The Gospel According to St. Matthew

⭑ Literal Standard Version :: World English Bible Catholic ⭑

- Chapter 24 -

(Mark 13:1–8; Luke 21:5–9)

And having gone forth, Jesus departed from the temple, and His disciples came near to show Him the buildings of the temple,

and Jesus said to them, “Do you not see all these? Truly I say to you, there may not be left here a stone on a stone that will not be thrown down.”

And when He is sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came near to Him by Himself, saying, “Tell us, when will these be? And what [is] the sign of Your coming, and of the full end of the age?”

And Jesus answering said to them, “Take heed that no one may lead you astray,

for many will come in My Name, saying, I am the Christ, and they will lead many astray,

and you will begin to hear of wars, and reports of wars; see, do not be troubled, for it is necessary for all [these] to come to pass, but the end is not yet.

For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in various places;

and all these [are the] beginning of travails;

Witnessing to All Nations

(Mark 13:9–13; Luke 21:10–19)

then they will deliver you up to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all the nations because of My Name;

and then will many be stumbled, and they will deliver up one another, and will hate one another.

And many false prophets will arise, and will lead many astray;

and because of the abounding of the lawlessness, the love of the many will become cold;

but he who endured to the end, he will be saved;

and this good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed in all the world, for a testimony to all the nations, and then will the end arrive.

The Abomination of Desolation

(Mark 13:14–23; Luke 21:20–24)

Whenever, therefore, you may see the abomination of the desolation, that was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (whoever is reading let him observe)

then those in Judea—let them flee to the mountains;

he on the housetop—do not let him come down to take up anything out of his house;

and he in the field—do not let him turn back to take his garments.

And woe to those with child, and to those giving suck in those days;

and pray that your flight may not be in winter, nor on a Sabbath;

for there will then be great tribulation, such as was not from the beginning of the world until now, no, nor may be.

And if those days were not shortened, no flesh would have been saved; but because of the chosen will those days be shortened.

Then if anyone may say to you, Behold, here [is] the Christ! Or, Here! You may not believe;

for there will arise false Christs, and false prophets, and they will give great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, also the chosen.

Behold, I told you beforehand.

The Return of the Son of Man

(Mark 13:24–27; Luke 21:25–28)

If therefore they may say to you, Behold, He is in the wilderness, you may not go forth; Behold, in the inner chambers, you may not believe;

for as the lightning comes forth from the east, and appears to the west, so will also be the coming of the Son of Man;

for wherever the carcass may be, there the eagles will be gathered together.

And immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give her light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken;

and then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in the sky; and then will all the tribes of the earth strike the breast, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of Heaven, with power and much glory;

and He will send His messengers with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His chosen from the four winds, from the ends of the heavens to the ends thereof.

The Lesson of the Fig Tree

(Mark 13:28–31; Luke 21:29–33)

And from the fig tree learn the allegory: when its branch may have already become tender, and it may put forth the leaves, you know that summer [is] near,

so also you, when you may see all these, you know that it is near—at the doors.

Truly I say to you, this generation may not pass away until all these may come to pass.

The heaven and the earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.

Readiness at Any Hour

(Genesis 6:1–7; Mark 13:32–37; Luke 12:35–48)

And concerning that day and the hour no one has known—not even the messengers of the heavens—except My Father only;

and as the days of Noah—so will also be the coming of the Son of Man;

for as they were, in the days before the flood, eating, and drinking, marrying, and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered into the Ark,

and they did not know until the flood came and took all away, so will also be the coming of the Son of Man.

Then two [men] will be in the field: one is received, and one is left;

two [women] will be grinding in the mill: one is received, and one is left.

Watch therefore, because you have not known in what hour your Lord comes;

and know this, that if the master of the house had known in what watch the thief comes, he had watched, and did not permit his house to be broken through;

because of this also you, become ready, because in what hour you do not think, the Son of Man comes.

Who, then, is the servant, faithful and wise, whom his lord set over his household, to give them the nourishment in season?

Blessed that servant, whom his lord, having come, will find doing so;

truly I say to you that he will set him over all his substance.

And if that evil servant may say in his heart, My lord delays to come,

and may begin to beat the fellow-servants, and to eat and to drink with the drunken,

the lord of that servant will arrive in a day when he does not expect, and in an hour of which he does not know,

and will cut him off, and will appoint his portion with the hypocrites; there will be the weeping and the gnashing of the teeth.”

(Mark 13:1–8; Luke 21:5–9)

Jesus went out from the temple, and was going on his way. His disciples came to him to show him the buildings of the temple.

But he answered them, “You see all of these things, don’t you? Most certainly I tell you, there will not be left here one stone on another, that will not be thrown down.”

As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? What is the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age?”

Jesus answered them, “Be careful that no one leads you astray.

For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will lead many astray.

You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you aren’t troubled, for all this must happen, but the end is not yet.

For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there will be famines, plagues, and earthquakes in various places.

But all these things are the beginning of birth pains.

Witnessing to All Nations

(Mark 13:9–13; Luke 21:10–19)

“Then they will deliver you up to oppression and will kill you. You will be hated by all of the nations for my name’s sake.

Then many will stumble, and will deliver up one another, and will hate one another.

Many false prophets will arise and will lead many astray.

Because iniquity will be multiplied, the love of many will grow cold.

But he who endures to the end will be saved.

This Good News of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole world for a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.

The Abomination of Desolation

(Mark 13:14–23; Luke 21:20–24)

“When, therefore, you see the abomination of desolation, (a) which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),

then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.

Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take out the things that are in his house.

Let him who is in the field not return back to get his clothes.

But woe to those who are with child and to nursing mothers in those days!

Pray that your flight will not be in the winter nor on a Sabbath,

for then there will be great suffering, (b) such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, nor ever will be.

Unless those days had been shortened, no flesh would have been saved. But for the sake of the chosen ones, those days will be shortened.

“Then if any man tells you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘There!’ don’t believe it.

For false christs and false prophets will arise, and they will show great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the chosen ones.

“Behold, I have told you beforehand.

The Return of the Son of Man

(Mark 13:24–27; Luke 21:25–28)

“If therefore they tell you, ‘Behold, he is in the wilderness,’ don’t go out; or ‘Behold, he is in the inner rooms,’ don’t believe it.

For as the lightning flashes from the east, and is seen even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.

For wherever the carcass is, that is where the vultures (c) gather together.

“But immediately after the suffering (d) of those days, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken; (e)

and then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky. Then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory.

He will send out his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together his chosen ones from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.

The Lesson of the Fig Tree

(Mark 13:28–31; Luke 21:29–33)

“Now from the fig tree learn this parable: When its branch has now become tender and produces its leaves, you know that the summer is near.

Even so you also, when you see all these things, know that he is near, even at the doors.

Most certainly I tell you, this generation (f) will not pass away until all these things are accomplished.

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

Readiness at Any Hour

(Genesis 6:1–7; Mark 13:32–37; Luke 12:35–48)

“But no one knows of that day and hour, not even the angels of heaven, (g) but my Father only.

As the days of Noah were, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.

For as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ship,

and they didn’t know until the flood came and took them all away, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.

Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and one will be left.

Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and one will be left.

Watch therefore, for you don’t know in what hour your Lord comes.

But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what watch of the night the thief was coming, he would have watched, and would not have allowed his house to be broken into.

Therefore also be ready, for in an hour that you don’t expect, the Son of Man will come.

“Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his lord has set over his household, to give them their food in due season?

Blessed is that servant whom his lord finds doing so when he comes.

Most certainly I tell you that he will set him over all that he has.

But if that evil servant should say in his heart, ‘My lord is delaying his coming,’

and begins to beat his fellow servants, and eat and drink with the drunkards,

the lord of that servant will come in a day when he doesn’t expect it and in an hour when he doesn’t know it,

and will cut him in pieces and appoint his portion with the hypocrites. That is where the weeping and grinding of teeth will be.

Footnotes

(a)24:15 ℘ Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11

(b)24:21 or, oppression

(d)24:29 or, oppression

(e)24:29 ℘ Isaiah 13:10; 34:4

(f)24:34 The word for “generation” (genea) can also be translated as “race.”

(g)24:36 NU adds “nor the son”