Gospel according to Luke 21

¹ As he looked up he saw rich people putting their, offerings into the treasury;

² then he happened to notice a poverty-stricken widow putting in two small coins,

³ and he said, ‘I tell you truly, this poor widow has put in more than any of them;

⁴ for these have all contributed money they had over, but she from the little she had has put in all she had to live on.

⁵ When some were talking about the Temple, remarking how it was adorned with fine stonework and votive offerings, he said,

⁶ ‘All these things you are staring at now-the time will come when not a single stone will be left on another: everything will be destroyed’.

⁷ And they put to him this question: ‘Master,’ they said ‘when will this happen, then, and what sign will there be that this is about to take place?’

⁸ ‘Take care not to be deceived,’ he said ‘because many will come using my name and saying, “I am he” and, “The time is near at hand”. Refuse to join them.

⁹ And when you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened, for this is something that must happen but the end is not so soon.’

¹⁰ Then he said to them, ‘Nation will fight against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.

¹¹ There will be great earthquakes and plagues and famines here and there; there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven.

¹² ‘But before all this happens, men will seize you and persecute you; they will hand you over to the synagogues and to imprisonment, and bring you before kings and governors because of my name

¹³ – and that will be your opportunity to bear witness.

¹⁴ Keep this carefully in mind: you are not to prepare your defence,

¹⁵ because I myself shall give you an eloquence and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to resist or contradict.

¹⁶ You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relations and friends; and some of you will be put to death.

¹⁷ You will be hated by all men on account of my name,

¹⁸ but not a hair of your head will be lost.

¹⁹ Your endurance will win you your lives.

²⁰ ‘When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, you must realise that she will soon be laid desolate.

²¹ Then those in Judaea must escape to the mountains, those inside the city must leave it, and those in country districts must not take refuge in it.

²² For this is the time of vengeance when all that scripture says[*b] must be fulfilled.

²³ Alas for those with child, or with babies at the breast, when those days come!

²⁴ They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive to every pagan country; and Jerusalem will be trampled down by the pagans until the age of the pagans is completely over.

²⁵ ‘There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars; on earth nations in agony, bewildered by the clamour of the ocean and its waves;

²⁶ men dying of fear as they await what menaces the world, for the powers of heaven will be shaken.

²⁷ And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

²⁸ When these things begin to take place, stand erect, hold your heads high, because your liberation[*c] is near at hand.’

²⁹ And he told them a parable, ‘Think of the fig tree and indeed every tree.

³⁰ As soon as you see them bud, you know that summer is now near.

³¹ So with you when you see these things happening: know that the kingdom of God is near.

³² I tell you solemnly, before this generation has passed away all will have taken place.

³³ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

³⁴ ‘Watch yourselves, or your hearts will be coarsened with debauchery and drunkenness and the cares of life, and that day will be sprung on you suddenly,

³⁵ like a trap. For it will come down on every living man on the face of the earth.

³⁶ Stay awake, praying at all times for the strength to survive all that is going to happen, and to stand with confidence before the Son of Man.’

³⁷ In the daytime he would be in the Temple teaching, but would spend the night on the hill called the Mount of Olives.

³⁸ And from early morning the people would gather round him in the Temple to listen to him.