Mark 13
New Matthew Bible
The destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. The end of the world; the day and the hour is unknown.
13 And as he went out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, Teacher, see what stones and what buildings are here! 2 And Jesus answered and said to him, Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.
3 And as he sat on the Mount of Olives across from the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately, 4 Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign when all these things are going to be fulfilled?
5 And Jesus answered them and began, saying, Take heed, lest anyone deceive you. 6 For many will come in my name saying, I am Christ, and will deceive many.
7 When you hear of war and reports of war, do not be troubled. For such things must be. But the end is not yet. 8 For nation will arise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be earthquakes in all quarters, and famines and troubles. These are the beginning of sorrows.
9 But take heed to yourselves. For they will bring you up before the councils and into the synagogues, and you will be beaten; yea, and will be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony to them. 10 And the gospel must first be preached among all nations. 11 But when they lead you and present you, do not be anxious about what you will say, nor prepare ahead. But whatever is given you at that same time, that speak. For it will not be you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.
12 Yea and brother will deliver brother to death, and the father the son; and the children will rise against their fathers and mothers, and will put them to death. 13 And you will be hated by all men for my name’s sake. But whosoever endures to the end, the same shall be saved.
14 Moreover, when you see the abomination that betokens desolation, of which Daniel the prophet has spoken, standing where it ought not, let him who reads, understand. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 15 And let him who is on the housetop not descend down into the house, neither enter in to fetch anything out of his house. 16 And let him who is in the field not turn back again to those things that he left behind him, to take his clothes with him. 17 Woe shall be then to women that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days. 18 But pray that your flight be not in the winter. 19 For there shall be in those days such tribulation as was not from the beginning of creatures that God created to this time, nor will be again. 20 And if the Lord did not shorten those days, no one would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, whom he has chosen, he has shortened those days.
21 And then if anyone says to you, Lo, here is Christ! Lo, he is there! – believe it not. 22 For false Christs will arise, and false prophets, and they will show miracles and wonders, to deceive if it were possible even the elect. 23 But take heed: behold, I have told you all things beforehand.
24 Moreover in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will grow dark, and the moon will not give her light, 25 and the stars of heaven will fall; and the powers which are in heaven shall move. 26 And then will they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. 27 And then he will send his angels, and will gather together his elect from the four winds, and from one end of the world to the other.
28 Learn from a similitude of the fig tree. When its branches are yet tender and it has brought forth leaves, you know that summer is near. 29 So also in like manner, when you see these things come to pass, understand that it is near, even at the doors. 30 Truly I say to you that this generation will not pass till all these things be done.
31 Heaven and earth shall pass, but my words will not pass. 32 But of that day and hour no one knows, no, not the angels who are in heaven, nor the Son himself, but the Father only. 33 Take heed. Watch and pray, for you know not when the time is. 34 It is as a man who has gone into a far country, and has left his house, and given authority to his servants, and to each his work, and instructed the porter to watch.
35 Watch therefore. For you know not when the master of the house will come – whether at evening or midnight, whether at the cock-crowing or in the dawning – 36 lest, if he come suddenly, he should find you sleeping. 37 And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!
Mark 13
EasyEnglish Bible
Jesus talks about future events
13 Then Jesus left the temple. While he was leaving, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Teacher, look at these great buildings! The stones in the walls of God's House are really great!’
2 Jesus said to him, ‘Yes, look at all these large buildings! But I tell you, enemies will completely destroy them. Not even one stone will remain on top of another stone.’
3 After that, Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives. He could look across the valley at the temple. Peter, James, John and Andrew went together to talk with him. The crowd was not there. 4 They said to Jesus, ‘Please tell us when all these things will happen. What will show us that they will soon happen?’
5 Jesus began to say to them, ‘Be careful! Some people will tell you things that are not true. Do not believe those people. 6 Many people will say that they have come on my behalf. They will say, “I am the Messiah!” and they will deceive many people. 7 You will hear about wars. And there will be reports about wars in other places. Do not be afraid. Those things must happen, but that is not yet the end of everything. 8 People in one country will attack the people in another country. Kings and their armies will fight against other kings and their armies. The ground will shake in many different places. In some places, people will be hungry, with no food. Those things are like the first pains that a mother has before her baby is born.
9 So be careful! People will be against you. They will take you to stand in front of their leaders. They will punish you with whips in their meeting places. They will take you to stand in front of kings and rulers. This will happen because you are my disciples. You will tell them the good news about me. 10 Yes, you must first tell the good news about me to people in every country. 11 When people take you to their leaders to show that you have done bad things, do not be afraid. Do not worry about what you should say. You should say the words that God gives you at that time. You will not be speaking your own words. Those words will come from the Holy Spirit.
12 At that time, a man will let people kill his own brother. A father will let people kill his own child. Children will be against their parents. They will even ask people to kill their parents. 13 All people will hate you because you are my disciples. But God will save the person who remains strong until the end.
14 There will be a time when you will see in the temple a disgusting thing that causes trouble. You will see it in a place where it should not be. (When you read this, you must understand what it means.) At that time, people in Judea must run away to the hills to hide.[a] 15 A person who is on the roof of his house must not go down into the house.[b] He must not stop to get anything from his home. 16 A person who is outside in his field must not go back to his home. He must not return even to fetch his coat.
17 That will be a bad time for women who are soon to have a baby. It will also be a bad time for those women who have little babies. 18 You must pray to God that this time of trouble will not happen in winter. 19 Very bad troubles will happen to people at that time and cause them a lot of pain. Nothing as bad has ever happened before, since God created the world. Nothing as bad will ever happen again. 20 The Lord God will cause those days of very bad trouble to come to an end. If he did not do that, there would be nobody still alive. But God will cause those days to be not too many. He will do that to help the people that he has chosen. 21 At that time, someone may say to you, “Look, here is the Messiah!” Or they may say, “Look, he is there!” If they say that, do not believe them. 22 Some people will even say, “I am the Messiah.” Other people will say, “I am a prophet from God.” But their words will be false. They will do strange and powerful things for people to see. If possible, they would even deceive the people that God has chosen. 23 So watch out! I have told you about all these things before they happen.
The time when the Son of Man returns
24 Then, after all these bad things have happened, the sun will become dark. The moon will not shine any more. 25 Stars will fall out of the sky. And the powerful things in the sky will shake.
26 Then people will see the Son of Man. He will come in the clouds. He will have great power and bright glory. 27 Then he will send his angels. They will go in every direction, to every part of the earth and to every part of the sky. They will bring together all the people that God has chosen.
A lesson about the fig tree
28 Here is a lesson for you to learn about the fig tree. When the new branches on the tree start to grow, the leaves appear. Then you know that the summer will begin soon. 29 In the same way, you will see these strange things happening. Then you will know that the Son of Man will come very soon. He will be like someone at the door who is ready to come in. 30 I tell you this: The people who are alive now will not all die until all these things happen. 31 One day, the earth and the sky will have an end. But my words will be there for ever.
Nobody knows when the Son of Man will return to the world
32 Nobody knows the day or the hour when all these things will happen. Only God the Father knows when they will happen. The angels who are in heaven do not know. Even the Son does not know. 33 Watch carefully! Keep awake! You do not know the time when all these things will happen. 34 It is like when a man begins a journey. Before the master leaves his house, he gives authority to his servants. He tells each servant about the work that he should do. Then he tells the servant at the door to watch for his master's return.
35 So you must watch carefully. You do not know when the master of the house will come back. He might arrive in the evening, or in the middle of the night. Or he might arrive early in the morning, or just before the sun rises. 36 When he arrives, he may surprise you. He may even find you asleep! 37 I am saying this to you. I am also saying this to everyone else. Always be ready!’
Footnotes
- 13:14 Jesus was talking about a disgusting idol in the temple. See Daniel 9:27.
- 13:15 At that time, people often sat on the roof of their house after they had finished their work. The roof was flat, and it was cool there. There were steps outside the house up to the roof.
Mark 13
King James Version
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!
2 And 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.
3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives over against the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately,
4 Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled?
5 And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed lest any man deceive you:
6 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
7 And 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.
8 For 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.
9 But 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.
10 And the gospel must first be published among all nations.
11 But 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.
12 Now 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.
13 And 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.
14 But 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:
15 And let him that is on the housetop not go down into the house, neither enter therein, to take any thing out of his house:
16 And let him that is in the field not turn back again for to take up his garment.
17 But woe to them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
18 And pray ye that your flight be not in the winter.
19 For 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.
20 And 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.
21 And then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ; or, lo, he is there; believe him not:
22 For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.
23 But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things.
24 But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,
25 And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken.
26 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.
27 And 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.
28 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near:
29 So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors.
30 Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done.
31 Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.
32 But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.
33 Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.
34 For 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.
35 Watch 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:
36 Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.
37 And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.
Copyright © 2016 by Ruth Magnusson (Davis). Includes emendations to February 2022. All rights reserved.
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