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!” ²And 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

³And 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?” ⁵And 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. ⁷And 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. ⁸For ^(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. ¹⁰And the gospel must first be proclaimed ^(W)to all nations. ¹¹And 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, ¹⁶and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. ¹⁷And ^(AH)alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! ¹⁸Pray that it may not happen in winter. ¹⁹For 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. ²⁰And 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. ²¹And ^(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. ²³But ^(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, ²⁵and ^(AX)the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. ²⁶And then they will see ^(AY)the Son of Man coming in clouds ^(AZ)with great power and glory. ²⁷And 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. ²⁹So 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— ³⁶lest ^(BY)he come suddenly and ^(BZ)find you asleep. ³⁷And what I say to you I say to all: ^(CA)Stay awake.”