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Matthew 24:4-31
New International Version

4 Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you.(A) 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many.(B) 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.(C) There will be famines(D) and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains.

9 “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted(E) and put to death,(F) and you will be hated by all nations because of me.(G) 10 At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11 and many false prophets(H) will appear and deceive many people.(I) 12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.(J) 14 And this gospel of the kingdom(K) will be preached in the whole world(L) as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

15 “So when you see standing in the holy place(M) ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’[a](N) spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let no one on the housetop(O) go down to take anything out of the house. 18 Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. 19 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers!(P) 20 Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.(Q)

22 “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect(R) those days will be shortened. 23 At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it.(S) 24 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders(T) to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you ahead of time.

26 “So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27 For as lightning(U) that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming(V) of the Son of Man.(W) 28 Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.(X)

29 “Immediately after the distress of those days

“‘the sun will be darkened,
    and the moon will not give its light;
the stars will fall from the sky,
    and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’[b](Y)

30 “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth[c] will mourn(Z) when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven,(AA) with power and great glory.[d] 31 And he will send his angels(AB) with a loud trumpet call,(AC) and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 24:15 Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11
  2. Matthew 24:29 Isaiah 13:10; 34:4
  3. Matthew 24:30 Or the tribes of the land
  4. Matthew 24:30 See Daniel 7:13-14.
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Matthew 24:4-31
New King James Version

4 And Jesus answered and said to them: (A)“Take heed that no one deceives you. 5 For (B)many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ (C)and will deceive many. 6 And you will hear of (D)wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for [a]all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For (E)nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be (F)famines, [b]pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

9 (G)“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. 10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. 11 Then (H)many false prophets will rise up and (I)deceive many. 12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow (J)cold. 13 (K)But he who endures to the end shall be saved. 14 And this (L)gospel of the kingdom (M)will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

The Great Tribulation(N)

15 (O)“Therefore when you see the (P)‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (Q)(whoever reads, let him 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 And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. 19 But (R)woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 20 And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For (S)then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; (T)but for the [c]elect’s sake those days will be shortened.

23 (U)“Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. 24 For (V)false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, (W)if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you beforehand.

26 “Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it. 27 (X)For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 28 (Y)For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.

The Coming of the Son of Man(Z)

29 (AA)“Immediately after the tribulation of those days (AB)the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 (AC)Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, (AD)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 (AE)And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His [d]elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 24:6 NU omits all
  2. Matthew 24:7 NU omits pestilences
  3. Matthew 24:22 chosen ones’
  4. Matthew 24:31 chosen ones
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Matthew 24:4-31
New Living Translation

4 Jesus told them, “Don’t let anyone mislead you, 5 for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah.’ They will deceive many. 6 And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately. 7 Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world. 8 But all this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come.

9 “Then you will be arrested, persecuted, and killed. You will be hated all over the world because you are my followers.[a] 10 And many will turn away from me and betray and hate each other. 11 And many false prophets will appear and will deceive many people. 12 Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 14 And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations[b] will hear it; and then the end will come.

15 “The day is coming when you will see what Daniel the prophet spoke about—the sacrilegious object that causes desecration[c] standing in the Holy Place.” (Reader, pay attention!) 16 “Then those in Judea must flee to the hills. 17 A person out on the deck of a roof must not go down into the house to pack. 18 A person out in the field must not return even to get a coat. 19 How terrible it will be for pregnant women and for nursing mothers in those days. 20 And pray that your flight will not be in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For there will be greater anguish than at any time since the world began. And it will never be so great again. 22 In fact, unless that time of calamity is shortened, not a single person will survive. But it will be shortened for the sake of God’s chosen ones.

23 “Then if anyone tells you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah,’ or ‘There he is,’ don’t believe it. 24 For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones. 25 See, I have warned you about this ahead of time.

26 “So if someone tells you, ‘Look, the Messiah is out in the desert,’ don’t bother to go and look. Or, ‘Look, he is hiding here,’ don’t believe it! 27 For as the lightning flashes in the east and shines to the west, so it will be when the Son of Man[d] comes. 28 Just as the gathering of vultures shows there is a carcass nearby, so these signs indicate that the end is near.[e]

29 “Immediately after the anguish of those days,

the sun will be darkened,
    the moon will give no light,
the stars will fall from the sky,
    and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.[f]

30 And then at last, the sign that the Son of Man is coming will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning among all the peoples of the earth. And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.[g] 31 And he will send out his angels with the mighty blast of a trumpet, and they will gather his chosen ones from all over the world[h]—from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven.

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Footnotes

  1. 24:9 Greek on account of my name.
  2. 24:14 Or all peoples.
  3. 24:15 Greek the abomination of desolation. See Dan 9:27; 11:31; 12:11.
  4. 24:27 “Son of Man” is a title Jesus used for himself.
  5. 24:28 Greek Wherever the carcass is, the vultures gather.
  6. 24:29 See Isa 13:10; 34:4; Joel 2:10.
  7. 24:30 See Dan 7:13.
  8. 24:31 Greek from the four winds.
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Matthew 24:4-31
Good News Translation

4 Jesus answered, “Watch out, and do not let anyone fool you. 5 Many men, claiming to speak for me, will come and say, ‘I am the Messiah!’ and they will fool many people. 6 You are going to hear the noise of battles close by and the news of battles far away; but do not be troubled. Such things must happen, but they do not mean that the end has come. 7 (A)Countries will fight each other; kingdoms will attack one another. There will be famines and earthquakes everywhere. 8 All these things are like the first pains of childbirth.

9 (B)“Then you will be arrested and handed over to be punished and be put to death. Everyone will hate you because of me. 10 Many will give up their faith at that time; they will betray one another and hate one another. 11 Then many false prophets will appear and fool many people. 12 Such will be the spread of evil that many people's love will grow cold. 13 (C)But whoever holds out to the end will be saved. 14 And this Good News about the Kingdom will be preached through all the world for a witness to all people; and then the end will come.

The Awful Horror(D)

15 (E)“You will see ‘The Awful Horror’ of which the prophet Daniel spoke. It will be standing in the holy place.” (Note to the reader: understand what this means!) 16 “Then those who are in Judea must run away to the hills. 17 (F)Someone who is on the roof of a house must not take the time to go down and get any belongings from the house. 18 Someone who is in the field must not go back to get a cloak. 19 How terrible it will be in those days for women who are pregnant and for mothers with little babies! 20 Pray to God that you will not have to run away during the winter or on a Sabbath! 21 (G)For the trouble at that time will be far more terrible than any there has ever been, from the beginning of the world to this very day. Nor will there ever be anything like it again. 22 But God has already reduced the number of days; had he not done so, nobody would survive. For the sake of his chosen people, however, God will reduce the days.

23 “Then, if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or ‘There he is!’—do not believe it. 24 For false Messiahs and false prophets will appear; they will perform great miracles and wonders in order to deceive even God's chosen people, if possible. 25 Listen! I have told you this ahead of time.

26 (H)“Or, if people should tell you, ‘Look, he is out in the desert!’—don't go there; or if they say, ‘Look, he is hiding here!’—don't believe it. 27 For the Son of Man will come like the lightning which flashes across the whole sky from the east to the west.

28 (I)“Wherever there is a dead body, the vultures will gather.

The Coming of the Son of Man(J)

29 (K)“Soon after the trouble of those days, the sun will grow dark, the moon will no longer shine, the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers in space will be driven from their courses. 30 (L)Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky; and all the peoples of earth will weep as they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 The great trumpet will sound, and he will send out his angels to the four corners of the earth, and they will gather his chosen people from one end of the world to the other.

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Matthew 24:4-31
The Message

4-8 Jesus said, “Watch out for doomsday deceivers. Many leaders are going to show up with forged identities, claiming, ‘I am Christ, the Messiah.’ They will deceive a lot of people. When reports come in of wars and rumored wars, keep your head and don’t panic. This is routine history; this is no sign of the end. Nation will fight nation and ruler fight ruler, over and over. Famines and earthquakes will occur in various places. This is nothing compared to what is coming.

9-10 “They are going to throw you to the wolves and kill you, everyone hating you because you carry my name. And then, going from bad to worse, it will be dog-eat-dog, everyone at each other’s throat, everyone hating each other.

11-12 “In the confusion, lying preachers will come forward and deceive a lot of people. For many others, the overwhelming spread of evil will do them in—nothing left of their love but a mound of ashes.

13-14 “Staying with it—that’s what God requires. Stay with it to the end. You won’t be sorry, and you’ll be saved. All during this time, the good news—the Message of the kingdom—will be preached all over the world, a witness staked out in every country. And then the end will come.

The Monster of Desecration

15-20 “But be ready to run for it when you see the monster of desecration set up in the Temple sanctuary. The prophet Daniel described this. If you’ve read Daniel, you’ll know what I’m talking about. If you’re living in Judea at the time, run for the hills; if you’re working in the yard, don’t return to the house to get anything; if you’re out in the field, don’t go back and get your coat. Pregnant and nursing mothers will have it especially hard. Hope and pray this won’t happen during the winter or on a Sabbath.

21-22 “This is going to be trouble on a scale beyond what the world has ever seen, or will see again. If these days of trouble were left to run their course, nobody would make it. But on account of God’s chosen people, the trouble will be cut short.

The Arrival of the Son of Man

23-25 “If anyone tries to flag you down, calling out, ‘Here’s the Messiah!’ or points, ‘There he is!’ don’t fall for it. Fake Messiahs and lying preachers are going to pop up everywhere. Their impressive credentials and bewitching performances will pull the wool over the eyes of even those who ought to know better. But I’ve given you fair warning.

26-28 “So if they say, ‘Run to the country and see him arrive!’ or, ‘Quick, get downtown, see him come!’ don’t give them the time of day. The Arrival of the Son of Man isn’t something you go to see. He comes like swift lightning to you! Whenever you see crowds gathering, think of carrion vultures circling, moving in, hovering over a rotting carcass. You can be quite sure that it’s not the living Son of Man pulling in those crowds.

29 “Following those hard times,

Sun will fade out,
    moon cloud over,
Stars fall out of the sky,
    cosmic powers tremble.

30-31 “Then, the Arrival of the Son of Man! It will fill the skies—no one will miss it. Unready people all over the world, outsiders to the splendor and power, will raise a huge lament as they watch the Son of Man blazing out of heaven. At that same moment, he’ll dispatch his angels with a trumpet-blast summons, pulling in God’s chosen from the four winds, from pole to pole.

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