Jesus Foretells Destruction of the Temple

1 ^jJesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. 2 But he answered them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will ^knot be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”

Signs of the End of the Age

3 ^lAs he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your ^mcoming and of ⁿthe ^oend of the age?” 4 And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. 5 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.

9 ^p“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to ^qdeath, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. 10 And then many will fall away¹ and betray one another and hate one another. 11 And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. 12 And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. 13 ^rBut the one who endures to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be ^sproclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then ^tthe end will come.

The Abomination of Desolation

15 ^u“So when you see ^vthe abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet ^wDaniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), 16 then let those who are in Judea flee ^xto the mountains. 17 ^yLet the one who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house, 18 and ^zlet the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. 19 And ^aalas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! 20 Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. 21 For then there will be ^bgreat tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. 22 And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. 23 ^cThen if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. 24 For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great ^dsigns and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you beforehand. 26 So, if they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27 For as the ^elightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28 ^fWherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.

The Coming of the Son of Man

29 ^g“Immediately after the tribulation of those days ^hthe sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the ⁱstars will fall from heaven, and the ^jpowers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then ^kall the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man ^lcoming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And he will send out his angels with a loud ^mtrumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

The Lesson of the Fig Tree

32 ⁿ“From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. 33 So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is ^onear, at the very gates. 34 Truly, I say to you, ^pthis generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

No One Knows That Day and Hour

36 ^q“But concerning that day and hour ^rno one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son,² but the Father only. 37 For as were the ^sdays of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, ^tuntil the day when Noah entered the ark, 39 and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. 42 Therefore, ^ustay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. 43 But know this, that ^vif the master of the house had known in what part of the night the ^wthief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

45 ^x“Who then is the faithful and wise servant,³ whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? 46 Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. 47 Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. 48 But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’ 49 and begins to beat his fellow servants⁴ and eats and drinks with drunkards, 50 the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know 51 and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place there will be ^yweeping and gnashing of teeth.

Traditions and Commandments

1 ^mThen Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, 2 “Why do your disciples break the ⁿtradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat.” 3 He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God commanded, ^o‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ^p‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ 5 But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,”¹ 6 he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word² of God. 7 You hypocrites! ^qWell did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:

What Defiles a Person

10 ^tAnd he called the people to him and said to them, “Hear and understand: 11 ^uit is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, ^vbut what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” 12 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?” 13 He answered, “Every ^wplant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be ^xrooted up. 14 Let them alone; they are ^yblind guides.³ And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.” 15 But Peter said to him, “Explain the parable to us.” 16 And he said, ^z“Are you also still without understanding? 17 Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled?⁴ 18 But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. 19 ^aFor out of the ^bheart come evil thoughts, ^cmurder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. 20 These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”

The Faith of a Canaanite Woman

21 ^dAnd ^eJesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, ^fSon of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” 23 But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” 24 He answered, “I was sent only to the ^glost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” 26 And he answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and ^hthrow it to the dogs.” 27 She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the ⁱcrumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” 28 Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you ^jas you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.⁵

Jesus Heals Many

29 Jesus went on from there and walked beside the Sea of Galilee. And he went up on the mountain and sat down there. 30 And great crowds came to him, bringing with them the ^klame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and they put them at his feet, and he healed them, 31 so that the crowd ^lwondered, when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they ^mglorified the God of Israel.

Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand

32 ⁿThen Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have ^ocompassion on the crowd because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.” 33 And the disciples said to him, “Where are we to get enough bread in such a desolate place to feed so great a crowd?” 34 And Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, “Seven, and a few small fish.” 35 And directing the crowd to sit down on the ground, 36 he took the seven loaves and the fish, and having given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 37 And they all ^pate and were satisfied. And they took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces left over. 38 Those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. 39 And after sending away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.