Matthew 24

NEW JERUSALEM	NEW AMERICAN BIBLE
1 Jesus left the Temple, and as he was going away his disciples came up to draw his attention to theTemple buildings.	1 Jesus left the temple area and was going away, when his disciples approached him to point out the temple buildings.
2 He said to them in reply, 'You see al these? In truth I tell you, not a single stone here wil be left onanother: everything will be pul ed down.'	2 He said to them in reply, "You see all these things, do you not? Amen, I say to you, there will not be left here a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down."
3 And while he was sitting on the Mount of Olives the disciples came and asked him when they were bythemselves, 'Tel us, when is this going to happen, and what sign wil there be of your coming and of the end ofthe world?'	3 As he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples approached him privately and said, "Tell us, when will this happen, and what sign will there be of your coming, and of the end of the age?"
4 And Jesus answered them, 'Take care that no one deceives you,	4 Jesus said to them in reply, "See that no one deceives you.
5 because many wil come using my name and saying, "I am the Christ," and they will deceive many.	5 For many will come in my name, saying, 'I am the Messiah,' and they will deceive many.
6 You wil hear of wars and rumours of wars; see that you are not alarmed, for this is something thatmust happen, but the end wil not be yet.	6 You will hear of wars and reports of wars; see that you are not alarmed, for these things must happen, but it will not yet be the end.
7 For nation wil fight against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There wil be famines andearthquakes in various places.	7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be famines and earthquakes from place to place.
8 All this is only the beginning of the birthpangs.	8 All these are the beginning of the labor pains.
9 'Then you wil be handed over to be tortured and put to death; and you will be hated by all nations onaccount of my name.	9 Then they will hand you over to persecution, and they will kill you. You will be hated by all nations because of my name.
10 And then many wil fall away; people wil betray one another and hate one another.	10 And then many will be led into sin; they will betray and hate one another.
11 Many false prophets wil arise; they will deceive many,	11 Many false prophets will arise and deceive many;
12 and with the increase of lawlessness, love in most people wil grow cold;	12 and because of the increase of evildoing, the love of many will grow cold.
13 but anyone who stands firm to the end wil be saved.	13 But the one who perseveres to the end will be saved.
14 'This good news of the kingdom wil be proclaimed to the whole world as evidence to the nations. Andthen the end wil come.	14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the world as a witness to all nations, and then the end will come.
15 'So when you see the appal ing abomination, of which the prophet Daniel spoke, set up in the holyplace (let the reader understand),	15 "When you see the desolating abomination spoken of through Daniel the prophet standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),
16 then those in Judaea must escape to the mountains;	16 then those in Judea must flee to the mountains,
17 if anyone is on the housetop, he must not come down to col ect his belongings from the house;	17 a person on the housetop must not go down to get things out of his house,
18 if anyone is in the fields, he must not turn back to fetch his cloak.	18 a person in the field must not return to get his cloak.
19 Alas for those with child, or with babies at the breast, when those days come!	19 Woe to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days.
20 Pray that you will not have to make your escape in winter or on a Sabbath.	20 Pray that your flight not be in winter or on the sabbath,
21 For then there will be great distress, unparalleled since the world began, and such as wil never beagain.	21 for at that time there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will be.
22 And if that time had not been shortened, no human being would have survived; but shortened thattime shal be, for the sake of those who are chosen.	22 And if those days had not been shortened, no one would be saved; but for the sake of the elect they will be shortened.
23 'If anyone says to you then, "Look, here is the Christ," or "Over here," do not believe it;	23 If anyone says to you then, 'Look, here is the Messiah!' or, 'There he is!' do not believe it.
24 for false Christs and false prophets wil arise and provide great signs and portents, enough to deceiveeven the elect, if that were possible.	24 False messiahs and false prophets will arise, and they will perform signs and wonders so great as to deceive, if that were possible, even the elect.
25 Look! I have given you warning.	25 Behold, I have told it to you beforehand.
26 'If, then, they say to you, "Look, he is in the desert," do not go there; "Look, he is in some hiding place," do not believe it;	26 So if they say to you, 'He is in the desert,' do not go out there; if they say, 'He is in the inner rooms,' do not believe it.
27 because the coming of the Son of man wil be like lightning striking in the east and flashing far intothe west.	27 For just as lightning comes from the east and is seen as far as the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.
28 Wherever the corpse is, that is where the vultures wil gather.	28 Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.
29 'Immediately after the distress of those days the sun wil be darkened, the moon wil not give its light,the stars wil fall from the sky and the powers of the heavens wil be shaken.	29 "Immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
30 And then the sign of the Son of man wil appear in heaven; then, too, all the peoples of the earth wilbeat their breasts; and they wil see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.	30 And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming upon the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet to gather his elect from the four winds, from one endof heaven to the other.	31 And he will send out his angels with a trumpet blast, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
32 'Take the fig tree as a parable: as soon as its twigs grow supple and its leaves come out, you knowthat summer is near.	32 "Learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near.
33 So with you when you see al these things: know that he is near, right at the gates.	33 In the same way, when you see all these things, know that he is near, at the gates.
34 In truth I tel you, before this generation has passed away, al these things wil have taken place.	34 Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place.
35 Sky and earth will pass away, but my words wil never pass away.	35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
36 But as for that day and hour, nobody knows it, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, no one butthe Father alone.	36 "But of that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.
37 'As it was in Noah's day, so wil it be when the Son of man comes.	37 For as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
38 For in those days before the Flood people were eating, drinking, taking wives, taking husbands, rightup to the day Noah went into the ark,	38 In (those) days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day that Noah entered the ark.
39 and they suspected nothing til the Flood came and swept them al away. This is what it wil be likewhen the Son of man comes.	39 They did not know until the flood came and carried them all away. So will it be (also) at the coming of the Son of Man.
40 Then of two men in the fields, one is taken, one left;	40 Two men will be out in the field; one will be taken, and one will be left.
41 of two women grinding at the mil , one is taken, one left.	41 Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken, and one will be left.
42 'So stay awake, because you do not know the day when your master is coming.	42 Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.
43 You may be quite sure of this, that if the householder had known at what time of the night the burglarwould come, he would have stayed awake and would not have al owed anyone to break through the wal of hishouse.	43 Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into.
44 Therefore, you too must stand ready because the Son of man is coming at an hour you do notexpect.	44 So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.
45 'Who, then, is the wise and trustworthy servant whom the master placed over his household to givethem their food at the proper time?	45 "Who, then, is the faithful and prudent servant, whom the master has put in charge of his household to distribute to them their food at the proper time?
46 Blessed that servant if his master's arrival finds him doing exactly that.	46 Blessed is that servant whom his master on his arrival finds doing so.
47 In truth I tel you, he will put him in charge of everything he owns.	47 Amen, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his property.
48 But if the servant is dishonest and says to himself, "My master is taking his time,"	48 But if that wicked servant says to himself, 'My master is long delayed,'
49 and sets about beating his fellow-servants and eating and drinking with drunkards,	49 and begins to beat his fellow servants, and eat and drink with drunkards,
50 his master wil come on a day he does not expect and at an hour he does not know.	50 the servant's master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour
51 The master wil cut him off and send him to the same fate as the hypocrites, where there wil beweeping and grinding of teeth.'	51 and will punish him severely and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.