³ When he opened the second seal, I heard ^(A)the second living creature say, “Come!” ⁴ And out came another horse, ^(B)bright red. Its rider was permitted ^(C)to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.

⁵ When he opened the third seal, I heard the ^(D)third living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, ^(E)a black horse! And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand. ⁶ And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying, ^(F)“A quart^[a] of wheat for a denarius,^[b] and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and ^(G)do not harm the oil and wine!”

⁷ When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of ^(H)the fourth living creature say, “Come!” ⁸ And I looked, and behold, ^(I)a pale horse! And its rider's name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill ^(J)with sword and with famine and with pestilence and ^(K)by wild beasts of the earth.

Jesus Foretells Destruction of the Temple

24 ^(A)Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. ² But he answered them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, ^(B)there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”

Signs of the End of the Age

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

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

The Abomination of Desolation

¹⁵ “So when you see the abomination of desolation ^(AD)spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in ^(AE)the holy place (^(AF)let the reader understand), ¹⁶ then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. ^17 (AG)Let the one who is on ^(AH)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 ^(AI)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 ^(AJ)great tribulation, ^(AK)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 ^(AL)the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. ^23 (AM)Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. ²⁴ For ^(AN)false christs and ^(AO)false prophets will arise and ^(AP)perform great signs and wonders, ^(AQ)so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. ²⁵ See, ^(AR)I have told you beforehand. ²⁶ So, if they say to you, ‘Look, ^(AS)he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. ^27 (AT)For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be ^(AU)the coming of the Son of Man. ^28 (AV)Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.

The Coming of the Son of Man

²⁹ “Immediately after ^(AW)the tribulation of those days ^(AX)the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and ^(AY)the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ³⁰ Then ^(AZ)will appear in heaven ^(BA)the sign of the Son of Man, and then ^(BB)all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and ^(BC)they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven ^(BD)with power and great glory. ³¹ And ^(BE)he will send out his angels with a loud ^(BF)trumpet call, and they will ^(BG)gather ^(BH)his elect from ^(BI)the four winds, ^(BJ)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, ^(BK)at the very gates. ^34 (BL)Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. ^35 (BM)Heaven and earth will pass away, but ^(BN)my words will not pass away.

No One Knows That Day and Hour

³⁶ “But concerning that day and hour ^(BO)no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, ^(BP)nor the Son,^{[b] (BQ)}but the Father only. ^37 (BR)For as were the days of Noah, ^(BS)so will be the coming of the Son of Man. ^38 (BT)For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, ^(BU)marrying and giving in marriage, until ^(BV)the day when Noah entered the ark, ³⁹ and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, ^(BW)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 (BX)Two women will be grinding ^(BY)at the mill; one will be taken and one left. ⁴² Therefore, ^(BZ)stay awake, for you do not know on what day ^(CA)your Lord is coming. ^43 (CB)But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night ^(CC)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 ^(CD)ready, for ^(CE)the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

⁴⁵ “Who then is ^(CF)the faithful and ^(CG)wise servant,^[c] whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? ^46 (CH)Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. ⁴⁷ Truly, I say to you, ^(CI)he will set him over all his possessions. ⁴⁸ But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master ^(CJ)is delayed,’ ⁴⁹ and begins to beat his fellow servants^[d] and eats and drinks with ^(CK)drunkards, ⁵⁰ the master of that servant will come ^(CL)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 ^(CM)there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Jesus and Zacchaeus

19 ^(A)He entered Jericho and was passing through. ² And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. ³ And ^(B)he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. ⁴ So he ran on ahead and climbed up into ^(C)a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. ⁵ And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for ^(D)I must stay at your house today.” ⁶ So he hurried and came down and ^(E)received him joyfully. ⁷ And when they saw it, they all ^(F)grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” ⁸ And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods ^(G)I give to the poor. And if I have ^(H)defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it ^(I)fourfold.” ⁹ And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since ^(J)he also is a son of Abraham. ¹⁰ For ^(K)the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

The Parable of the Ten Minas

¹¹ As they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, and because ^(L)they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. ¹² He said therefore, ^(M)“A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return. ¹³ Calling ^(N)ten of his servants,^[a] he gave them ten minas,^[b] and said to them, ‘Engage in business ^(O)until I come.’ ¹⁴ But ^(P)his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’ ¹⁵ When he returned, having received the kingdom, he ordered these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by doing business. ¹⁶ The first came before him, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made ten minas more.’ ¹⁷ And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant!^[c] Because you have been ^(Q)faithful in a very little, ^(R)you shall have authority over ten cities.’ ¹⁸ And the second came, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made five minas.’ ¹⁹ And he said to him, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ ²⁰ Then another came, saying, ‘Lord, here is your mina, which I kept laid away in ^(S)a handkerchief; ²¹ for I was afraid of you, because you are ^(T)a severe man. You take ^(U)what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’ ²² He said to him, ^(V)‘I will condemn you with your own words, ^(W)you wicked servant! You knew that I was ^(X)a severe man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? ²³ Why then did you not put my money in the bank, and at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’ ²⁴ And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’ ²⁵ And they said to him, ‘Lord, he has ten minas!’ ²⁶ ‘I tell you that ^(Y)to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. ²⁷ But ^(Z)as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and ^(AA)slaughter them before me.’”

The Triumphal Entry

²⁸ And when he had said these things, ^(AB)he went on ahead, ^(AC)going up to Jerusalem. ^29 (AD)When he drew near to Bethphage and ^(AE)Bethany, at ^(AF)the mount that is called Olivet, he sent ^(AG)two of the disciples, ³⁰ saying, “Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, ^(AH)on which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here. ³¹ If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this: ‘The Lord has need of it.’” ³² So those who were sent went away and found it ^(AI)just as he had told them. ³³ And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” ³⁴ And they said, “The Lord has need of it.” ³⁵ And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. ³⁶ And as he rode along, they ^(AJ)spread their cloaks on the road. ³⁷ As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—^(AK)the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice ^(AL)for all the mighty works that they had seen, ³⁸ saying, ^(AM)“Blessed is ^(AN)the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and ^(AO)glory in the highest!” ^39 (AP)And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” ⁴⁰ He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, ^(AQ)the very stones would cry out.”

Jesus Weeps over Jerusalem

^41 (AR)And when he drew near and saw the city, ^(AS)he wept over it, ⁴² saying, ^(AT)“Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now ^(AU)they are hidden from your eyes. ⁴³ For ^(AV)the days will come upon you, when your enemies ^(AW)will set up a barricade around you and ^(AX)surround you and hem you in on every side ^44 (AY)and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And ^(AZ)they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know ^(BA)the time of your ^(BB)visitation.”

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

^45 (BC)And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold, ⁴⁶ saying to them, “It is written, ^(BD)‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but ^(BE)you have made it a den of robbers.”

^47 (BF)And he was teaching daily in the temple. ^(BG)The chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people were seeking to destroy him, ⁴⁸ but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were hanging on his words.

The Man of Lawlessness

2 Now concerning ^(A)the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our ^(B)being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers,^{[a] 2} not to be quickly shaken in mind or ^(C)alarmed, either ^(D)by a spirit or a ^(E)spoken word, or ^(F)a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that ^(G)the day of the Lord has come. ^3 (H)Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, ^(I)unless the rebellion comes first, and ^(J)the man of lawlessness^[b] is revealed, ^(K)the son of destruction,^{[c] 4} who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, ^(L)proclaiming himself to be God. ⁵ Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? ⁶ And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. ⁷ For ^(M)the mystery of lawlessness ^(N)is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. ⁸ And then ^(O)the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus ^(P)will kill with ^(Q)the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by ^(R)the appearance of his coming. ⁹ The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan ^(S)with all power and false signs and wonders, ¹⁰ and with all wicked deception for ^(T)those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. ¹¹ Therefore ^(U)God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe ^(V)what is false, ¹² in order that all may be condemned ^(W)who did not believe the truth but ^(X)had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Stand Firm

¹³ But ^(Y)we ought always to give thanks to God for you, ^(Z)brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you ^(AA)as the firstfruits^{[d] (AB)}to be saved, ^(AC)through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. ¹⁴ To this he called you through ^(AD)our gospel, ^(AE)so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. ¹⁵ So then, brothers, ^(AF)stand firm and hold to ^(AG)the traditions that you were taught by us, either ^(AH)by our spoken word or by ^(AI)our letter.

¹⁶ Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, ^(AJ)who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good ^(AK)hope through grace, ¹⁷ comfort your hearts and ^(AL)establish them in every good work and word.

¹⁶ For ^(A)the Lord himself will descend ^(B)from heaven ^(C)with a cry of command, with the voice of ^(D)an archangel, and ^(E)with the sound of the trumpet of God. And ^(F)the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ Then we who are alive, who are left, will be ^(G)caught up together with them ^(H)in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so ^(I)we will always be with the Lord.