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The Widow's Gift

^1 (C1)Now He looked up and saw the wealthy putting their gifts into the temple treasury.² And He saw a poor widow putting ^(F1)in ^(C1)two ^(F2)lepta coins.³ And He said, "Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all of them;⁴ for they all ^(F1)contributed to the ^(F2)offering from their ^(F3)surplus; but she, from her poverty, put in all ^(F4)that she had ^(C1)to live on."

^5 (C1)And while some were talking about the temple, that it was decorated with beautiful stones and ^(F1)vowed gifts, He said,⁶ "As for these things which you are observing, the days will come when ^(C1)there will not be left one stone upon ^(F1)another, which will not be torn down."

⁷ They asked Him questions, saying, "Teacher, when therefore will these things happen? And what will be the ^(F1)sign when these things are about to take place?"⁸ And He said, "See to it that you are not misled; for many will come in My name, saying, '^(C1)I am He,' and, 'The time is near.' ^(C2)Do not go after them.⁹ "And when you hear of wars and revolts, do not be alarmed; for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately."

Things to Come

¹⁰ Then He continued by saying to them, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom,¹¹ and there will be ^(F1)massive earthquakes, and in various places plagues and famines; and there will be terrible sights and great ^(F2)signs from heaven.

¹² "But before all these things, ^(C1)they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, turning you over to the synagogues and prisons, ^(F1)bringing you before kings and governors on account of My name.¹³ "^(C1)It will lead to ^(F1)an opportunity for your testimony.¹⁴ "^(C1)So ^(F1)make up your minds not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves;¹⁵ for ^(C1)I will provide you ^(F1)eloquence and wisdom which none of your adversaries will be able to oppose or refute.¹⁶ "But you will be betrayed even by parents, brothers and sisters, other relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to death,¹⁷ and you will be hated by all people because of My name.¹⁸ "And yet ^(C1)not a hair of your head will perish.¹⁹ "^(C1)By your endurance you will gain your ^(F1)lives.

²⁰ "But when you see Jerusalem ^(C1)surrounded by armies, then ^(F1)recognize that her desolation is near.²¹ "Then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those who are inside ^(F1)the city must leave, and ^(C1)those who are in the country must not enter ^(F1)the city;²² because these are ^(C1)days of punishment, so that all things which have been written will be fulfilled.²³ "Woe to those women who are pregnant, and to those who are nursing babies in those days; for ^(C1)there will be great distress upon the ^(F1)land, and wrath to this people;²⁴ and they will fall by ^(C1)the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations; and ^(C2)Jerusalem will be ^(C3)trampled underfoot by the Gentiles until ^(C4)the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

The Return of Christ

²⁵ "There will be ^(F1)signs in the sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves,²⁶ people fainting from fear and the expectation of the things that are coming upon the ^(F1)world; for the powers of ^(F2)the heavens will be shaken.²⁷ "And ^(C1)then they will see ^(C2)the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.²⁸ "But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because ^(C1)your redemption is drawing near."

²⁹ And He told them a parable: "Look at the fig tree and all the trees:³⁰ as soon as they put forth leaves, you see for yourselves and ^(C1)know that summer is now near.³¹ "So you too, when you see these things happening, ^(F1)recognize that ^(C1)the kingdom of God is near.³² "Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all things take place.³³ "^(C1)Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.

³⁴ "But ^(C1)be on your guard, so that your hearts will not be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that ^(F1)this day will not come on you suddenly, like a trap;³⁵ for it will come upon all those who live on the face of all the earth.³⁶ "But ^(C1)stay alert at all times, praying that you will have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to ^(C2)stand before the Son of Man."

³⁷ Now ^(F1)during the day He was ^(C1)teaching in the temple, but ^(F2)(C2)at evening He would go out and spend the night on ^(C3)the ^(F3)mountain that is called ^(F4)Olivet.³⁸ And all the people would get up ^(C1)very early in the morning to come to Him in the temple to listen to Him.