Marco 13
Conferenza Episcopale Italiana
Discorso escatologico. Introduzione
13 Mentre usciva dal tempio, un discepolo gli disse: «Maestro, guarda che pietre e che costruzioni!». 2 Gesù gli rispose: «Vedi queste grandi costruzioni? Non rimarrà qui pietra su pietra, che non sia distrutta». 3 Mentre era seduto sul monte degli Ulivi, di fronte al tempio, Pietro, Giacomo, Giovanni e Andrea lo interrogavano in disparte: 4 «Dicci, quando accadrà questo, e quale sarà il segno che tutte queste cose staranno per compiersi?».
L'inizio dei dolori
5 Gesù si mise a dire loro: «Guardate che nessuno v'inganni! 6 Molti verranno in mio nome, dicendo: "Sono io", e inganneranno molti. 7 E quando sentirete parlare di guerre, non allarmatevi; bisogna infatti che ciò avvenga, ma non sarà ancora la fine. 8 Si leverà infatti nazione contro nazione e regno contro regno; vi saranno terremoti sulla terra e vi saranno carestie. Questo sarà il principio dei dolori.
9 Ma voi badate a voi stessi! Vi consegneranno ai sinedri, sarete percossi nelle sinagoghe, comparirete davanti a governatori e re a causa mia, per render testimonianza davanti a loro. 10 Ma prima è necessario che il vangelo sia proclamato a tutte le genti. 11 E quando vi condurranno via per consegnarvi, non preoccupatevi di ciò che dovrete dire, ma dite ciò che in quell'ora vi sarà dato: poiché non siete voi a parlare, ma lo Spirito Santo. 12 Il fratello consegnerà a morte il fratello, il padre il figlio e i figli insorgeranno contro i genitori e li metteranno a morte. 13 Voi sarete odiati da tutti a causa del mio nome, ma chi avrà perseverato sino alla fine sarà salvato.
La grande tribolazione di Gerusalemme
14 Quando vedrete l'abominio della desolazione stare là dove non conviene, chi legge capisca, allora quelli che si trovano nella Giudea fuggano ai monti; 15 chi si trova sulla terrazza non scenda per entrare a prender qualcosa nella sua casa; 16 chi è nel campo non torni indietro a prendersi il mantello. 17 Guai alle donne incinte e a quelle che allatteranno in quei giorni! 18 Pregate che ciò non accada d'inverno; 19 perché quei giorni saranno una tribolazione, quale non è mai stata dall'inizio della creazione, fatta da Dio, fino al presente, né mai vi sarà. 20 Se il Signore non abbreviasse quei giorni, nessun uomo si salverebbe. Ma a motivo degli eletti che si è scelto ha abbreviato quei giorni. 21 Allora, dunque, se qualcuno vi dirà: "Ecco, il Cristo è qui, ecco è là", non ci credete; 22 perché sorgeranno falsi cristi e falsi profeti e faranno segni e portenti per ingannare, se fosse possibile, anche gli eletti. 23 Voi però state attenti! Io vi ho predetto tutto.
Manifestazione gloriosa del Figlio dell'uomo
24 In quei giorni, dopo quella tribolazione,
il sole si oscurerà
e la luna non darà più il suo splendore
25 e gli astri si metteranno a cadere dal cielo
e le potenze che sono nei cieli saranno sconvolte.
26 Allora vedranno il Figlio dell'uomo venire sulle nubi con grande potenza e gloria. 27 Ed egli manderà gli angeli e riunirà i suoi eletti dai quattro venti, dall'estremità della terra fino all'estremità del cielo.
Parabola del fico
28 Dal fico imparate questa parabola: quando gia il suo ramo si fa tenero e mette le foglie, voi sapete che l'estate è vicina; 29 così anche voi, quando vedrete accadere queste cose, sappiate che egli è vicino, alle porte. 30 In verità vi dico: non passerà questa generazione prima che tutte queste cose siano avvenute. 31 Il cielo e la terra passeranno, ma le mie parole non passeranno. 32 Quanto poi a quel giorno o a quell'ora, nessuno li conosce, neanche gli angeli nel cielo, e neppure il Figlio, ma solo il Padre.
Vegliare per non essere sorpresi
33 State attenti, vegliate, perché non sapete quando sarà il momento preciso. 34 E' come uno che è partito per un viaggio dopo aver lasciato la propria casa e dato il potere ai servi, a ciascuno il suo compito, e ha ordinato al portiere di vigilare. 35 Vigilate dunque, poiché non sapete quando il padrone di casa ritornerà, se alla sera o a mezzanotte o al canto del gallo o al mattino, 36 perché non giunga all'improvviso, trovandovi addormentati. 37 Quello che dico a voi, lo dico a tutti: Vegliate!».
Mark 13
New King James Version
Jesus Predicts the Destruction of the Temple(A)
13 Then (B)as He went out of the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, “Teacher, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!”
2 And Jesus answered and said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? (C)Not one stone shall be left upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”
The Signs of the Times and the End of the Age(D)
3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, (E)Peter, (F)James, (G)John, and (H)Andrew asked Him privately, 4 (I)“Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign when all these things will be fulfilled?”
5 And Jesus, answering them, began to say: (J)“Take heed that no one deceives you. 6 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and will deceive many. 7 But when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled; for such things must happen, but the end is not yet. 8 For nation will rise against nation, and (K)kingdom against kingdom. And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines [a]and troubles. (L)These are the beginnings of [b]sorrows.
9 “But (M)watch out for yourselves, for they will deliver you up to councils, and you will be beaten in the synagogues. You will [c]be brought before rulers and kings for My sake, for a testimony to them. 10 And (N)the gospel must first be preached to all the nations. 11 (O)But when they arrest you and deliver you up, do not worry beforehand, [d]or premeditate what you will speak. But whatever is given you in that hour, speak that; for it is not you who speak, (P)but the Holy Spirit. 12 Now (Q)brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. 13 (R)And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But (S)he who [e]endures to the end shall be saved.
The Great Tribulation(T)
14 (U)“So when you see the (V)‘abomination of desolation,’ [f]spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not” (let the reader understand), “then (W)let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 15 Let him who is on the housetop not go down into the house, nor enter to take anything out of his house. 16 And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. 17 (X)But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 18 And pray that your flight may not be in winter. 19 (Y)For in those days there will be tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the creation which God created until this time, nor ever shall be. 20 And unless the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake, whom He chose, He shortened the days.
21 (Z)“Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘Look, He is there!’ do not believe it. 22 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show signs and (AA)wonders to deceive, if possible, even the [g]elect. 23 But (AB)take heed; see, I have told you all things beforehand.
The Coming of the Son of Man(AC)
24 (AD)“But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; 25 the stars of heaven will fall, and the powers in the heavens will be (AE)shaken. 26 (AF)Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. 27 And then He will send His angels, and gather together His [h]elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of earth to the farthest part of heaven.
The Parable of the Fig Tree(AG)
28 (AH)“Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender, and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. 29 So you also, when you see these things happening, know that [i]it is near—at the doors! 30 Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but (AI)My words will by no means pass away.
No One Knows the Day or Hour(AJ)
32 “But of that day and hour (AK)no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the (AL)Father. 33 (AM)Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is. 34 (AN)It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave (AO)authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch. 35 (AP)Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming—in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning— 36 lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. 37 And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!”
Footnotes
- Mark 13:8 NU omits and troubles
- Mark 13:8 Lit. birth pangs
- Mark 13:9 NU, M stand
- Mark 13:11 NU omits or premeditate
- Mark 13:13 bears patiently
- Mark 13:14 NU omits spoken of by Daniel the prophet
- Mark 13:22 chosen ones
- Mark 13:27 chosen ones
- Mark 13:29 Or He
Mark 13
International Children’s Bible
The Temple Will Be Destroyed
13 Jesus was leaving the Temple. One of his followers said to him, “Look, Teacher! This Temple has beautiful buildings with very big stones.”
2 Jesus said, “Do you see all these great buildings? Every stone will be thrown to the ground. Not one stone will be left on another.”
3 Later, Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives. He was alone with Peter, James, John, and Andrew. They could all see the Temple. They asked Jesus, 4 “Tell us, when will all these things happen? And what will show us that the time has come for them to happen?”
5 Jesus said to them: “Be careful that no one fools you. 6 Many people will come and use my name. They will say, ‘I am the One.’ And they will fool many. 7 You will hear about wars and stories of wars that are coming. But don’t be afraid. These things must happen before the end comes. 8 Nations will fight against other nations. Kingdoms will fight against other kingdoms. There will be times when there is no food for people to eat. And there will be earthquakes in different places. These things are like the first pains when something new is about to be born.
9 “You must be careful. People will arrest you and take you to court. They will beat you in their synagogues. You will be forced to stand before kings and governors, to tell them about me. This will happen to you because you follow me. 10 But before these things happen, the Good News must be told to all people. 11 When you are arrested and judged, don’t worry about what you should say. Say the things God gives you to say at that time. It will not really be you speaking. It will be the Holy Spirit.
12 “Brothers will turn against their own brothers and give them over to be killed. Fathers will turn against their own children and give them over to be killed. Children will fight against their own parents and cause their parents to be killed. 13 All people will hate you because you follow me. But the person who continues to be strong until the end will be saved.
14 “You will see ‘the horrible thing that destroys.’[a] You will see this thing standing in the place where it should not be.” (You who read this should understand what it means.) “At that time, the people in Judea should run away to the mountains. 15 If a person is on the roof[b] of his house, he must not go down to take anything out of his house. 16 If a person is in the field, he must not go back to get his coat. 17 At that time, it will be hard for women who are pregnant or have nursing babies. 18 Pray that these things will not happen in winter. 19 This is because those days will be full of trouble. There will be more trouble than there has ever been since the beginning, when God made the world. And nothing as bad will ever happen again. 20 God has decided to make that terrible time short. If that time were not made short, then no one would go on living. But God will make that time short to help his special people whom he has chosen. 21 At that time, someone might say to you, ‘Look, there is the Christ!’ Or another person might say, ‘There he is!’ But don’t believe them. 22 False Christs and false prophets will come and perform great wonders and miracles. They will do these things to the people God has chosen. They will do these things to try to fool them, if that is possible. 23 So be careful. For I have warned you about all this before it happens.
24 “During the days after this trouble comes,
‘The sun will grow dark.
And the moon will not give its light.
25 The stars will fall from the sky.
And everything in the sky will be changed.’ Isaiah 13:10; 34:4
26 “Then people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27 The Son of Man will send his angels all around the earth. They will gather his chosen people from every part of the earth.
28 “The fig tree teaches us a lesson: When its branches become green and soft, and new leaves begin to grow, then you know that summer is near. 29 So also when you see all these things happening, then you will know that the time is near, ready to come. 30 I tell you the truth. All these things will happen while the people of this time are still living. 31 The whole world, earth and sky, will be destroyed, but the words I have said will never be destroyed.
32 “No one knows when that day or time will be. The Son and the angels in heaven don’t know. Only the Father knows. 33 Be careful! Always be ready![c] You don’t know when that time will be. 34 It is like a man who goes on a trip. He leaves his house and lets his servants take care of it. He gives each servant a special job to do. One servant has the work of guarding the door. The man tells this servant always to be watchful. This is what I am now telling you. 35 You must always be ready. You don’t know when the owner of the house will come back. He might come in the evening, or at midnight, or in the early morning, or when the sun rises. 36 He might come back quickly. If you are always ready, then he will not find you sleeping. 37 I tell you this, and I say this to everyone: ‘Be ready!’”
Footnotes
- 13:14 ‘the horrible . . . destroys.’ Mentioned in Daniel 9:27; 12:11 (cf. Daniel 11:31).
- 13:15 roof In Bible times houses were built with flat roofs. The roof was used for drying things such as flax and fruit. And it was used as an extra room, as a place for worship and as a place to sleep in the summer.
- 13:33 ready Some Greek copies continue, “and pray.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.