³ As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives,^(A) the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming^(B) and of the end of the age?”^(C)

⁴ Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you.^{(D) 5} For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many.^{(E) 6} You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. ⁷ Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.^(F) There will be famines^(G) and earthquakes in various places. ⁸ All these are the beginning of birth pains.

⁹ “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted^(H) and put to death,^(I) and you will be hated by all nations because of me.^{(J) 10} At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, ¹¹ and many false prophets^(K) will appear and deceive many people.^{(L) 12} Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, ¹³ but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.^{(M) 14} And this gospel of the kingdom^(N) will be preached in the whole world^(O) as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

¹⁵ “So when you see standing in the holy place^(P) ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’^[a](Q) spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— ¹⁶ then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. ¹⁷ Let no one on the housetop^(R) go down to take anything out of the house. ¹⁸ Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. ¹⁹ How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers!^{(S) 20} Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. ²¹ For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.^(T)

²² “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect^(U) those days will be shortened. ²³ At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it.^{(V) 24} For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders^(W) to deceive, if possible, even the elect. ²⁵ See, I have told you ahead of time.

²⁶ “So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. ²⁷ For as lightning^(X) that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming^(Y) of the Son of Man.^{(Z) 28} Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.^(AA)

³ As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives^(A) opposite the temple, Peter, James, John^(B) and Andrew asked him privately, ⁴ “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?”

⁵ Jesus said to them: “Watch out that no one deceives you.^{(C) 6} Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many. ⁷ When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. ⁸ Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.

⁹ “You must be on your guard. You will be handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues.^(D) On account of me you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them. ¹⁰ And the gospel must first be preached to all nations. ¹¹ Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.^(E)

¹² “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death.^{(F) 13} Everyone will hate you because of me,^(G) but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.^(H)

¹⁴ “When you see ‘the abomination that causes desolation’^[a](I) standing where it^[b] does not belong—let the reader understand—then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. ¹⁵ Let no one on the housetop go down or enter the house to take anything out. ¹⁶ Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. ¹⁷ How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers!^{(J) 18} Pray that this will not take place in winter, ¹⁹ because those will be days of distress unequaled from the beginning, when God created the world,^(K) until now—and never to be equaled again.^(L)

²⁰ “If the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect, whom he has chosen, he has shortened them. ²¹ At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe it.^{(M) 22} For false messiahs and false prophets^(N) will appear and perform signs and wonders^(O) to deceive, if possible, even the elect. ²³ So be on your guard;^(P) I have told you everything ahead of time.