Knox Bible

1

Then Jesus left the temple, and was going on his way, when his disciples came up to shew him the view of the temple building.

2

Do you see all this? he said to them. Believe me, there will not be a stone left on another in this place, it will all be thrown down.

3

Afterwards, while he was sitting down on mount Olivet, the disciples came to him privately, and said, Tell us, when will this be? And what sign will be given of thy coming, and of the world being brought to an end?✻

4

Jesus answered them, Take care that you do not allow anyone to deceive you.

5

Many will come making use of my name; they will say, I am Christ, and many will be deceived by it.

6

And you will hear tell of wars, and rumours of war; see to it that you are not disturbed in mind; such things must happen, but the end will not come yet.

7

Nation will rise in arms against nation, kingdom against kingdom, and there will be plagues and famines and earthquakes in this region or that;

8

but all this is but the beginning of travail.

9

In those days, men will give you up to persecution, and will put you to death; all the world will be hating you because you bear my name;

10

whereupon many will lose heart, will betray and hate one another.

11

Many false prophets will arise, and many will be deceived by them;

12

and the charity of most men will grow cold, as they see wickedness abound everywhere;

13

but that man will be saved who endures to the last.

14

This gospel of the kingdom must first be preached all over the world, so that all nations may hear the truth; only after that will the end come.

15

And now, when you see that which the prophet Daniel called the abomination of desolation, set up in the holy place (let him who reads this, recognize what it means),✻

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then those who are in Judaea must take refuge in the mountains;

17

not going down to carry away anything from the house, if they are on the house-top;

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not going back to pick up a cloak, if they are in the fields.

19

It will go hard with women who are with child, or have children at the breast, in those days;

20

and you must pray that your flight may not be in the winter, or on the sabbath day,

21

for there will be distress then such as has not been since the beginning of the world, and can never be again.

22

There would have been no hope left for any human creature, if the number of those days had not been cut short; but those days will be cut short, for the sake of the elect.

23

At such a time, if a man tells you, See, here is Christ, or, See, he is there, do not believe him.

24

There will be false Christs and false prophets, who will rise up and shew great signs and wonders, so that if it were possible, even the elect would be deceived.

25

Mark well, I have given you warning of it.

26

If they tell you, then, See, he is here, in the desert, do not stir abroad; if they tell you, See, he is there, in hidden places, do not believe them;

27

when the Son of Man comes, it will be like the lightning that springs up from the east and flashes across to the west.

28

It is where the body lies that the eagles will gather.✻

29

Immediately after the distress of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will refuse her light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven will rock;✻

30

and then the sign of the Son of Man will be seen in heaven; then it is that all the tribes of the land will mourn,✻ and they will see the Son of Man coming upon the clouds of heaven, with great power and glory;

31

and he will send out his angels with a loud blast of the trumpet, to gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.✻

32

The fig-tree will teach you a parable; when its branch grows supple, and begins to put out leaves, you know that summer is near;

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so you, when you see all this come about, are to know that it is near, at your very doors.

34

Believe me, this generation will not have passed, before all this is accomplished.

35

Though heaven and earth should pass away, my words will stand.

36

But as for that day and that hour you speak of, they are known to none, not even to the angels in heaven; only the Father knows them.✻

37

When the Son of Man comes, all will be as it was in the days of Noe;

38

in those days before the flood, they went on eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the time when Noe entered the ark,

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and they were taken unawares, when the flood came and drowned them all; so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.

40

One man taken, one left, as they work together in the fields;

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one woman taken, one left, as they grind together at the mill.

42

You must be on the watch, then, since you do not know the hour of your Lord’s coming.

43

Be sure of this; if the master of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch, and not allowed his house to be broken open.

44

And you too must stand ready; the Son of Man will come at an hour when you are not expecting him.

45

Which of you, then, is a faithful and wise servant, one whom his master will entrust with the care of the household, to give them their food at the appointed time?

46

Blessed is that servant who is found doing this when his lord comes;

47

I promise you, he will give him charge of all his goods.

48

But if that servant plays him false, and says in his heart, My lord is long in coming,

49

and so falls to beating his fellow servants, to eating and drinking with the drunkards,

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then on some day when he expects nothing, at an hour when he is all unaware, his lord will come,

51

and will cut him off, and assign him his portion with the hypocrites; where there will be weeping, and gnashing of teeth.✻