Gospel according to Mark 13

¹ As he was leaving the Temple one of his disciples said to him, ‘Look at the size of those stones, Master! Look at the size of those buildings!’

² And Jesus said to him, ‘You see these great buildings? Not a single stone will be left on another: everything will be destroyed.’

³ And while he was sitting facing the Temple, on the Mount of Olives, Peter, James, John and Andrew questioned him privately,

⁴ ‘Tell us, when is this going to happen, and what sign will there be that all this is about to be fulfilled?’

⁵ Then Jesus began to tell them, ‘Take care that no one deceives you.

⁶ Many will come using my name and saying, “I am he”, and they will deceive many.

⁷ When you hear of wars and rumours of wars, do not be alarmed, this is something that must happen, but the end will not be yet.

⁸ For nation will fight against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes here and there; there will be famines. This is the beginning of the birthpangs.

⁹ ‘Be on your guard: they will hand you over to sanhedrins; you will be beaten in synagogues; and you will stand before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them,

¹⁰ since the Good News must first be proclaimed to all the nations.

¹¹ ‘And when they lead you away to hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what to say; no, say whatever is given to you when the time comes, because it is not you who will be speaking: it will be the Holy Spirit.

¹² Brother will betray brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise against their parents and have them put to death.

¹³ You will be hated by all men on account of my name; but the man who stands firm to the end will be saved.

¹⁴ ‘When you see the disastrous abomination[*a] set up where it ought not to be (let the reader understand), then those in Judaea must escape to the mountains;

¹⁵ if a man is on the housetop, he must not come down to go into the house to collect any of his belongings;

¹⁶ if a man is in the fields, he must not turn back to fetch his cloak.

¹⁷ Alas for those with child, or with babies at the breast, when those days come!

¹⁸ Pray that this may not be in winter.

¹⁹ For in those days there will be such distress as, until now, has not been[*b] equalled since the beginning when God created the world, nor ever will be again.

²⁰ And if the Lord had not shortened that time, no one would have survived; but he did shorten the time, for the sake of the elect whom he chose.

²¹ ‘And if anyone says to you then, “Look, here is the Christ” or, “Look, he is there”, do not believe it;

²² for false Christs and false prophets will arise and produce signs and portents to deceive the elect, if that were possible.

²³ You therefore must be on your guard. I have forewarned you of everything.

²⁴ ‘But in those days, after that time of distress, the sun will be darkened, the moon will lose its brightness,

²⁵ the stars will come falling from heaven and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.

²⁶ And then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory;

²⁷ then too he will send the angels to gather his chosen from the four winds, from the ends of the world to the ends of heaven.

²⁸ ‘Take the fig tree as a parable: as soon as its twigs grow supple and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near.

²⁹ So with you when you see these things happening: know that he is near, at the very gates.

³⁰ I tell you solemnly, before this generation has passed away all these things will have taken place.

³¹ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

³² ‘But as for that day or hour, nobody knows it, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son; no one but the Father.

³³ ‘Be on your guard, stay awake, because you never know when the time will come.

³⁴ It is like a man travelling abroad: he has gone from home, and left his servants in charge, each with his own task; and he has told the doorkeeper to stay awake.

³⁵ So stay awake, because you do not know when the master of the house is coming, evening, midnight, cockcrow, dawn;

³⁶ if he comes unexpectedly, he must not find you asleep.

³⁷ And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake!’