Mark 13

And 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!

1Jesus was walking out of the temple. One of his followers said, "Teacher, look at these huge stones and buildings!"

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.

2Jesus said, "Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left on top of another. Every one will be thrown down."

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

3Later Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives, across from the temple. Peter, James, John, and Andrew came to ask him something in private.

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

4They said, "Tell us, when will these things happen? What sign will show us it is all about to come true?"

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

5Jesus began to answer them. He said, "Be careful. Do not let anyone fool you.

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

6Many people will come using my name. They will say, 'I am the one.' They will fool many people.

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.

7You will hear about wars, and about news of more wars. Do not be upset. These things have to happen. But the end has not come yet.

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.

8Country will fight country, and kingdom will fight kingdom. The ground will shake in many places. People will go hungry, and there will be hard times. These things are like the first pains a mother feels before a baby is born.

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.

9Watch out for yourselves. People will hand you over to courts. You will be beaten in synagogues, the buildings where Jews meet to worship. You will be taken to rulers and kings because you belong to me. There you will tell them about me.

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

10First, the good news about me must be told to every nation.

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.

11They will arrest you and hand you over. Do not worry ahead of time about what to say. Say whatever you are given to say right then. You will not be the one speaking. The Holy Spirit will speak through you.

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.

12Brothers will hand over their brothers to be killed. Fathers will do this to their children. Children will turn against their parents and have them killed.

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.

13Everyone will hate you because you belong to me. But whoever keeps holding on to the end will be saved.

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:

14You will see the hateful thing that leaves the holy place empty and ruined. It will stand where it should never stand. Daniel, a prophet who told people what God said, wrote about this. (Whoever reads this, understand it.) When you see it, the people in Judea must run to the mountains.

NoteThe KJV says "the abomination of desolation." "Abomination" means a thing people hate to see. "Desolation" means empty and ruined. The words come from the book of Daniel in the Old Testament.

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:

15If you are up on your roof, do not go back inside. Do not stop to take anything out of your house.

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

16If you are out in the field, do not go back home to get your coat.

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

17Those days will be very hard for women who are having babies. They will be hard for mothers feeding little babies too.

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

18Pray that you will not have to run away in the winter.

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.

19In those days there will be more trouble than ever before. Nothing like it has happened since God made the world. Nothing like it will ever happen again.

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.

20If the Lord had not made those days shorter, no one would live through them. But he made them shorter for the people he has chosen.

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

21At that time someone may say to you, "Look, here is the Christ!" Or, "Look, he is over there!" Do not believe it.

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

22False Christs and false prophets will come. They will do amazing things to trick people. They would even trick the people God has chosen, if that could be done.

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

23So be careful. I have told you everything before it happens.

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

24In those days, after that terrible time, the sun will grow dark. The moon will stop giving its light.

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

25The stars will fall from the sky. The powers in the sky will be shaken.

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

26Then people will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds. That is the name Jesus used for himself. He will come with great power and shining glory.

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.

27Then he will send out his angels. They will gather his chosen people from every direction. They will bring them from one end of the world to the other.

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

28Learn this lesson from the fig tree. Its branches get soft and its leaves come out. Then you know summer is close.

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

29It is the same for you. When you see these things happening, you will know he is near. He is right at the door.

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

30I tell you the truth. The people living now will still be here when all this happens.

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

31The heavens and the earth will come to an end. But my words will never come to an end.

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

32No one knows the day or the hour when this will happen. The angels in heaven do not know. The Son does not know. Only the Father knows.

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

33Be careful. Stay awake and pray. You do not know when that time will come.

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.

34It is like a man going away on a long trip. He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge. He gives each one a job to do. He tells the doorkeeper to stay awake and watch.

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:

35So stay awake and watch. You do not know when the owner of the house will come home. He might come in the evening, or at midnight. He might come when the rooster crows, or in the morning.

NotePeople then split the night into four parts: evening, midnight, cockcrowing, and morning. "Cockcrowing" is the time near dawn when roosters start to crow.

36Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.

36He might come home all of a sudden. He must not find you sleeping.

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

37What I say to you, I say to everyone. Stay awake and watch."