1 Looking up, he saw the rich dropping their gifts into the treasury.
2 He saw too a poor widow putting in two lepta there.
3 And he said, "Truly I say to you, this widow, poor as she is, has put in more than all of them.
4 For all these gave to the offerings for God out of their surplus, but she out of her need has put in all she had to live on."
5 As some were talking about the temple, how it was decorated with fine stones and votive gifts, he said,
6 "As for these things you are looking at, days will come when not one stone will be left on another that will not be torn down."
7 They asked him, "Teacher, when will these things happen, then? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?"
8 He said, "Watch out that you are not led astray. Many will come in my name, saying, 'I am he,' and 'The time is near.' Do not go after them.
9 When you hear of wars and uprisings, do not be alarmed; these things have to happen first, but the end is not immediate."
10 Then he told them, "Nation will rise up against nation and kingdom against kingdom.
11 There will be great earthquakes, and in place after place famines and plagues; there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven.
12 But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, handing you over to synagogues and prisons; you will be led before kings and governors because of my name.
13 It will end in an opportunity for you to bear witness.
14 So make up your minds not to rehearse your defense ahead of time;
15 for I myself will give you words and wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute.
16 You will be handed over even by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends, and some of you they will put to death.
17 Everyone will hate you because of my name.
18 Yet not a hair of your head will be lost.
19 By your patient endurance win your souls.
20 "When you see Jerusalem encircled by armies, then recognize that her desolation is near.
21 Then those in Judea must flee to the mountains; those inside the city must get out, and those in the countryside must not go into it.
22 For these are days of vengeance, so that everything that has been written may be fulfilled.
23 Woe to women who are pregnant and to those nursing infants in those days! For there will be terrible distress on the land and wrath against this people.
24 They will fall by the edge of the sword and be carried off as captives among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trodden down by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are complete.
25 "There will be signs in sun, moon, and stars, and on the earth nations in anguish and bewilderment at the roar of the sea and the surging waves,
26 people fainting with fear and with dread of what is coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
27 Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
28 When these things start to take place, stand up straight and raise your heads, because your redemption is coming near."
29 He told them a parable: "See the fig tree, and all the trees.
30 As soon as they sprout leaves, you see for yourselves and know that summer is already close.
31 In the same way, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is close.
32 Truly I say to you, this generation will certainly not pass away until everything has taken place.
33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
34 "Be on guard, so that your hearts are not weighed down by dissipation, drunkenness, and the worries of life, and that day does not come upon you suddenly.
35 For like a trap it will come upon everyone who lives on the face of the whole earth.
36 So stay awake, praying at all times that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that are going to happen and to stand before the Son of Man."
37 By day he was teaching in the temple, and every night he would go out and spend the night on the hill called the Mount of Olives.
38 And all the people would get up early to come to him in the temple and listen to him.