Beginning
The beginning of the birth pangs
24 Jesus left the Temple and went away. As he did so, his disciples came and pointed out the Temple buildings to him. 2 “Yes,” he said, “and you see all these things? I’m telling you the truth: not one stone will be left standing upon another. All of them will be thrown down.”
3 As he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, his disciples came to him privately.
“Tell us,” they said, “when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that you are going to appear as king, and that the end of the age is upon us?”
4 “Watch out,” replied Jesus. “Don’t let anyone deceive you. 5 You see, there will be several who will come along, using my name, telling you ‘I’m the Messiah!’ They will fool lots of people. 6 You’re going to hear about wars, actual wars and rumored ones; make sure you don’t get alarmed. This has got to happen, but it doesn’t mean the end is coming yet. 7 Nations will rise against one another, and kingdoms against each other. There will be famines and earthquakes here and there. 8 All this is just the start of the birth pangs.
9 “Then they will hand you over to be tortured, and they will kill you. You will be hated by all nations because of my name. 10 Then several will find the going too hard, and they will betray each other and hate each other. 11 Many false prophets will arise, and they will deceive many people. 12 And because lawlessness will be on the increase, many will find their love growing cold. 13 But the one who lasts out to the end will be delivered. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom must be announced to the whole world, as a witness to all the nations. Then the end will come.”
The desolating sacrilege
15 “So when you see ‘the sacrilege that desolates,’ as Daniel the prophet put it, ‘standing in the holy place’ (the reader should understand), 16 then those who are in Judaea should take to their heels and run to the mountains. 17 If you’re up on your roof, don’t go down into the house to get things out. 18 If you’re in the fields, don’t go back to pick up your cloak. 19 It’s going to be terrible for pregnant and nursing women during those days. 20 Pray that it won’t be winter when you have to run away, or for that matter a sabbath. 21 Yes: there’s going to be such great suffering then as has never been since the start of the world until now—no, and won’t ever be again. 22 And if those days had not been shortened, nobody at all would have been rescued. But for the sake of God’s chosen ones those days will be shortened.
23 “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look! Here is the Messiah!’ or ‘Look! There he is!’ don’t believe them. 24 False messiahs will arise, you see, and false prophets too. They will provide great signs and portents, so as to deceive even God’s chosen ones, if that were possible. 25 Remember, I’m telling you this beforehand!
26 “So if someone says to you, ‘Look! He’s out in the wilderness,’ don’t go out. If they say, ‘Look, he’s in the inner room,’ don’t believe them. 27 You see, the royal appearing of the son of man will be like the lightning that comes from the East and flashes across to the West. 28 Where the carcass is, there the vultures will gather.”
The coming of the son of man
29 “Straight away,” Jesus continued, “after the suffering that those days will bring,
The sun will turn to darkness,
and the moon won’t give its light;
the stars will fall from heaven,
and the powers of heaven will shake.
30 “And then the sign of the son of man will appear in heaven; then all the tribes of the earth will mourn. They will see ‘the son of man coming on the clouds of heaven’ with power and great glory. 31 He will send off his messengers with a great trumpet-blast, and they will collect his chosen ones from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
32 “Learn the hidden meaning from the fig tree. When its branch begins to sprout, and to push out its leaves, then you know that summer is nearly there. 33 So with you: when you see all these things, you will know that it is near, at the very gates. 34 I’m telling you the truth: this generation won’t be gone before all these things happen. 35 Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never, ever disappear.”
The unexpected coming
36 “Nobody knows what day or time this will happen,” Jesus went on. “The angels in heaven don’t know it, and nor does the son; only the father knows. 37 You see, the royal appearing of the son of man will be like the days of Noah.
38 “What does that mean? Well, in those days, before the flood, they were eating and drinking, they were getting married and giving children in marriage, right up to the day when Noah went into the ark. 39 They didn’t know about it until the flood came and swept them all away. That’s what it’ll be like at the royal appearing of the son of man.
40 “On that day there will be two people working in the field. One will be taken, the other will be left. 41 There will be two women grinding corn in the mill. One will be taken, the other will be left.
42 “So keep alert! You don’t know what day your master will come. 43 But bear this in mind: if the householder had known what time of night the burglar was going to come, he would have stayed awake and wouldn’t have let his house get broken into. 44 So you too must be ready! The son of man is coming at a time you don’t expect.”
The wise and wicked slaves
45 “So,” Jesus went on, “who then is the trustworthy and sensible slave, the one the master will set over his household, so that he will give them their meals at the right time? 46 Blessings on the servant whom the master finds doing just that when he comes. 47 I’m telling you the truth: he’ll promote him to be over all his property. 48 But if the wicked slave says in his heart, ‘My master’s taking his time,’ 49 and starts to beat the other slaves, and to feast and drink with the drunkards, 50 the master of that slave will come on a day he doesn’t expect, and at a time he doesn’t know. 51 He will cut him in two, and put him along with the hypocrites, where people will weep and grind their teeth.”
The wise and foolish girls
25 “Then,” continued Jesus, “the kingdom of heaven will be like ten girls who each took their own torches and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were silly, and five were sensible. 3 The silly ones took their torches, but didn’t take oil with them. 4 The sensible ones took oil, in flasks, along with their torches.
5 “The bridegroom took his time coming, and they all nodded off and went to sleep. 6 In the middle of the night a shout went up: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come on and meet him!’ 7 Then all the girls got up and trimmed the wicks of their torches.
8 “The silly ones said to the sensible ones, ‘Give us some of your oil! Our torches are going out!’
9 “But the sensible ones answered, ‘No! If we do that, there won’t be enough for all of us together! You’d better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’
10 “So off they went to buy oil. But, while they were gone, the bridegroom arrived. The ones who were ready went in with him to the wedding party, and the door was shut.
11 “Later on the other girls came back. ‘Master, Master!’ they said. ‘Open the door for us!’
12 “ ‘I’m telling you the truth,’ he said, ‘I don’t know you.’
13 “So keep awake! You don’t know the day or the hour.”
The parable of the talents
14 “This is what it will be like,” Jesus went on. “It will be like a man who was going off on a journey. He summoned his slaves, and handed over control of his property to them. 15 He gave five talents to the first, two to the next, and one to the last—each according to his ability. Then he left.
“Straight away 16 the man who had been given the five talents went out and traded with them, and made five more. 17 Similarly, the one who had received two talents went and made another two. 18 But the one who received a single talent went and dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master’s money.
19 “After a long time, the master of those slaves came back and settled accounts with them. 20 The man who had received five talents came forward and gave him the other five talents. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you gave me five talents. Look: I’ve made another five!’ 21 ‘Well done indeed,’ said his master. ‘You’re an excellent slave, and loyal too! You’ve been trustworthy with small things, and now I’m going to put you in charge of bigger ones. Come and join your master’s celebration!’
22 “Then the man who had had the two talents came forward. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you gave me two talents. Look: I’ve made another two!’ 23 ‘Well done indeed,’ said his master. ‘You’re an excellent slave, and loyal too! You’ve been trustworthy with small things, and now I’m going to put you in charge of bigger ones. Come and join your master’s celebration!’
24 “Then the man who had had the one talent came forward. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you were a hard man. You reap where you didn’t sow, and you profit from things you never invested in. 25 So I was scared! I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here it is: it’s yours, you can have it back.’
26 “ ‘You’re a wicked and lazy slave!’ answered his master. ‘So! You knew that I reap where I didn’t sow, and profit from investments I never made? 27 Then you should have put my money with the bankers, and when I returned I would have received back what I had with interest!’
28 “ ‘So take the talent from him,’ he went on, ‘and give it to the man who has ten talents.’ 29 (If someone already has something, you see, they will be given more, and they’ll have plenty. But if someone has nothing, even what they have will be taken away from them.) 30 ‘But as for this useless slave, throw him outside in the dark, where people weep and grind their teeth.’ ”
The sheep and the goats
31 “When the son of man comes in his glory,” Jesus went on, “and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be assembled in front of him, and he will separate them from one another, like a shepherd separating the sheep from the goats. 33 He will stand the sheep at his right hand, and the goats at his left.
34 “Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come here, you people who my father has blessed. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world! 35 Why? Because I was hungry and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger and you made me welcome. 36 I was naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you looked after me; I was in prison and you came to me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Master, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you a drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and come to see you?’
40 “Then the king will answer them, ‘I’m telling you the truth: when you did it to one of the least significant of my brothers and sisters here, you did it to me.’
41 “Then he will say to those on his left hand, ‘Get away from me! You’re accursed! Go to the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels! 42 Why? Because I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat! I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink! 43 I was a stranger and you didn’t welcome me; I was naked and you didn’t clothe me; I was sick and in prison and you didn’t look after me!’
44 “Then they too will answer, ‘Master, when did we see you hungry or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and didn’t do anything for you?’
45 “Then he will answer them, ‘I’m telling you the truth: when you didn’t do it for one of the least significant of my brothers and sisters here, you didn’t do it for me.’
46 “And they will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous will go into everlasting life.”
Scripture quotations from The New Testament for Everyone are copyright © Nicholas Thomas Wright 2011, 2018, 2019.