Mark 13
Lexham English Bible
The Destruction of the Temple Predicted
13 And as[a] he was going out of the temple courts,[b] one of his disciples said to him, “Teacher, look! What great stones and what wonderful buildings!” 2 And Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here on another stone that will not be thrown down!”
Signs of the End of the Age
3 And as[c] he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately, 4 “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?” 5 So Jesus began to say to them, “Watch out that no one deceives you! 6 Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ and they will deceive many. 7 And when you hear about wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. This must happen, but the end is not yet. 8 For nation will rise up against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places. There will be famines. These things are the beginning of birth pains.
Persecution of Disciples Predicted
9 “But you, watch out for yourselves! They will hand you over to councils and you will be beaten in the synagogues and will have to stand before governors and kings because of me, for a witness to them. 10 And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all the nations.[d] 11 And when they arrest you and[e] hand you over, do not be anxious beforehand what you should say, but whatever is given to you at that hour, say this. For you are not the ones who are speaking, but the Holy Spirit. 12 And brother will hand over brother to death, and a father his[f] child, and children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. 13 And you will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end—this one will be saved.
The Abomination of Desolation
14 “But when you see the abomination of desolation standing where it should not be” (let the one who reads understand), “then those in Judea must flee to the mountains! 15 The one[g] who is on his[h] housetop must not come down or go inside to take anything out of his house, 16 and the one who is in the field must not turn back to pick up his cloak. 17 And woe to those who are pregnant[i] and to those who are nursing their babies[j] in those days! 18 But pray that it will not happen in winter. 19 For in those days there will be tribulation of such a kind as has not happened from the beginning of the creation that God created until now, and never will happen. 20 And if the Lord had not shortened the days, no human being would be saved.[k] But for the sake of the elect, whom he chose, he has shortened the days.
21 “And at that time if anyone should say to you, “Behold, here is the Christ,’ ‘Behold, there he is,’ do not believe him![l] 22 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear, and will produce signs and wonders in order to mislead, if possible, the elect. 23 But you, watch out! I have told you everything ahead of time!
The Arrival of the Son of Man
24 “But in those days, after that tribulation,
‘the sun will be darkened
and the moon will not give its light,
25 and the stars will be falling from heaven,
and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.’[m]
26 And then they will see the Son of Man arriving in the clouds with great power and glory. 27 And then he will send out the angels, and will gather the[n] elect together from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of heaven.
The Parable of the Fig Tree
28 “Now learn the parable from the fig tree: Whenever its branch has already become tender and puts forth its[o] leaves, you know that summer is near. 29 So also you, when you see these things happening, know[p] that he is near, at the door. 30 Truly I say to you that this generation will never pass away until all these things take place! 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
The Unknown Day and Hour
32 “But concerning that day or hour no one knows—not even the angels in heaven nor the Son—except the Father. 33 Watch out! Be alert, because you do not know when the time is! 34 It is like a man away on a journey, who left his house and gave his slaves authority—to each one his work—and to the doorkeeper he gave orders that he should be on the alert. 35 Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or early in the morning— 36 lest he arrive suddenly and[q] find you sleeping. 37 And what I say to you, I say to everyone: Be on the alert!”
Footnotes
- Mark 13:1 Here “as” is supplied as a component of the temporal genitive absolute participle (“was going out”)
- Mark 13:1 *Here “courts” is supplied to distinguish this area from the interior of the temple building itself
- Mark 13:3 Here “as” is supplied as a component of the temporal genitive absolute participle (“was sitting”)
- Mark 13:10 Or “Gentiles”; the same Greek word can be translated “nations” or “Gentiles” depending on the context
- Mark 13:11 Here “and” is supplied because the participle (“hand you over”) has been translated as a finite verb in keeping with English style
- Mark 13:12 The word “his” is not in the Greek text but is implied
- Mark 13:15 Some manuscripts have “And the one”
- Mark 13:15 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
- Mark 13:17 Literally “who have in the womb”
- Mark 13:17 The words “their babies” are not in the Greek text but are supplied as a necessary clarification
- Mark 13:20 Literally “every flesh would not be saved”
- Mark 13:21 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Mark 13:25 A quotation from Isa 13:10; 34:4
- Mark 13:27 Some manuscripts have “his”
- Mark 13:28 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
- Mark 13:29 Or “you know”
- Mark 13:36 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“arrive”) has been translated as a finite verb
Mark 13
English Standard Version
Jesus Foretells Destruction of the Temple
13 (A)And as he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!” 2 And Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? (B)There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”
Signs of the End of the Age
3 And as he sat on (C)the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, (D)Peter and James and John and (E)Andrew asked him (F)privately, 4 “Tell us, (G)when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?” 5 And Jesus began to say to them, (H)“See that no one leads you astray. 6 (I)Many will come in my name, saying, (J)‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray. 7 And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, (K)do not be alarmed. This (L)must take place, but the end is not yet. 8 For (M)nation will rise against nation, and (N)kingdom against kingdom. There will be (O)earthquakes in various places; there will be (P)famines. These are but the beginning of the birth pains.
9 (Q)“But (R)be on your guard. For they will deliver you over to councils, and you will be beaten (S)in synagogues, and you will stand before (T)governors and (U)kings for my sake, (V)to bear witness before them. 10 And the gospel must first be proclaimed (W)to all nations. 11 And when they bring you to trial and deliver you over, (X)do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say, but say (Y)whatever is given you in that hour, (Z)for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. 12 (AA)And brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death. 13 (AB)And you will be hated by all for my name's sake. (AC)But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
The Abomination of Desolation
14 “But when you see (AD)the abomination of desolation standing where he ought not to be ((AE)let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 15 (AF)Let the one who is on (AG)the housetop not go down, nor enter his house, to take anything out, 16 and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. 17 And (AH)alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! 18 Pray that it may not happen in winter. 19 For in those days there will be (AI)such (AJ)tribulation as has not been (AK)from the beginning of the creation that (AL)God created until now, and never will be. 20 And if the Lord had not cut short the days, no human being would be saved. But for (AM)the sake of the elect, whom (AN)he chose, he shortened the days. 21 And (AO)then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe it. 22 (AP)For false christs and false prophets will arise and (AQ)perform signs and wonders, (AR)to lead astray, if possible, (AS)the elect. 23 But (AT)be on guard; (AU)I have told you all things beforehand.
The Coming of the Son of Man
24 “But in those days, after (AV)that tribulation, (AW)the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, 25 and (AX)the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. 26 And then they will see (AY)the Son of Man coming in clouds (AZ)with great power and glory. 27 And then (BA)he will send out the angels and (BB)gather (BC)his elect from (BD)the four winds, from (BE)the ends of the earth (BF)to the ends of heaven.
The Lesson of the Fig Tree
28 “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. 29 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, (BG)at the very gates. 30 (BH)Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 31 (BI)Heaven and earth will pass away, but (BJ)my words will not pass away.
No One Knows That Day or Hour
32 “But concerning that day or that hour, (BK)no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, (BL)nor the Son, (BM)but only the Father. 33 (BN)Be on guard, (BO)keep awake.[a] For you do not know when the time will come. 34 (BP)It is like a man (BQ)going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants[b] in charge, (BR)each with his work, and commands (BS)the doorkeeper to stay awake. 35 (BT)Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, (BU)in the evening, or (BV)at midnight, or (BW)when the rooster crows,[c] or (BX)in the morning— 36 lest (BY)he come suddenly and (BZ)find you asleep. 37 And what I say to you I say to all: (CA)Stay awake.”
Footnotes
- Mark 13:33 Some manuscripts add and pray
- Mark 13:34 Or bondservants
- Mark 13:35 That is, the third watch of the night, between midnight and 3 a.m.
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