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Luke 21

1Looking up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury. 2He also saw a poor widow putting in two small coins. 3He said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow put in more than all of them, 4for all these contributed gifts from their abundance, but she, out of her lack, put in all she had to live on.”

5When some spoke about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and dedicated gifts, he said, 6“As for these things you see, days will come when not one stone will be left on another that will not be torn down.” 7They questioned him, saying, “Teacher, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign that these things are about to take place?” 8He said, “See that you are not led astray, for many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time has drawn near.’ Do not go after them. 9When you hear of wars and upheavals, do not be terrified, for these things must happen first, but the end will not come immediately.”

10Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. 11There will be great earthquakes, and famines and plagues in various places, and terrifying sights and great signs from heaven. 12But 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. 13This will become an opportunity for you to bear witness. 14So settle it in your hearts not to prepare your defense beforehand, 15for I will give you a mouth and wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to resist or contradict. 16You will be handed over even by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to death. 17You will be hated by everyone because of my name. 18Yet not a hair from your head will perish. 19By your endurance gain your lives.

20“When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that her desolation has drawn near. 21Then let those in Judea flee to the mountains, let those within her leave, and let those in the countryside not enter her. 22For these are days of retribution, so that all that is written may be fulfilled. 23Woe to those who are pregnant and those nursing in those days! For there will be great distress upon the land and wrath against this people. 24They will fall by the edge of the sword and be taken captive into all the nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled by nations until the times of the nations are fulfilled.

25“There will be signs in sun, moon, and stars, and on earth nations in distress, bewildered by the roaring of the sea and its waves. 26People will faint from fear and expectation of what is coming on the inhabited world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28When these things begin to happen, straighten up and lift your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

29He told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees. 30When they put out leaves, you see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. 31So also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near. 32Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until everything has happened. 33Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will certainly not pass away.

34“Guard yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness, and the worries of life, and that day come upon you suddenly 35like a trap. For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36Stay awake at every time, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to happen and to stand before the Son of Man.”

37During the days he taught in the temple, and at night he went out and stayed on the mountain called the Mount of Olives. 38All the people came to him early in the morning in the temple to hear him.

Translation notes 6

21:2–4 — The widow's gifts. The coins are two lepta. “All she had to live on” concerns her means of livelihood. The text follows the warning about devouring widows' houses; it states the value and extent of her gift without explicitly commanding every hearer to imitate her financial action.

21:8, 15 — “I am he” and “a mouth.” “He” is supplied to express the claim in context. “A mouth” preserves the image for the ability to speak in defense and witness.

21:16–19 — Death and endurance. The promise about hair is retained beside the warning that some will be killed; it is not rewritten as immunity from physical harm. Verse 19 follows the Greek base's imperative “gain”; many witnesses instead read a future, “you will gain.” “Lives” can also be rendered “souls.”

21:20–24 — Jerusalem and nations. Luke explicitly names armies, without importing the wording of the abomination from other Gospels. Jerusalem is personified as a woman. “Nations” can also be translated “Gentiles” in this contrast with Jerusalem and her people. The times allotted to them are not assigned a date by the translation.

21:27–33 — Coming and this generation. The cloud imagery recalls Daniel 7:13. “This generation” is retained; identifying it with Jesus' contemporaries or another defined group is an interpretive question, not permission to substitute “race” or “the generation alive then” without explanation. The chapter is not supplied with a timetable resolving every relationship between Jerusalem's fall and the Son of Man's coming.

21:36 — Strength. Some witnesses have “be considered worthy” instead of “have strength.” The latter follows the Greek base; this is a textual difference.