1 J esus departed from the temple area and was going on His way when His disciples came up to Him to call His attention to the buildings of the temple and point them out to Him.

Jesus went out of the house of God. On the way His followers came to Him to show Him the buildings of the house of God.

2 B ut He answered them, Do you see all these? Truly I tell you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.

Jesus said to them, “Do you see all these things? For sure, I tell you, all these stones will be thrown down. Not one will be left standing on another.” Jesus Teaches on the Mount of Olives

3 W hile He was seated on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately and said, Tell us, when will this take place, and what will be the sign of Your coming and of the end (the completion, the consummation) of the age?

Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives. The followers came to Him when He was alone and said, “Tell us, when will this happen? What can we look for to show us of Your coming and of the end of the world?”

4 J esus answered them, Be careful that no one misleads you.

Jesus said to them, “Be careful that no one leads you the wrong way.

5 F or many will come in (on the strength of) My name '> appropriating the name which belongs to Me], saying, I am the Christ (the Messiah), and they will lead many astray.

Many people will come using My name. They will say, ‘I am Christ.’ They will fool many people and will turn them to the wrong way.

6 A nd you will hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not frightened or troubled, for this must take place, but the end is not yet.

You will hear of wars and lots of talk about wars, but do not be afraid. These things must happen, but it is not the end yet.

7 F or nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in place after place;

Nations will have wars with other nations. Countries will fight against countries. There will be no food for people. The earth will shake and break apart in different places.

8 A ll this is but the beginning of the birth pangs '> intolerable anguish].

These things are the beginning of sorrows and pains.

9 T hen they will hand you over to suffer affliction and tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake.

“Then they will hand you over to be hurt. They will kill you. You will be hated by all the world because of My name.

10 A nd then many will be offended and repelled and will begin to distrust and desert and will stumble and fall away and betray one another and pursue one another with hatred.

Many people will give up and turn away at this time. People will hand over each other. They will hate each other.

11 A nd many false prophets will rise up and deceive and lead many into error.

Many false religious teachers will come. They will fool many people and will turn them to the wrong way.

12 A nd the love of the great body of people will grow cold because of the multiplied lawlessness and iniquity,

Because of people breaking the laws and sin being everywhere, the love in the hearts of many people will become cold.

13 B ut he who endures to the end will be saved.

But the one who stays true to the end will be saved.

14 A nd this good news of the kingdom (the Gospel) will be preached throughout the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then will come the end.

“This Good News about the holy nation of God must be preached over all the earth. It must be told to all nations and then the end will come. Days of Trouble and Pain and Sorrow

15 S o when you see the appalling sacrilege, spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the Holy Place—let the reader take notice and ponder and consider and heed —

“You will see a sinful man-made god standing in the house of God in Jerusalem. It was spoken of by the early preacher Daniel. The one who reads this should understand it.

16 T hen let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains;

Then those in the country of Judea should run to the mountains.

17 L et him who is on the housetop not come down and go into the house to take anything;

The man who is on the top of his house should not come down to take anything out of his house.

18 A nd let him who is in the field not turn back to get his overcoat.

The man who is in the field should not go back to get his coat.

19 A nd alas for the women who are pregnant and for those who have nursing babies in those days!

It will be hard for a woman who will soon be a mother. It will be hard for the ones feeding babies in those days!

20 P ray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath.

Pray that you will not have to go in the winter or on the Day of Rest.

21 F or then there will be great tribulation (affliction, distress, and oppression) such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now—no, and never will be.

In those days there will be very much trouble and pain and sorrow. It has never been this bad from the beginning of the world and never will be again.

22 A nd if those days had not been shortened, no human being would endure and survive, but for the sake of the elect (God’s chosen ones) those days will be shortened.

If the time had not been made short, no life would have been saved. Because of God’s people, the time will be made short. The False Religious Teachers

23 I f anyone says to you then, Behold, here is the Christ (the Messiah)! or, There He is!—do not believe it.

“If anyone says to you, ‘See! Here is the Christ!’ or ‘There He is!’ do not believe it.

24 F or false Christs and false prophets will arise, and they will show great signs and wonders so as to deceive and lead astray, if possible, even the elect (God’s chosen ones).

People who say they are Christ and false preachers will come. They will do special things for people to see. They will do great things, so that if it can be done, God’s people will be fooled to believe something wrong.

25 S ee, I have warned you beforehand.

Listen! I have told you before it comes.

26 S o if they say to you, Behold, He is in the wilderness (desert)—do not go out there; if they tell you, Behold, He is in the secret places or inner rooms—do not believe it.

If they tell you, ‘See! He is in the desert,’ do not go to see. Or if they say, ‘See! He is in the inside room,’ do not believe them.

27 F or just as the lightning flashes from the east and shines and is seen as far as the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.

The Son of Man will come as fast as lightning shines across the sky from east to west.

28 W herever there is a fallen body (a corpse), there the vultures (or eagles) will flock together.

Birds gather wherever there is a dead body. Jesus Will Come Again in His Shining-Greatness

29 I mmediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not shed its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

“As soon as those days of trouble and pain and sorrow are over, the sun will get dark. The moon will not give light. The stars will fall from the sky. The powers in the heavens will be shaken.

30 T hen the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn and beat their breasts and lament in anguish, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

Then something special will be seen in the sky telling of the Son of Man. All nations of the earth will have sorrow. They will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of the sky with power and shining-greatness.

31 A nd He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect (His chosen ones) from the four winds, from one end of the universe to the other.

He will send His angels with the loud sound of a horn. They will gather God’s people together from the four winds. They will come from one end of the heavens to the other. The Picture-Story of the Fig Tree

32 F rom the fig tree learn this lesson: as soon as its young shoots become soft and tender and it puts out its leaves, you know of a surety that summer is near.

“Now learn something from the fig tree. When the branch begins to grow and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near.

33 S o also when you see these signs, all taken together, coming to pass, you may know of a surety that He is near, at the very doors.

In the same way, when you see all these things happen, you know the Son of Man is near, even at the door.

34 T ruly I tell you, this generation ( the whole multitude of people living at the same time, in a definite, given period) will not pass away till all these things taken together take place.

For sure, I tell you, the people of this day will not pass away before all these things have happened. No One Knows When Jesus Will Come Again

35 S ky and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.

36 B ut of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

But no one knows the day or the hour. No! Not even the angels in heaven know. The Son does not know. Only the Father knows.

37 A s were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

“When the Son of Man comes, it will be the same as when Noah lived.

38 F or just as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah went into the ark,

In the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking. They were marrying and being given in marriage. This kept on until the day Noah went into the large boat.

39 A nd they did not know or understand until the flood came and swept them all away—so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

They did not know what was happening until the flood came and the water carried them all away. It will be like this when the Son of Man comes.

40 A t that time two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left.

“Two men will be working in a field. One will be taken and the other will be left.

41 T wo women will be grinding at the hand mill; one will be taken and one will be left.

Two women will be grinding grain. One will be taken and the other will be left.

42 W atch therefore '> give strict attention, be cautious and active], for you do not know in what kind of a day '> whether a near or remote one] your Lord is coming.

“Because of this, watch! You do not know on what day your Lord is coming.

43 B ut understand this: had the householder known in what '> night or a morning] watch the thief was coming, he would have watched and would not have allowed his house to be undermined and broken into.

But understand this: If the owner of a house had known when the robber was coming, he would have watched. He would not have allowed his house to have been broken into.

44 Y ou also must be ready therefore, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not expect Him.

You must be ready also. The Son of Man is coming at a time when you do not think He will come. Faithful Servants and Servants Who Are Not Faithful

45 W ho then is the faithful, thoughtful, and wise servant, whom his master has put in charge of his household to give to the others the food and supplies at the proper time?

“Who is the faithful and wise servant whom his owner has made boss over the other servants? He is to have food ready for them at the right time.

46 B lessed (happy, fortunate, and to be envied) is that servant whom, when his master comes, he will find so doing.

That servant is happy who is doing what his owner wants him to do when he comes back.

47 I solemnly declare to you, he will set him over all his possessions.

For sure, I tell you, he will make him boss over all that he has.

48 B ut if that servant is wicked and says to himself, My master is delayed and is going to be gone a long time,

But if that servant is bad, he will think, ‘The owner will not come soon.’

49 A nd begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with the drunken,

He will beat the others. He will eat and drink with those who are drunk.

50 T he master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour of which he is not aware,

The owner will come on a day and at an hour when the servant is not looking for him.

51 A nd will punish him '> cut him up by scourging] and put him with the pretenders (hypocrites); there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.

The owner will punish the servant and will give him his place with those who pretend to be someone they are not. There will be loud crying and grinding of teeth.