Mark 13

Mark 13 is the thirteenth chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It contains Jesus' predictions of the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem and disaster for Judea, as well as Mark's version of Jesus' eschatological discourse. Theologian William Barclay described this chapter as "one of the most Jewish chapters in the Bible" and "one of the most difficult chapters in the New Testament for a modern reader to understand". The original text was written in Koine Greek. This chapter is divided into 37 verses. Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are: Codex Vaticanus (325-350; complete) Codex Sinaiticus (330-360; complete) Codex Bezae (~400; complete) Codex Alexandrinus (400-440; complete) Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus (~450; extant verses 20–37) ; ; ; ; ; ; After his teachings in the previous chapter, all set in the Temple courts, Jesus finishes his teaching in the Temple for the day and leaves. On his way out of the Temple an unnamed disciple remarks how extensive the Temple (Herod's Temple) is. The buildings might have reached up to 150 feet (45.72 m) in height and they were adorned with gold, silver and other precious items. In Mark, the scale of the Temple is emphasised: the phrase "what manner of stones" (in the King James Version) is treated as referring to the size of the stones in the New International Version and the New Revised Standard Version. In Luke's gospel, the beauty of the stonework is highlighted. "Do you see (all) these great buildings?" replies Jesus. The word "all" is added in the Vulgate (omnes), the Ethiopic version and the New International Version. Jesus acknowledges their greatness, but predicts that "not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down". This is the last reference made by Jesus to the Temple in Mark's narrative. Jesus seems to anticipate that it will be destroyed, although he does not say when or how. Jesus then returns to the Mount of Olives.