Matthew 24:6-26:54

English Standard Version

⁶ And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you ^(A)are not alarmed, for this ^(B)must take place, but the end is not yet. ⁷ For ^(C)nation will rise against nation, and ^(D)kingdom against kingdom, and there will be ^(E)famines and earthquakes in various places. ⁸ All these are but the beginning of ^(F)the birth pains.

⁹ “Then ^(G)they will deliver you up ^(H)to tribulation and ^(I)put you to death, and ^(J)you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. ¹⁰ And then many will fall away^[a] and ^(K)betray one another and hate one another. ¹¹ And many ^(L)false prophets will arise ^(M)and lead many astray. ¹² And because lawlessness will be increased, ^(N)the love of many will grow cold. ^13 (O)But the one who endures to the end will be saved. ¹⁴ And this gospel of the kingdom ^(P)will be proclaimed throughout the whole world ^(Q)as a testimony ^(R)to all nations, and ^(S)then the end will come.

The Abomination of Desolation

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

The Coming of the Son of Man

²⁹ “Immediately after ^(AM)the tribulation of those days ^(AN)the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and ^(AO)the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ³⁰ Then ^(AP)will appear in heaven ^(AQ)the sign of the Son of Man, and then ^(AR)all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and ^(AS)they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven ^(AT)with power and great glory. ³¹ And ^(AU)he will send out his angels with a loud ^(AV)trumpet call, and they will ^(AW)gather ^(AX)his elect from ^(AY)the four winds, ^(AZ)from one end of heaven to the other.

The Lesson of the Fig Tree

³² “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. ³³ So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, ^(BA)at the very gates. ^34 (BB)Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. ^35 (BC)Heaven and earth will pass away, but ^(BD)my words will not pass away.

No One Knows That Day and Hour

³⁶ “But concerning that day and hour ^(BE)no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, ^(BF)nor the Son,^{[b] (BG)}but the Father only. ^37 (BH)For as were the days of Noah, ^(BI)so will be the coming of the Son of Man. ^38 (BJ)For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, ^(BK)marrying and giving in marriage, until ^(BL)the day when Noah entered the ark, ³⁹ and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, ^(BM)so will be the coming of the Son of Man. ⁴⁰ Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. ^41 (BN)Two women will be grinding ^(BO)at the mill; one will be taken and one left. ⁴² Therefore, ^(BP)stay awake, for you do not know on what day ^(BQ)your Lord is coming. ^43 (BR)But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night ^(BS)the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. ⁴⁴ Therefore you also must be ^(BT)ready, for ^(BU)the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

⁴⁵ “Who then is ^(BV)the faithful and ^(BW)wise servant,^[c] whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? ^46 (BX)Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. ⁴⁷ Truly, I say to you, ^(BY)he will set him over all his possessions. ⁴⁸ But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master ^(BZ)is delayed,’ ⁴⁹ and begins to beat his fellow servants^[d] and eats and drinks with ^(CA)drunkards, ⁵⁰ the master of that servant will come ^(CB)on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know ⁵¹ and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place ^(CC)there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The Parable of the Ten Virgins

25 “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ^(CD)ten virgins who took their lamps^[e] and went to meet ^(CE)the bridegroom.^{[f] 2} Five of them were foolish, and five were ^(CF)wise. ³ For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, ⁴ but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. ⁵ As the bridegroom ^(CG)was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. ⁶ But ^(CH)at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ ⁷ Then all those virgins rose and ^(CI)trimmed their lamps. ⁸ And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ ⁹ But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ ¹⁰ And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and ^(CJ)those who were ready went in with him to ^(CK)the marriage feast, and ^(CL)the door was shut. ¹¹ Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ^(CM)‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ ^12 (CN)But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, ^(CO)I do not know you.’ ^13 (CP)Watch therefore, for you ^(CQ)know neither the day nor the hour.

The Parable of the Talents

^14 (CR)“For ^(CS)it will be like a man ^(CT)going on a journey, who called his servants^[g] and entrusted to them his property. ¹⁵ To one he gave five ^(CU)talents,^[h] to another two, to another one, ^(CV)to each according to his ability. Then he ^(CW)went away. ¹⁶ He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. ¹⁷ So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. ¹⁸ But he who had received the one talent went and ^(CX)dug in the ground and hid his master's money. ¹⁹ Now ^(CY)after a long time the master of those servants came and ^(CZ)settled accounts with them. ²⁰ And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ ²¹ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and ^(DA)faithful servant.^{[i] (DB)}You have been faithful over a little; ^(DC)I will set you over much. Enter into ^(DD)the joy of your master.’ ²² And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.’ ²³ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ ²⁴ He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be ^(DE)a hard man, reaping ^(DF)where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, ²⁵ so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, ^(DG)you have what is yours.’ ²⁶ But his master answered him, ‘You ^(DH)wicked and ^(DI)slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? ²⁷ Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. ²⁸ So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. ^29 (DJ)For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. ³⁰ And ^(DK)cast ^(DL)the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place ^(DM)there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

The Final Judgment

^31 (DN)“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, ^(DO)then he will sit on his glorious throne. ³² Before him ^(DP)will be gathered ^(DQ)all the nations, and ^(DR)he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates ^(DS)the sheep from the goats. ³³ And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. ³⁴ Then ^(DT)the King will say to ^(DU)those on his right, ‘Come, you ^(DV)who are blessed by my Father, ^(DW)inherit ^(DX)the kingdom ^(DY)prepared for you ^(DZ)from the foundation of the world. ³⁵ For ^(EA)I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you ^(EB)gave me drink, ^(EC)I was a stranger and you welcomed me, ^36 (ED)I was naked and you clothed me, ^(EE)I was sick and you ^(EF)visited me, ^(EG)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 drink? ³⁸ And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? ³⁹ And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ ⁴⁰ And ^(EH)the King will answer them, ^(EI)‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these ^(EJ)my brothers,^[j] you did it to me.’

⁴¹ “Then he will say to those on his left, ^(EK)‘Depart from me, you ^(EL)cursed, into ^(EM)the eternal fire prepared for ^(EN)the devil and his angels. ⁴² For ^(EO)I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, ⁴³ I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ ⁴⁴ Then they 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 minister to you?’ ⁴⁵ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, ^(EP)you did not do it to me.’ ⁴⁶ And these will go away ^(EQ)into eternal punishment, but the righteous ^(ER)into ^(ES)eternal life.”

The Plot to Kill Jesus

26 When Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said to his disciples, ^2 (ET)“You know that after two days ^(EU)the Passover is coming, and ^(EV)the Son of Man ^(EW)will be delivered up to be crucified.”

^3 (EX)Then the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in ^(EY)the palace of the high priest, whose name was ^(EZ)Caiaphas, ^4 (FA)and plotted together in order to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him. ⁵ But they said, “Not during the feast, ^(FB)lest there be an uproar among the people.”

Jesus Anointed at Bethany

^6 (FC)Now when Jesus was at ^(FD)Bethany in the house of Simon the leper,^{[k] 7} a woman came up to him with an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment, and she poured it on his head as he reclined at table. ⁸ And when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste? ⁹ For this could have been sold for a large sum and ^(FE)given to the poor.” ¹⁰ But ^(FF)Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me. ¹¹ For ^(FG)you always have the poor with you, but ^(FH)you will not always have me. ¹² In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it ^(FI)to prepare me for burial. ¹³ Truly, I say to you, wherever ^(FJ)this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told ^(FK)in memory of her.”

Judas to Betray Jesus

^14 (FL)Then one of the twelve, whose name was ^(FM)Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests ¹⁵ and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?” And they ^(FN)paid him ^(FO)thirty pieces of silver. ¹⁶ And from that moment he sought an opportunity ^(FP)to betray him.

The Passover with the Disciples

^17 (FQ)Now on ^(FR)the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Where will you have us prepare for you to eat the Passover?” ¹⁸ He said, “Go into the city to a certain man and say to him, ^(FS)‘The Teacher says, ^(FT)My time is at hand. I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.’” ¹⁹ And the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover.

^20 (FU)When it was evening, he reclined at table with the twelve.^{[l] 21} And as they were eating, ^(FV)he said, “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” ²² And they were very sorrowful and began to say to him one after another, “Is it I, Lord?” ²³ He answered, ^(FW)“He who has dipped his hand in the dish with me will betray me. ²⁴ The Son of Man goes ^(FX)as it is written of him, but ^(FY)woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! ^(FZ)It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.” ²⁵ Judas, who would betray him, answered, “Is it I, ^(GA)Rabbi?” He said to him, ^(GB)“You have said so.”

Institution of the Lord's Supper

^26 (GC)Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and ^(GD)after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; ^(GE)this is my body.” ²⁷ And he took a cup, and when he ^(GF)had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, ²⁸ for ^(GG)this is my ^(GH)blood of the^[m] covenant, which is poured out for ^(GI)many ^(GJ)for the forgiveness of sins. ²⁹ I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you ^(GK)in my Father's kingdom.”

Jesus Foretells Peter's Denial

^30 (GL)And when they had sung a hymn, ^(GM)they went out to ^(GN)the Mount of Olives. ³¹ Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written, ‘I will ^(GO)strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ ³² But after I am raised up, ^(GP)I will go before you to Galilee.” ^33 (GQ)Peter answered him, “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.” ^34 (GR)Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, ^(GS)before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” ^35 (GT)Peter said to him, “Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!” And all the disciples said the same.

Jesus Prays in Gethsemane

^36 (GU)Then Jesus went with them ^(GV)to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.” ³⁷ And taking with him ^(GW)Peter and ^(GX)the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. ³⁸ Then he said to them, ^(GY)“My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and ^(GZ)watch^[n] with me.” ³⁹ And going a little farther he fell on his face ^(HA)and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let ^(HB)this cup pass from me; ^(HC)nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” ⁴⁰ And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? ^41 (HD)Watch and ^(HE)pray that you ^(HF)may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” ⁴² Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, ^(HG)your will be done.” ⁴³ And again he came and found them sleeping, for ^(HH)their eyes were heavy. ⁴⁴ So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for ^(HI)the third time, saying the same words again. ⁴⁵ Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Sleep and take your rest later on.^[o] See, ^(HJ)the hour is at hand, and ^(HK)the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. ⁴⁶ Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.”

Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus

^47 (HL)While he was still speaking, ^(HM)Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a great crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the people. ⁴⁸ Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man; seize him.” ⁴⁹ And he came up to Jesus at once and said, “Greetings, ^(HN)Rabbi!” And he kissed him. ⁵⁰ Jesus said to him, ^(HO)“Friend, ^(HP)do what you came to do.”^[p] Then they came up and laid hands on Jesus and seized him. ⁵¹ And behold, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his ^(HQ)sword and struck the servant^[q] of the high priest and cut off his ear. ⁵² Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place. For ^(HR)all who take the sword will perish by the sword. ^53 (HS)Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me ^(HT)more than twelve ^(HU)legions of angels? ^54 (HV)But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?”