Mat 24 | NASB2020 | STEP | Jesus left the temple area and was going on His way when His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him.

1 ^aJesus ^bleft the temple area and was going on His way ^{▼▼Lit and}when His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him. 2 But He responded and said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, ^dnot one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down.”

3 And as He was sitting on ^ethe Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of ^fYour coming, and of the ^{▼▼Or consummation}end of the age?”

4 And Jesus answered and said to them, “ ^hSee to it that no one ^{▼▼Or deceives}misleads you. 5 For ^jmany will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the ^{▼▼I.e., Messiah}Christ,’ and they will ^{▼▼Or deceive}mislead many people. 6 And you will be hearing of ^mwars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. 7 For ⁿnation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be ^ofamines and earthquakes in various places. 8 ^pBut all these things are merely the beginning of birth pains.

9 “ ^qThen they will hand you over to tribulation and kill you, and ^ryou will be hated by all nations because of My name. 10 And at that time many will ^{▼▼I.e., from the faith} ^tfall away, and they will ^{▼▼Or hand over}betray one another and hate one another. 11 And many ^vfalse prophets will rise up and ^{▼▼Or deceive}mislead many people. 12 And because lawlessness is increased, ^{▼▼Lit the love of the many}most people’s love will become cold. 13 ^yBut the one who endures to the end is the one who will be saved. 14 This ^zgospel of the kingdom ^aashall be preached in the whole ^{▼▼Lit inhabited earth} ^acworld as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.

Perilous Times

15 “Therefore when you see the ^adabomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in ^aethe holy place-- ^{▼▼Or the reader is to understand} ^aglet the ^{▼▼I.e., the reader of Daniel}reader understand-- 16 then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. 17 ^{▼▼Lit The one who}Whoever is on ^ajthe ^{▼▼Housetops were flat living areas}housetop must not go down to get things out of his house. 18 And ^{▼▼Lit the one who}whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. 19 But ^amwoe to those women who are pregnant, and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 20 Moreover, pray that ^{▼▼Lit your flight will not be}when you flee, it will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath. 21 For then there will be a ^aogreat 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 ^{▼▼Lit flesh}life would have been saved; but for ^aqthe sake of the ^{▼▼Or chosen ones}elect those days will be cut short. 23 ^asThen if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the ^{▼▼I.e., Messiah}Christ,’ or ‘He is over here,’ do not believe him. 24 For false christs and ^aufalse prophets will arise and will provide great ^{▼▼I.e., confirming miracles} ^awsigns and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even ^axthe ^{▼▼Or chosen ones}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 ^azFor just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will the ^bacoming of the ^bbSon of Man ^{▼▼I.e., be visible everywhere}be. 28 ^bdWherever the corpse is, there the ^{▼▼Or eagles}vultures will gather.

The Glorious Return

29 “But immediately after the ^bftribulation of those days ^bgthe sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and ^bhthe stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 And then ^bithe 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 ^bjthe Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. 31 And ^bkHe will send forth His angels with ^bla great trumpet blast, and they will gather together His ^{▼▼Or chosen ones} ^bnelect from ^bothe 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, ^{▼▼Or know}recognize that ^{▼▼Or it}He is near, right ^brat the ^{▼▼Lit doors}door. 34 Truly I say to you, ^btthis generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 35 ^buHeaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.

36 “But ^bvabout that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. 37 For ^{▼▼Lit just like the days...so will be}the ^bxcoming of the Son of Man will be ^byjust like the days of Noah. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, ^bzmarrying and giving in marriage, until the day that ^caNoah entered the ark, 39 and they did not ^{▼▼Lit know}understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the ^cccoming of the Son of Man be. 40 At that time there will be two men in the field; one ^{▼▼Lit is}will be taken and one ^{▼▼Lit is}will be left. 41 ^cfTwo women will be grinding at the ^{▼▼I.e., handmill} ^chmill; one ^{▼▼Lit is}will be taken and one ^{▼▼Lit is}will be left.

Be Ready for His Coming

42 “Therefore ^ckbe on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. 43 But ^{▼▼Lit know that}be sure of this, that ^cmif the head of the house had known ^cnat 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 ^coyou must be ready as well; for ^cpthe Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.

45 “ ^cqWho then is the ^crfaithful and ^cssensible slave whom his ^{▼▼Or lord}master ^cuput in charge of his household slaves, to give them their food at the proper time? 46 Blessed is that slave whom his ^{▼▼Or lord}master finds so doing when he comes. 47 Truly I say to you that ^cwhe will put him in charge of all his possessions. 48 But if that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My ^{▼▼Or lord}master ^{▼▼Lit lingers}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 ^{▼▼Or lord}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 ^{▼▼Possibly referring to other extreme punishment}cut him in two and assign ^{▼▼Lit his portion with}him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be ^dcweeping and gnashing of teeth.