Luke 21

Williams^{(i) 1} Now He looked up and saw the rich people dropping their gifts into the treasury. ² Then He saw a poor widow drop in two little coins which make scarcely a cent. ³ And He said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has dropped in more than all of them; ⁴ for all the rest of them made their contributions out of their surplus, but she out of her want dropped in all that she had to live on." ⁵ Now while some people were talking about the temple, how it was decorated with beautiful stones and votive-offerings, He said, ⁶ "As for all this that you are admiring, the time is coming when not one stone will be left upon another, that will not be torn down." ⁷ Then they asked Him, "Teacher, when will this be? And what is the sign that it is about to take place?" ⁸ So He said, "You must take care not to be misled about it! For many will come bearing the name of Messiah, and saying, 'I am He,' and, 'The time is near.' Do not go after them. ⁹ And when you hear of wars and tumults, never be panic-stricken. For this has to take place first, but the end will not come all at once." ¹⁰ Then He continued to say to them, "One nation will go to war with another, and one kingdom with another. ¹¹ There will be great earthquakes and pestilences and famines in various places, and there will be dreadful portents and awful signs in the sky. ¹² But before all this takes place, people will arrest you and persecute you, and turn you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name's sake. ¹³ It will furnish you an opportunity to testify. ¹⁴ So you must purpose in your hearts not to prepare beforehand how to make your defense, ¹⁵ for I will give you such wisdom of speech as all your opponents combined will not be able to resist and refute. ¹⁶ Yes, you will be betrayed even by parents and brothers and kinsmen and friends, and they will put some of you to death, ¹⁷ and you will be continuously hated by everyone, because you bear my name. ¹⁸ And yet not a single hair on your head will perish. ¹⁹ By your endurance you will win your souls. ²⁰ "When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, then understand that her devastation is near. ²¹ Then let those in Judea begin to fly to the mountains, and those within the city begin to get out of it, ²² for these are the days of vengeance when all that is written in the Scriptures will be fulfilled. ²³ Alas for the women who are pregnant and those who have nursing babies in those days! For there will be great misery in the land and wrath on this people. ²⁴ They will fall by the edge of the sword and will be carried off as captives among all the nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled under the feet of the heathen, until the times of the heathen come to full measure. ²⁵ And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on earth despair of nations in bewilderment at the roaring of the sea and its waves, ²⁶ men fainting with fear and apprehension of the things that are to come upon the world, for the powers of the sky will be shaken. ²⁷ Then they will see the Son of Man coming on a cloud in overwhelming power and splendor. ²⁸ When these things begin to take place, look up and lift your heads, for your deliverance is drawing near." ²⁹ Then He told them a story: "Look at the fig tree and all the trees. ³⁰ When you see them shooting forth their buds, you know of yourselves that summer now is near. ³¹ So when you see these things taking place, you must understand that the kingdom of God is near. ³² "I solemnly say to you, this generation will not pass away before all this takes place. ³³ Sky and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. ³⁴ But ever be on your guard, so that your hearts may not be loaded down with self-indulgence, drunkenness, and worldly worries, and that day, like a trap, catch you unawares. ³⁵ For it will come upon all who are living anywhere on the face of the earth, ³⁶ But ever be watching and always praying, so that you may have strength to escape all this that is going to take place, and so you may take your stand in the presence of the Son of Man." ³⁷ Now during the days He continued to teach in the temple, but He would go out and spend the nights on the hill called the Mount of Olives; ³⁸ while all the people would rise early in the mornings and come to listen to Him in the temple.