Matthew 24 - New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Signs of Christ’s Return

24 ^(A)Jesus ^(B)left the temple area and was going on His way ^[a]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, ^(C)not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down.”

³ And as He was sitting on ^(D)the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of ^(E)Your coming, and of the ^[b]end of the age?”

⁴ And Jesus answered and said to them, “^(F)See to it that no one ^[c]misleads you. ⁵ For ^(G)many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the ^[d]Christ,’ and they will ^[e]mislead many people. ⁶ And you will be hearing of ^(H)wars 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 ^(I)nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be ^(J)famines and earthquakes in various places. ^{8 (K)}But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pains.

⁹ “^(L)Then they will hand you over to tribulation and kill you, and ^(M)you will be hated by all nations because of My name. ¹⁰ And at that time many will ^[f](N)fall away, and they will ^[g]betray one another and hate one another. ¹¹ And many ^(O)false prophets will rise up and ^[h]mislead many people. ¹² And because lawlessness is increased, ^[i]most people’s love will become cold. ^{13 (P)}But the one who endures to the end is the one who will be saved. ¹⁴ This ^(Q)gospel of the kingdom ^(R)shall be preached in the whole ^[j](S)world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.

Perilous Times

¹⁵ “Therefore when you see the ^(T)abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in ^(U)the holy place—^[k](V)let the ^[l]reader understand— ¹⁶ then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. ^{17 [m]}Whoever is on ^(W)the ^[n]housetop must not go down to get things out of his house. ¹⁸ And ^[o]whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. ¹⁹ But ^(X)woe to those women who are pregnant, and to those who are nursing babies in those days! ²⁰ Moreover, pray that ^[p]when you flee, it will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath. ²¹ For then there will be a ^(Y)great 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 ^[q]life would have been saved; but for ^(Z)the sake of the ^[r]elect those days will be cut short. ^{23 (AA)}Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the ^[s]Christ,’ or ‘He is over here,’ do not believe him. ²⁴ For false christs and ^(AB)false prophets will arise and will provide great ^[t](AC)signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even ^(AD)the ^[u]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 (AE)}For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will the ^(AF)coming of the ^(AG)Son of Man ^[v]be. ^{28 (AH)}Wherever the corpse is, there the ^[w]vultures will gather.

The Glorious Return

²⁹ “But immediately after the ^(AI)tribulation of those days ^(AJ)the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and ^(AK)the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ³⁰ And then ^(AL)the 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 ^(AM)the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. ³¹ And ^(AN)He will send forth His angels with ^(AO)a great trumpet blast, and they will gather together His ^[x](AP)elect from ^(AQ)the 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, ^[y]recognize that ^[z]He is near, right ^(AR)at the ^[aa]door. ³⁴ Truly I say to you, ^(AS)this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. ^{35 (AT)}Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.

³⁶ “But ^(AU)about that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. ³⁷ For ^[ab]the ^(AV)coming of the Son of Man will be ^(AW)just like the days of Noah. ³⁸ For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, ^(AX)marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that ^(AY)Noah entered the ark, ³⁹ and they did not ^[ac]understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the ^(AZ)coming of the Son of Man be. ⁴⁰ At that time there will be two men in the field; one ^[ad]will be taken and one ^[ae]will be left. ^{41 (BA)}Two women will be grinding at the ^[af](BB)mill; one ^[ag]will be taken and one ^[ah]will be left.

Be Ready for His Coming

⁴² “Therefore ^(BC)be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. ⁴³ But ^[ai]be sure of this, that ^(BD)if the head of the house had known ^(BE)at 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 ^(BF)you must be ready as well; for ^(BG)the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.

⁴⁵ “^(BH)Who then is the ^(BI)faithful and ^(BJ)sensible slave whom his ^[aj]master ^(BK)put in charge of his household slaves, to give them their food at the proper time? ⁴⁶ Blessed is that slave whom his ^[ak]master finds so doing when he comes. ⁴⁷ Truly I say to you that ^(BL)he will put him in charge of all his possessions. ⁴⁸ But if that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My ^[al]master ^[am]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 ^[an]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 ^[ao]cut him in two and assign ^[ap]him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be ^(BM)weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Footnotes

1. Matthew 24:1 Lit and
2. Matthew 24:3 Or consummation
3. Matthew 24:4 Or deceives
4. Matthew 24:5 I.e., Messiah
5. Matthew 24:5 Or deceive
6. Matthew 24:10 I.e., from the faith
7. Matthew 24:10 Or hand over
8. Matthew 24:11 Or deceive
9. Matthew 24:12 Lit the love of the many
10. Matthew 24:14 Lit inhabited earth
11. Matthew 24:15 Or the reader is to understand
12. Matthew 24:15 I.e., the reader of Daniel
13. Matthew 24:17 Lit The one who
14. Matthew 24:17 Housetops were flat living areas
15. Matthew 24:18 Lit the one who
16. Matthew 24:20 Lit your flight will not be
17. Matthew 24:22 Lit flesh
18. Matthew 24:22 Or chosen ones
19. Matthew 24:23 I.e., Messiah
20. Matthew 24:24 I.e., confirming miracles
21. Matthew 24:24 Or chosen ones
22. Matthew 24:27 I.e., be visible everywhere
23. Matthew 24:28 Or eagles
24. Matthew 24:31 Or chosen ones
25. Matthew 24:33 Or know
26. Matthew 24:33 Or it
27. Matthew 24:33 Lit doors
28. Matthew 24:37 Lit just like the days...so will be
29. Matthew 24:39 Lit know
30. Matthew 24:40 Lit is
31. Matthew 24:40 Lit is
32. Matthew 24:41 I.e., handmill
33. Matthew 24:41 Lit is
34. Matthew 24:41 Lit is
35. Matthew 24:43 Lit know that
36. Matthew 24:45 Or lord
37. Matthew 24:46 Or lord
38. Matthew 24:48 Or lord
39. Matthew 24:48 Lit lingers
40. Matthew 24:50 Or lord
41. Matthew 24:51 Possibly referring to other extreme punishment
42. Matthew 24:51 Lit his portion with

Cross references

1. Matthew 24:1 : Matt 24:1-51: Mark 13; Luke 21:5-36
2. Matthew 24:1 : Matt 21:23
3. Matthew 24:2 : Luke 19:44
4. Matthew 24:3 : Matt 21:1
5. Matthew 24:3 : Matt 16:27f; 24:27, 37, 39
6. Matthew 24:4 : Jer 29:8
7. Matthew 24:5 : Matt 24:11, 24; Acts 5:36f; 1 John 2:18; 4:3
8. Matthew 24:6 : Rev 6:4
9. Matthew 24:7 : 2 Chr 15:6; Is 19:2; Rev 6:8, 12
10. Matthew 24:7 : Acts 11:28; Rev 6:5, 6
11. Matthew 24:8 : Matt 24:8-20: Luke 21:12-24
12. Matthew 24:9 : Matt 10:17; John 16:2
13. Matthew 24:9 : Matt 10:22; John 15:18ff
14. Matthew 24:10 : Matt 11:6
15. Matthew 24:11 : Matt 7:15; 24:24
16. Matthew 24:13 : Matt 10:22
17. Matthew 24:14 : Matt 4:23
18. Matthew 24:14 : Rom 10:18; Col 1:6, 23
19. Matthew 24:14 : Luke 2:1; 4:5; Acts 11:28; 17:6, 31; 19:27; Rom 10:18; Heb 1:6; 2:5; Rev 3:10; 16:14
20. Matthew 24:15 : Dan 9:27; 11:31; 12:11
21. Matthew 24:15 : Mark 13:14; Luke 21:20; John 11:48; Acts 6:13f; 21:28
22. Matthew 24:15 : Mark 13:14; Rev 1:3
23. Matthew 24:17 : 1 Sam 9:25; 2 Sam 11:2; Matt 10:27; Luke 5:19; 12:3; 17:31; Acts 10:9
24. Matthew 24:19 : Luke 23:29
25. Matthew 24:21 : Dan 12:1; Joel 2:2; Matt 24:29
26. Matthew 24:22 : Matt 22:14; 24:24, 31; Luke 18:7
27. Matthew 24:23 : Luke 17:23f
28. Matthew 24:24 : Matt 7:15; 24:11
29. Matthew 24:24 : John 4:48; 2 Thess 2:9
30. Matthew 24:24 : Matt 22:14; 24:22, 31; Luke 18:7
31. Matthew 24:27 : Luke 17:24
32. Matthew 24:27 : Matt 24:3, 37, 39
33. Matthew 24:27 : Matt 8:20
34. Matthew 24:28 : Job 39:30; Ezek 39:17; Hab 1:8; Luke 17:37
35. Matthew 24:29 : Matt 24:21
36. Matthew 24:29 : Is 13:10; 24:23; Ezek 32:7; Joel 2:10, 31; 3:15f; Amos 5:20; 8:9; Zeph 1:15; Matt 24:29-35; Acts 2:20; Rev 6:12-17; 8:12
37. Matthew 24:29 : Is 34:4; Rev 6:13
38. Matthew 24:30 : Matt 24:3; Rev 1:7
39. Matthew 24:30 : Dan 7:13; Matt 16:27; 24:3, 37, 39
40. Matthew 24:31 : Matt 13:41
41. Matthew 24:31 : Ex 19:16; Deut 30:4; Is 27:13; Zech 9:14; 1 Cor 15:52; 1 Thess 4:16; Heb 12:19; Rev 8:2; 11:15
42. Matthew 24:31 : Matt 24:22
43. Matthew 24:31 : Dan 7:2; Zech 2:6; Rev 7:1
44. Matthew 24:33 : James 5:9; Rev 3:20
45. Matthew 24:34 : Matt 10:23; 16:28; 23:36
46. Matthew 24:35 : Matt 5:18; Mark 13:31; Luke 21:33
47. Matthew 24:36 : Mark 13:32; Acts 1:7
48. Matthew 24:37 : Matt 16:27; 24:3, 30, 39
49. Matthew 24:37 : Gen 6:5; 7:6-23; Luke 17:26f
50. Matthew 24:38 : Matt 22:30
51. Matthew 24:38 : Gen 7:7
52. Matthew 24:39 : Matt 16:27; 24:3, 30, 37
53. Matthew 24:41 : Luke 17:35
54. Matthew 24:41 : Ex 11:5; Deut 24:6; Is 47:2
55. Matthew 24:42 : Matt 24:43, 44; 25:10, 13; Luke 12:39f; 21:36
56. Matthew 24:43 : Matt 24:42, 44; 25:10, 13; Luke 12:39f; 21:36
57. Matthew 24:43 : Matt 14:25; Mark 6:48; 13:35; Luke 12:38
58. Matthew 24:44 : Matt 24:42, 43; 25:10, 13; Luke 12:39f; 21:36
59. Matthew 24:44 : Matt 24:27
60. Matthew 24:45 : Matt 24:45-51: Luke 12:42-46
61. Matthew 24:45 : Matt 25:21, 23; Luke 16:10
62. Matthew 24:45 : Matt 7:24; 10:16; 25:2ff
63. Matthew 24:45 : Matt 25:21, 23
64. Matthew 24:47 : Matt 25:21, 23
65. Matthew 24:51 : Matt 8:12