Mark 13:14–14:31

THE GREAT TRIBULATION

¹⁴“When you see the abomination of desolation^Av standing where it should not be” (let the reader understand), “then those in Judea^w must flee to the mountains. ¹⁵A man on the housetop must not come down or go in to get anything out of his house,^{x 16}and a man in the field must not go back to get his coat.^{y 17}Woe^z to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days!

¹⁸“Pray^aa it^B won’t happen in winter. ¹⁹For those will be days of tribulation,^ab the kind that hasn’t been from the beginning^ac of creation^ac ,which God created, until now and never will be again. ^ad20If the Lord^ae had not cut those days short,^af no one would be saved. But he cut those days short for the sake of the elect,^ag whom he chose.^ah

²¹“Then if anyone tells you, ‘See, here is the Messiah!^ai See, there!’ do not believe it. ²²For false messiahs and false prophets will arise and will perform signs and wonders^aj to lead astray, if possible, the elect. ²³And you must watch! I have told you everything in advance.

THE COMING OF THE SON OF MAN

²⁴“But in those days, after that tribulation:^ak The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not shed its light; ²⁵the stars^al will be falling from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.^{am 26}Then they will see the Son of Man^an coming^ao in clouds^ap with great power^aq and glory.^{ar 27}He will send out the angels^as and gather his elect^at from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.^au

THE PARABLE OF THE FIG TREE

²⁸“Learn^av this lesson^aw from the fig^ax tree: As soon as its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near.^{ay 29}In the same way, when you see these things happening, recognize^C that he^D is near—at the door.

³⁰“Truly I tell you,^az this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things take place. ³¹Heaven and earth^ab will pass away,^bb but my words will never pass away.^bc

NO ONE KNOWS THE DAY OR HOUR

³²“Now concerning that day^bd or hour no one knows—neither the angels^be in heaven nor the Son^bf—but only the Father.^bg

³³“Watch! Be alert!^E For you don’t know when the time^bh is coming.^bi

³⁴“It is like^bj a man on a journey, who left his house, gave authority to his servants,^bk gave each one his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to be alert. ³⁵Therefore be alert,^bl since you don’t know when the master^bm of the house is coming—whether in the evening or at midnight or at the crowing of the rooster or early in the morning. ³⁶Otherwise, when he comes suddenly he might find you sleeping.^{bn 37}And what I say to you, I say to everyone: Be alert!”

THE PLOT TO KILL JESUS

14It^bo was two days before the Passover^bp and the Festival^bq of Unleavened Bread.^br The chief priests and the scribes^bs were looking for a cunning^bt way to arrest Jesus and kill him.^{bu 2}“Not during the festival,” they said, “so that there won’t be a riot among the people.”

THE ANOINTING AT BETHANY

³While^a he was in Bethany^b at the house of Simon the leper,^c as he was reclining at the table,^d a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured it on his head.^{e 4}But some were expressing indignation to one another: “Why has this perfume been wasted? ⁵For this perfume might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii^Bf and given to the poor.”^g And they began to scold her.

⁶Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. Why are you bothering her? She has done a noble thing^h for me. ⁷You always have the poorⁱ with you, and you can do what is good for them whenever you want, but you do not always have me.^{j 8}She has done what she could; she has anointed my body^k in advance for burial.^{l 9}Truly I tell you,^m wherever the gospelⁿ is proclaimed in the whole world,^o what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”

¹⁰Then^p Judas Iscariot,^q one of the Twelve,^r went to the chief priests^s to betray Jesus^t to them. ¹¹And when they heard this, they were glad and promised to give him money.^u So he started looking for a good opportunity to betray^v him.

PREPARATION FOR PASSOVER

¹²On^w the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrifice the Passover lamb,^x his disciples^y asked him, “Where do you want us to go and prepare the Passover so that you may eat it?”

¹³So he sent two of his disciples and told them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him. ¹⁴Wherever he enters, tell the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher^z says, “Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?” ’ ¹⁵He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make the preparations for us there.” ¹⁶So the disciples^aa went out, entered the city, and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover.

BETRAYAL AT THE PASSOVER

¹⁷When^ab evening came, he arrived with the Twelve.^{ac 18}While they were reclining and eating, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me—one who is eating with me.”

¹⁹They began to be distressed and to say to him one by one, “Surely not I?”

²⁰He said to them, “It is one of the Twelve—the one who is dipping bread in the bowl with me. ²¹For the Son of Man^ad will go just as it is written^ae about him,^af but woe^ag to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for him if he had not been born.”

THE FIRST LORD’S SUPPER

²²As^ah they were eating, he took bread,^ai blessed and broke^aj it, gave it to them,^ak and said, “Take it; this is my body.”^{al 23}Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks,^am he gave it to them, and they all drank from it. ²⁴He said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant,^Aan which is poured out^ao for many.^{ap 25}Truly I tell you,^aq I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine^ar until that day when I drink it new^Bas in the kingdom of God.”^at

²⁶After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.^au

PETER’S DENIAL PREDICTED

²⁷Then^av Jesus said to them, “All of you will fall away,^C because it is written:^aw

I will strike the shepherd,

and the sheep^ax will be scattered.^Day

²⁸But after I have risen,^az I will go ahead of you to Galilee.”^ba

²⁹Peter^bb told him, “Even if everyone falls away, I will not.”

³⁰“Truly I tell you,” Jesus said to him, “today, this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.”^bc

³¹But he kept insisting, “If I have to die with you, I will never deny you.” And they all said the same thing.