Matthew 24
The Destrution of the Temple
1
And coming out Jesus departed from the temple and his disciples came to him
to point out to him the buildings of the temple.
2
And answering he
said to them: Do you not see all these [things]? Truly I say to you there will not
be left here [a] stone upon [a] stone that will not be thrown down.
Signs of the End of the Age
3
And
when he sat upon the mount of olives the disciples came to him privately
saying: Tell us when will these [things] be? And what are the signs of your coming
and the completion of the age?
4
And answering Jesus said to them: Be
seeing that no one deceive you.
5
For many will come on my name saying:
I am the Christ, and many will be deceived.
6
But you will hear [of] wars
and the rumor of wars. See that you are not being troubled, for these
[things] must come to pass, but not yet is the end.
7
For nation will rise
against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and
earthquakes in diverse places.
8
All these [things] are the beginning of
birth-pangs.
Persecution of Disciples
9
Then they will give you over to affliction and they will
kill you, and you will be hated by all the nations because of my name.
10
And then many will be stumbled1 and they
will betray each other and will hate each other.
11
And many false
prophets will rise and will deceive many.
12
And because lawlessness
shall abound, the agape-love of many will grow cold.
13
But the [one] having
endured to the end, this [one] will be saved.
14
And this gospel of the
kingdom will be preached in the whole world as [a] witness to all the nations,
and then will the end come.
The Abomination of Desolation
15
When therefore you see the abomination
of devastation2, the [thing] said through Daniel the
prophet, stand in the holy place, the [one] who reads, let3
him understand,
16
then those in Judea, let3 them
flee to the mountains.
17
The [one] on the roof, let3
him not come down to take anything out of his house,
18
and the [one] in the
field, let3 him not turn back to take his clothes,
19
but woe to the pregnant and those giving suck in those days.
20
But be praying in order that your flight not come to pass in winter or on
the Sabbath.
21
For then will there be great afflictions such as have
not come to pass from the beginning to this time nor shall ever
be.
22
And if those days were not shortened, no flesh would be saved,
but because of the chosen those days will be shortened.
23
Then if any
say to you: Behold here [is] the Christ, or: There, do not believe him.
24
For false Christs and false prophets shall rise and shall give great signs
and wonders4, so as to deceive, if possible, even the
chosen.
25
Behold I have forewarned you.
26
If therefore they say
to you: Behold he is in the desert, do not go. Behold he is in the inner
room, do not believe.
27
For as the lightning comes out from the east
and shines to the west, thus is the coming of the son of man.
28
Where the carcass is, there will be gathered the vultures.
The Arrival of the Son of Man
29
But immediately
after the affliction of those days the sun will be darkened and the moon
will not give its radiance, and the starts will fall from heaven, and the
powers of the heavens will be shaken.
30
And then will be manifest the
sign of the son of man in heaven, and then all the tribes of the land will
hide and 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 great
trumpet-calls, and they will gather his chosen from the four winds, from one
end of heaven to the other.
The Parable of the Fig Tree
32
Learn from the fig tree the parable:
When its branches already become tender and the leaves put forth, you know
that summer is near.
33
Thus you also when you see all these [things], you will
know that it is near, [even] at the doors.
34
Truly I say to you that this
generation shall not pass away until all these [things] come to pass.
35
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not
pass away.
Be Ready!
36
Concerning that day and hour nobody knows, not even the
angels of the heavens, nor the son5, except the father only.
37
For as the days of Noah, thus
will be the coming of the son of man.
38
For as they were in those days
before the deluge gnawing6 eating and drinking, marrying and being given in marriage until which day Noah entered into the ark,
39
and they did not know
until the deluge came and took them all, thus also will be the coming of the
son of man.
40
Then will two be in the field, one is taken and one is
left.
41
Two [are] grinding in the mill, one is taken and one left.
42
Be watching therefore, for you know not what day your Lord comes.
43
But this you know that if the master of the house knew in which watch the
thief comes, he would have watched and would not have allowed his house to
be broken into.
44
For this reason you also become ready, for in which
hour you do not suppose the son of man comes.
The Faithful and Wise Slave
45
Who therefore is the
trustworthy and shrewd slave who the Lord appointed over his household to
give them food at the proper-time7
?
46
Blessed is that slave who when
his Lord comes he will find thus doing.
47
Truly I say to you that he
will appoint him over all his possessions.
48
But if that evil slave
should say in his heart: My Lord delays,
49
and begins to be beating his fellow-slaves,
eating and drinking with the drunks,
50
the Lord of
that slave will come in [an] hour which he knows not,
51
and he will cut
him asunder, and appoint [him] his portion with the hypocrites. There will there
be wailing and grinding8 of
teeth.
1or "offended"
2or "desolation"
3imperative
4or "omens"
5"nor the son" ℵBD many;
omit: W vg K
6TROGO "TROH-GO" (τρωγω), `to gnaw', not the usual verb `to eat' (ESTHO εσθω)
7KAIROS (καιρoς ) `opportune time', `proper time', `season'
8or "gnashing," "biting," "snarling"