Mark 13

Williams^{(i) 1} As He was leaving the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, "Look, Teacher! What stupendous stones, what beautiful buildings!" ² Jesus said to him, "Are you looking in wonder at these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another that will not be torn down." ³ As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew, in a private group, were asking Him, ⁴ "When will all this take place? Tell us. And what will be the sign that it is about to be put into effect?" ⁵ Jesus began to say to them: "Look out that no one misleads you about it. ⁶ Many will come bearing the name of Messiah, and saying, 'I am He,' and they will mislead many. ⁷ But when you hear of wars and rumors of war, stop getting alarmed. They have to come, but the end is not yet. ⁸ For one nation will go to war with another, and one kingdom with another. There will be earthquakes in many places; there will be famines. But this is only the beginning of the agonies. ⁹ So you must be on the lookout for yourselves; they will turn you over to courts, and to synagogues where you will be beaten, and you must appear before governors and kings for my sake, to testify to them. ¹⁰ But before the end comes, the good news must be proclaimed to all the heathen. ¹¹ Now when they take you to court for trial, do not be worrying beforehand about what you should say, but say whatever is given you at that time, for it is not you that will be speaking, but the Holy Spirit. ¹² One brother will turn another over to death, and a father his child, and children will take a stand against their parents and have them put to death. ¹³ You will be hated by everybody, because you bear my name. But whoever bears up to the end will be saved. ¹⁴ "So when you see the destructive desecration standing where he has no right to stand" -- let the reader take notice -- "then let those who remain in Judea fly to the hills; ¹⁵ let him who is on the roof of his house not go down and go into the house to get anything out of it; ¹⁶ let him who is in the field not turn back to get his coat. ¹⁷ Alas for the women who are expectant mothers and those who have nursing babies, in those days! ¹⁸ And pray that it may not be in winter, ¹⁹ for there will be such misery at that time as has never been since the beginning of God's creation, and never will be again. ²⁰ If the Lord had not cut those days short, nobody would have escaped, but for the sake of the people chosen as His own He has cut them short. ²¹ "If anyone says to you at that time, 'Look! Here is the Christ,' or, 'Look! There He is,' do not believe it. ²² For false Christs and false prophets will announce themselves, and they will do signs and wonders to mislead, if possible, even God's chosen people. ²³ So you must be on your guard. I have warned you about it all beforehand. ²⁴ "But in those days, after that misery, the sun will turn dark, the moon will not shed its light, ²⁵ the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers of the sky will be shaken. ²⁶ And then they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds in overwhelming power and splendor. ²⁷ Then He will send out His angels, and gather His chosen people from the four points of the compass, from one end of the sky to the other. ²⁸ "Now learn what the story of the fig tree means. Just as soon as its branches grow tender, and put forth leaves, you know that summer is near. ²⁹ So when you see all these things taking place, you will know that He is right at the door. ³⁰ I solemnly say to you, the present generation will not pass away before all this takes place. ³¹ Earth and sky will pass away, but my words will never pass away. ³² But about that day or hour not a single one knows -- not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son; not a single one but the Father. ³³ Keep looking, keep alert, for you do not know when the time will be. ³⁴ It will be like a man who leaves his home and goes on a journey, after he has given orders to his slaves, to each his particular task, and has given orders to the watchman to keep watch. ³⁵ So you must keep alert, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming -- in the evening or at midnight or at daybreak or early in the morning -- ³⁶ so that he may not come unexpectedly and find you asleep. ³⁷ And so what I say to you, I say to everybody, keep alert."