Matthew 24:15-51

New American Standard Bible

Perilous Times

¹⁵ “Therefore when you see the ^(A)abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in ^(B)the holy place—^[a](C)let the ^[b]reader understand— ¹⁶ then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. ^17 [c]Whoever is on ^(D)the ^[d]housetop must not go down to get things out of his house. ¹⁸ And ^[e]whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. ¹⁹ But ^(E)woe to those women who are pregnant, and to those who are nursing babies in those days! ²⁰ Moreover, pray that ^[f]when you flee, it will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath. ²¹ For then there will be a ^(F)great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will again. ²² And if those days had not been cut short, no ^[g]life would have been saved; but for ^(G)the sake of the ^[h]elect those days will be cut short. ^23 (H)Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the ^[i]Christ,’ or ‘He is over here,’ do not believe him. ²⁴ For false christs and ^(I)false prophets will arise and will provide great ^[j](J)signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even ^(K)the ^[k]elect. ²⁵ Behold, I have told you in advance. ²⁶ So if they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe them. ^27 (L)For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will the ^(M)coming of the ^(N)Son of Man ^[l]be. ^28 (O)Wherever the corpse is, there the ^[m]vultures will gather.

The Glorious Return

²⁹ “But immediately after the ^(P)tribulation of those days ^(Q)the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and ^(R)the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ³⁰ And then ^(S)the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see ^(T)the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. ³¹ And ^(U)He will send forth His angels with ^(V)a great trumpet blast, and they will gather together His ^[n](W)elect from ^(X)the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.

Parable of the Fig Tree

³² “Now learn the parable from the fig tree: as soon as its branch has become tender and sprouts its leaves, you know that summer is near; ³³ so you too, when you see all these things, ^[o]recognize that ^[p]He is near, right ^(Y)at the ^[q]door. ³⁴ Truly I say to you, ^(Z)this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. ^35 (AA)Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.

³⁶ “But ^(AB)about that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. ³⁷ For ^[r]the ^(AC)coming of the Son of Man will be ^(AD)just like the days of Noah. ³⁸ For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, ^(AE)marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that ^(AF)Noah entered the ark, ³⁹ and they did not ^[s]understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the ^(AG)coming of the Son of Man be. ⁴⁰ At that time there will be two men in the field; one ^[t]will be taken and one ^[u]will be left. ^41 (AH)Two women will be grinding at the ^[v](AI)mill; one ^[w]will be taken and one ^[x]will be left.

Be Ready for His Coming

⁴² “Therefore ^(AJ)be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. ⁴³ But ^[y]be sure of this, that ^(AK)if the head of the house had known ^(AL)at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. ⁴⁴ For this reason ^(AM)you must be ready as well; for ^(AN)the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.

⁴⁵ “^(AO)Who then is the ^(AP)faithful and ^(AQ)sensible slave whom his ^[z]master ^(AR)put in charge of his household slaves, to give them their food at the proper time? ⁴⁶ Blessed is that slave whom his ^[aa]master finds so doing when he comes. ⁴⁷ Truly I say to you that ^(AS)he will put him in charge of all his possessions. ⁴⁸ But if that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My ^[ab]master ^[ac]is not coming for a long time,’ ⁴⁹ and he begins to beat his fellow slaves, and he eats and drinks with those habitually drunk; ⁵⁰ then the ^[ad]master of that slave will come on a day that he does not expect, and at an hour that he does not know, ⁵¹ and he will ^[ae]cut him in two and assign ^[af]him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be ^(AT)weeping and gnashing of teeth.