Matthew 24-25
Modern English Version
The Destruction of the Temple Foretold(A)
24 Jesus departed from the temple and was leaving when His disciples came to show Him the temple buildings. 2 Jesus answered them, “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another that shall not be thrown down.”
Troubles and Persecutions(B)
3 As He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age?”
4 Jesus answered them, “Take heed that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled. For all these things must happen, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines, epidemics, and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
9 “Then they will hand you over to be persecuted and will kill you. And you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. 10 Then many will fall away, and betray one another, and hate one another. 11 And many false prophets will rise and will deceive many. 12 Because iniquity will abound, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
The Great Tribulation(C)
15 “So when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’[a] spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. 18 Let him who is in the field not return to take his clothes. 19 Woe to those who are with child and to those who nurse in those days! 20 Pray that your escape will not be in the winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then will be great tribulation, such as has not happened since the beginning of the world until now, no, nor ever shall be.
22 “Unless those days were shortened, no one would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. 23 Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ,’ or ‘There He is,’ do not believe it. 24 For false christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 Listen, I have told you beforehand.
26 “So, if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert,’ do not go there; or, ‘Look, He is in the private chambers,’ do not believe it. 27 For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28 Wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.
The Coming of the Son of Man(D)
29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days,
‘the sun will be darkened,
the moon will not give its light;
the stars will fall from heaven,
and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.’[b]
30 “Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
The Lesson of the Fig Tree(E)
32 “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: When its branch becomes tender and grows leaves, you know that summer is near. 33 So also, when you shall see all these things, you know that it is near, even at the doors. 34 Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.
The Unknown Day and Hour(F)
36 “Concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. 37 As were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, 39 and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Two will be in the field; one will be taken, and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken, and the other left.
42 “Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord will come. 43 But know this, that if the owner of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not have let his house be broken into. 44 Therefore you also must be ready, for in an hour when you least expect, the Son of Man is coming.
The Faithful or the Unfaithful Servant(G)
45 “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master has made ruler over his household to give them food at the appointed time? 46 Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. 47 Truly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods. 48 But if that evil servant says in his heart, ‘My master delays his coming,’ 49 and begins to strike his fellow servants and eat and drink with the drunkards, 50 the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not look for him and in an hour he is not aware of 51 and will cut him in pieces and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites, where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
The Parable of the Ten Virgins
25 “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be like ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were wise and five were foolish. 3 Those who were foolish took their lamps, but took no oil with them. 4 But the wise took jars of oil with their lamps. 5 While the bridegroom delayed, they all rested and slept.
6 “But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Look, the bridegroom is coming! Come out to meet him!’
7 “Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. 8 But the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps have gone out.’
9 “The wise answered, ‘No, lest there not be enough for us and you. Go rather to those who sell it, and buy some for yourselves.’
10 “But while they went to buy some, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.
11 “Afterward, the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open the door for us.’
12 “But he answered, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.’
13 “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.
The Parable of the Talents(H)
14 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling into a far country, who called his own servants and entrusted his goods to them. 15 To one he gave five talents,[c] to another two, and to another one, to every man according to his ability. And immediately he took his journey. 16 He who had received the five talents went and traded with them and made another five talents. 17 So also, he who had received two gained another two. 18 But he who had received one went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money.
19 “After a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 He who had received five talents came and brought the other five talents, saying, ‘Master, you entrusted to me five talents. Look, I have gained five talents more.’
21 “His master said to him, ‘Well done, you good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things. I will make you ruler over many things. Enter the joy of your master.’
22 “He who had received two talents also came and said, ‘Master, you entrusted me with two talents. See, I have gained two more talents besides them.’
23 “His master said to him, ‘Well done, you good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things. I will make you ruler over many things. Enter the joy of your master.’
24 “Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Master, I knew that you are a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not winnow. 25 So I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’
26 “His master answered, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not winnowed. 27 Then you ought to have given my money to 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 ten talents. 29 For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from him who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And throw the unprofitable servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
The Judgment of the Nations
31 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 Before Him will be gathered all nations, and He will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates his sheep from the goats. 33 He will set the sheep at His right hand, but the goats at the left.
34 “Then the King will say to those at His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you since the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave Me food, I was thirsty and you gave Me drink, I was a stranger and you took Me in. 36 I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you visited Me, I was in prison and you came to Me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 And when did we see You sick or in prison and come to You?’
40 “The King will answer, ‘Truly I say to you, as you have done it for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you have done it for Me.’
41 “Then He will say to those at the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the eternal fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For 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 take Me in, I was naked and you did not clothe Me, I was sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’
44 “Then they also will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not serve You?’
45 “He will answer, ‘Truly I say to you, as you did it not for one of the least of these, you did it not for Me.’
46 “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Footnotes
- Matthew 24:15 Da 9:27.
- Matthew 24:29 Joel 2:10.
- Matthew 25:15 A talent was worth several hundred pounds.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.