Mark 13

As Jesus was leaving the temple, one of his followers said to him, "Teacher, look at these huge stones and these great buildings!"

1And as he went out of the temple, one of his disciples saith unto him, Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!

NoteThe KJV's "Master" here translates a word that simply means teacher; it carries no sense of owner or ruler. The buildings are Herod the Great's rebuilt temple complex, begun around 20 BC and still unfinished in Jesus' lifetime. Some of its foundation blocks weigh dozens of tons, which is why a visitor would stop and stare.

2Jesus answered him, "Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone here will be left sitting on another. Every one of them will be thrown down."

2And Jesus answering said unto him, Seest thou these great buildings? there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

NoteRoman troops burned and dismantled the temple in AD 70, about forty years after this conversation. Mark's first readers were living either just before or just after that event.

3Later Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives, across from the temple. Peter, James, John, and Andrew came to him alone and asked him,

3And as he sat upon the mount of Olives over against the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately,

NoteThe Mount of Olives is a ridge just east of Jerusalem, separated from the city by the Kidron valley. From its slope the temple platform lies directly in view, so the four men are looking at the buildings they are asking about. "Over against" in the KJV means opposite, facing.

4"Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that all of it is about to take place?"

4Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled?

5Jesus began to answer them, "Be careful that no one fools you.

5And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed lest any man deceive you:

6Many people will come using my name and say, 'I am he,' and they will fool many people.

6For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

NoteThe KJV supplies the word "Christ"; the Greek says only "I am," which can be a claim to be the Messiah or an echo of the divine name. "Christ" is not a surname but a title, the Greek word for "anointed one," matching the Hebrew "Messiah" and naming the deliverer-king Israel expected.

7When you hear about wars, and reports that wars are coming, do not be upset. Such things have to happen, but the end is not yet here.

7And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled: for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet.

8Nation will fight against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in many places, and there will be times of hunger and trouble. These things are only the first pains, like the pains that come before a birth.

8For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.

Note"Divers places" is 1611 English for various places, not places that differ in kind. "The beginnings of sorrows" translates a word for birth pangs, a standard Jewish image for the convulsions expected before a new age; the force of the image is that these pains are the start of something, not the end of it.

9But watch out for yourselves. People will hand you over to the courts, and you will be beaten in the meeting houses. You will be made to stand in front of rulers and kings because of me, as a witness to them.

9But take heed to yourselves: for they shall deliver you up to councils; and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten: and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them.

Note"Councils" translates a word for local Jewish courts, the same word used of the high council in Jerusalem. Synagogues served as courts as well as places of assembly and worship, and a local court could sentence a man to a flogging of up to thirty-nine lashes. The Greek behind "for a testimony against them" says only "as a witness to them," which can mean evidence laid before them or evidence used against them; the KJV settles an ambiguity the original leaves open.

10And the good news must first be announced to every nation.

10And the gospel must first be published among all nations.

NoteIn 1611 "published" meant proclaimed out loud in public; it had nothing to do with printing. "Nations" translates a word normally used for the non-Jewish peoples, the Gentiles.

11When they arrest you and hand you over, do not worry ahead of time about what you will say. Do not plan it out. Say whatever you are given to say at that moment, because it will not be you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.

11But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost.

Note"Take no thought" is 1611 English for do not be anxious, not do not think; "premeditate" means work out your words in advance. "Ghost" meant spirit in 1611, so "Holy Ghost" and "Holy Spirit" are the same two words in the original.

12Brother will hand over brother to be killed, and a father will hand over his child. Children will turn against their parents and have them put to death.

12Now the brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father the son; and children shall rise up against their parents, and shall cause them to be put to death.

13Everyone will hate you because of my name. But the one who holds out to the end will be saved.

13And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

Note"Hated of all men" means hated by everyone; "of" carried the sense of "by." "Endure unto the end" is left open in the Greek: it can mean the end of a life, the end of the ordeal, or the end spoken of in verse 7.

14But when you see the awful thing that brings ruin standing where it should not stand, which the prophet Daniel spoke about (let the reader understand this), then the people in Judea must run away to the mountains.

14But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains:

NoteThe phrase comes from the book of Daniel (9:27; 11:31; 12:11) and means a desecrating outrage that leaves the sanctuary deserted. Hearers in Jesus' day would think of the pagan altar the Syrian king Antiochus IV set up in the temple in 167 BC. In Greek the participle "standing" is masculine although the noun it attaches to is neuter, which hints at a person rather than an object. "Let him that readeth understand" is an aside to whoever reads the text aloud to a gathering, flagging that something is being said indirectly. Judaea is the region around Jerusalem.

15Anyone who is up on the roof of a house must not go down and go inside to get anything out of the house.

15And let him that is on the housetop not go down into the house, neither enter therein, to take any thing out of his house:

NoteHouses had flat roofs reached by an outside stair, used for sleeping, drying food and storage. The instruction is to go down the outside stair and run without stepping back indoors at all.

16And anyone out in the field must not turn back to pick up his coat.

16And let him that is in the field not turn back again for to take up his garment.

NoteThe garment is the outer cloak, heavy and costly, laid aside at the edge of the field while working. Law required a cloak taken in pledge to be handed back by nightfall because a poor man slept in it, so abandoning one is a real loss, not a trifle.

17How hard those days will be for women who are pregnant and for mothers nursing babies!

17But woe to them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!

Note"Woe" here is a cry of grief, closer to "how dreadful it will be for them" than to a curse. Pregnant women and nursing mothers cannot move fast or travel light, which is the point in a passage about sudden flight.

18Pray that it does not happen in the winter.

18And pray ye that your flight be not in the winter.

NoteWinter is the rainy season in that country. Streambeds fill, roads turn to mud, and unbridged valleys become impassable.

19For in those days there will be suffering worse than any there has been since the beginning of the world God created until now, and worse than any there will ever be again.

19For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be.

Note"Affliction" translates a word meaning pressure or crushing, elsewhere rendered tribulation. The wording deliberately echoes Daniel 12:1, which speaks of a time of trouble such as there never was since there was a nation.

20If the Lord had not cut those days short, no one would survive. But for the sake of the chosen ones, the people he picked out, he has cut those days short.

20And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect’s sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days.

Note"No flesh should be saved" uses "flesh" for human beings in general, and "saved" in its plain sense of coming through alive. "The elect" means those chosen or picked out; the same word lies behind "chosen ones" in verses 22 and 27.

21At that time, if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ,' or 'Look, he is over there,' do not believe him.

21And then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ; or, lo, he is there; believe him not:

22For false Christs and false prophets will show up. They will do signs and wonders in order to lead people astray, even the chosen ones, if that were possible.

22For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.

NoteIn 1611 "seduce" meant simply to lead astray, with no sexual sense at all. "Signs and wonders" is a stock pair of words for striking displays of power, used in the Old Testament of what Moses did in Egypt.

23So watch out. I have told you everything ahead of time.

23But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things.

24But in those days, after that time of suffering, the sun will go dark, and the moon will not give its light,

24But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,

NoteThese two verses are stitched together from Isaiah (13:10 and 34:4). In the prophets this darkening-sky language is the standard way of announcing the collapse of a great power, so the first hearers would recognize borrowed prophetic wording rather than a fresh description.

25and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.

25And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken.

Note"The powers that are in heaven" is deliberately open: it can mean the heavenly bodies themselves, or the unseen powers that were thought to stand behind them.

26Then people will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.

26And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.

Note"Son of man" is Jesus' habitual way of referring to himself. In Aramaic the phrase can mean simply a human being, but the picture here of one coming with clouds comes straight from Daniel 7:13, where a figure like a son of man approaches God and is given lasting dominion.

27And then he will send out his angels, and he will gather his chosen ones from the four winds, from the farthest end of the earth to the farthest end of heaven.

27And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.

Note"The four winds" means the four compass directions, that is, everywhere. "From the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven" pairs two idioms for the far horizon, together covering the whole of things.

28Now learn this lesson from the fig tree. When its branches get soft and put out leaves, you know that summer is close.

28Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near:

NoteThe fig tree is one of the few trees in that country that drops its leaves in winter and buds late in the spring, so its leafing is a reliable local sign that the hot season has arrived.

29In the same way, when you see these things happening, you know that it is close, right at the door.

29So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors.

NoteThe Greek can be read either "it is near" or "he is near"; the words alone do not settle which. "At the doors" is an idiom for standing on the threshold, about to come in.

30I tell you the truth: this generation will not pass away until all these things have happened.

30Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done.

Note"Verily" translates "amen," a word of solemn affirmation, used here to open a statement rather than to close a prayer. "This generation" ordinarily means the people alive at the time, though the same word can also mean a kind or breed of people; which sense is meant here has been argued over since early times.

31The heavens and the earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

31Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.

32But no one knows the day or the hour. Not the angels in heaven, and not the Son. Only the Father knows.

32But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.

Note"Knoweth no man" means no one at all knows, not no male; the sentence goes on to include angels and the Son among those who do not know.

33Watch out. Stay awake and pray, because you do not know when the time will come.

33Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.

Note"Watch" here means stay awake, as a night guard does; it is not about looking at something. "The time" translates a word for the appointed moment, the right occasion, rather than clock time.

34It is like a man going away on a long trip. He left his house, gave his servants the right to run it, gave each one his own job, and told the doorkeeper to keep watch.

34For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch.

Note"Porter" is 1611 English for a doorkeeper, the servant stationed at the entrance; it has nothing to do with carrying luggage.

35So keep watch, because you do not know when the owner of the house is coming. It could be in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning.

35Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning:

NoteThe four times listed are the four watches into which the Roman night was divided: roughly six to nine in the evening, nine to midnight, midnight to three, and three to six. "Cockcrowing" was the ordinary name for that third watch ending near dawn, and "at even" means in the evening.

36He might come suddenly and find you sleeping.

36Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.

37What I say to you, I say to everyone: keep watch."

37And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.