The Destruction of the Temple Foretold. 1* a Jesus left the temple area and was going away, when his disciples approached him to point out the temple buildings. 2* He said to them in reply, “You see all these things, do you not? Amen, I say to you, there will not be left here a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down.”

The Beginning of Calamities. 3As he was sitting on the Mount of Olives,* the disciples approached him privately and said, “Tell us, when will this happen, and what sign will there be of your coming, and of the end of the age?” 4* Jesus said to them in reply, “See that no one deceives you. 5For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and they will deceive many. 6b You will hear of wars* and reports of wars; see that you are not alarmed, for these things must happen, but it will not yet be the end. 7c Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be famines and earthquakes from place to place. 8* All these are the beginning of the labor pains. 9* d Then they will hand you over to persecution, and they will kill you. You will be hated by all nations because of my name. 10And then many will be led into sin; they will betray and hate one another. 11Many false prophets will arise and deceive many; 12and because of the increase of evildoing, the love of many will grow cold. 13e But the one who perseveres to the end will be saved. 14f And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the world as a witness to all nations,* and then the end will come.

The Great Tribulation.* 15g “When you see the desolating abomination* spoken of through Daniel the prophet standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), 16then those in Judea must flee* to the mountains, 17* h a person on the housetop must not go down to get things out of his house, 18a person in the field must not return to get his cloak. 19Woe to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days. 20* Pray that your flight not be in winter or on the sabbath, 21* i for at that time there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will be. 22And if those days had not been shortened, no one would be saved; but for the sake of the elect they will be shortened. 23j If anyone says to you then, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. 24False messiahs and false prophets will arise, and they will perform signs and wonders so great as to deceive, if that were possible, even the elect. 25Behold, I have told it to you beforehand. 26So if they say to you, ‘He is in the desert,’ do not go out there; if they say, ‘He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it.* 27k For just as lightning comes from the east and is seen as far as the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. 28Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.

The Coming of the Son of Man. 29* l “Immediately after the tribulation of those days,

30m And then the sign of the Son of Man* will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming upon the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31n And he will send out his angels* with a trumpet blast, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

The Lesson of the Fig Tree.* 32“Learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near. 33In the same way, when you see all these things, know that he is near, at the gates. 34Amen, I say to you, this generation* will not pass away until all these things have taken place. 35o Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

The Unknown Day and Hour.* 36p “But of that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son,* but the Father alone. 37* q For as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38In [those] days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day that Noah entered the ark. 39They did not know until the flood came and carried them all away. So will it be [also] at the coming of the Son of Man. 40* r Two men will be out in the field; one will be taken, and one will be left. 41Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken, and one will be left. 42* s Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come. 43t Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into. 44So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.

The Faithful or the Unfaithful Servant.* 45u “Who, then, is the faithful and prudent servant, whom the master has put in charge of his household to distribute to them their food at the proper time?* 46Blessed is that servant whom his master on his arrival finds doing so. 47Amen, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his property. 48* But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is long delayed,’ 49and begins to beat his fellow servants, and eat and drink with drunkards, 50the servant’s master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour 51v and will punish him severely* and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.