. ¹³^(W)But the one who endures to the end will be saved. ¹⁴And this gospel of the kingdom ^(X)will be proclaimed throughout the whole world ^(Y)as a testimony ^(Z)to all nations, and ^(AA)then the end will come.

The Abomination of Desolation

¹⁵“So when you see the abomination of desolation ^(AB)spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in ^(AC)the holy place (^(AD)let the reader understand), ¹⁶then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. ¹⁷^(AE)Let the one who is on ^(AF)the housetop not go down to take what is in his house, ¹⁸and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. ¹⁹And ^(AG)alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! ²⁰Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. ²¹For then there will be ^(AH)great tribulation, ^(AI)such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. ²²And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for ^(AJ)the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. ²³^(AK)Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. ²⁴For ^(AL)false christs and ^(AM)false prophets will arise and ^(AN)perform great signs and wonders, ^(AO)so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. ²⁵See, ^(AP)I have told you beforehand. ²⁶So, if they say to you, ‘Look, ^(AQ)he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. ²⁷^(AR)For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be ^(AS)the coming of the Son of Man. ²⁸^(AT)Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.

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Footnotes

Matthew 24:10 Or stumble

Psalm 55

English Standard Version

Cast Your Burden on the Lord

To the choirmaster: with ^(A)stringed instruments. A Maskil^[a] of David.

55 ^(B)Give ear to my prayer, O God,
    and hide not yourself from my plea for mercy!
²Attend to me, and answer me;
    I am restless ^(C)in my complaint and I ^(D)moan,
³because of the noise of the enemy,
    because of the oppression of the wicked.
For they ^(E)drop trouble upon me,
    and in anger they bear a grudge against me.

⁴My heart is in anguish within me;
    ^(F)the terrors of death have fallen upon me.
⁵Fear and trembling come upon me,
    and ^(G)horror ^(H)overwhelms me.
⁶And I say, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!
    I would fly away and be at rest;
⁷^(I)yes, I would wander far away;
    I would lodge in the wilderness; Selah
⁸I would hurry to find a shelter
    from ^(J)the raging wind and tempest.”

⁹Destroy, O Lord, ^(K)divide their tongues;
    for I see ^(L)violence and strife in the city.
¹⁰Day and night they go around it
    on its walls,
and ^(M)iniquity and trouble are within it;
¹¹    ruin is in its midst;
^(N)oppression and fraud
    do not depart from its marketplace.

¹²For it is not an enemy who taunts me—
    then I could bear it;
it is not an adversary who ^(O)deals insolently with me—
    then I could hide from him.
¹³^(P)But it is you, a man, my equal,
    my companion, my familiar friend.
¹⁴We used to take sweet counsel together;
    within God's house we walked in ^(Q)the throng.
¹⁵Let death steal over them;
    let them go down to Sheol ^(R)alive;
    for evil is in their dwelling place and in their heart.

¹⁶But I call to God,
    and the Lord will save me.
¹⁷^(S)Evening and ^(T)morning and at ^(U)noon
    I ^(V)utter my complaint and moan,
    and he hears my voice.
¹⁸He redeems my soul in safety
    from the battle that I wage,
    for ^(W)many are arrayed against me.
¹⁹God will give ear and humble them,
    he who is ^(X)enthroned from of old, Selah
because they do not ^(Y)change
    and do not fear God.

²⁰My companion^[b] ^(Z)stretched out his hand against his friends;
    he violated his covenant.
²¹His ^(AA)speech was ^(AB)smooth as butter,
    yet war was in his heart;
his words were softer than oil,
    yet they were ^(AC)drawn swords.

²²^(AD)Cast your burden on the Lord,
and he will sustain you;
^(AE)he will never permit
the righteous to be moved.

²³But you, O God, ^(AF)will cast them down
into ^(AG)the pit of destruction;
men of ^(AH)blood and treachery
shall not ^(AI)live out half their days.
But I will ^(AJ)trust in you.