Mark 13:33

Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.

King James Version · Read in your translation · Open the Explore console

Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
Take ye heed	Βλέπετε, Blepete	G991	to look at (literally or figuratively) · verb — present active imperative, 2nd person plural
watch	ἀγρυπνεῖτε agrupneite	G69	to be sleepless · verb — present active imperative, 2nd person plural
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
pray	προσεύχεσθε· proseuchesthe	G4336	to pray to God · verb — present middle or passive deponent imperative, 2nd person plural
for	γὰρ gar	G1063	properly · conjunction
ye know	εἴδω eídō	G1492	used only in certain past tenses
not	οὐκ ouk	G3756	the absolute negative (compare G3361 (μή)) adverb · particle — negative
when	πότε pote	G4219	interrogative adverb · particle — interrogative
the time	καιρός kairos	G2540	an occasion · noun — nominative singular masculine
is	ἐστί estí	G2076	he (she or it) is

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Luke 12:40 Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.
Romans 13:11-12 And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.
Ephesians 6:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
Revelation 16:15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
Matthew 25:13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
Luke 21:34-36 And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so th…
1 Peter 4:7 But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.
1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Mark 13:28–end

We have here the application of this prophetical sermon; now learn to look forward in a right manner. I. "As to the destruction of Jerusalem, expect it to come very shortly; as when the branch of the fig-tree becomes soft, and the leaves sprout forth, ye expect that summer will come shortly, Mar 13:28. When second causes begin to work, ye expect their effects in their proper order and time. So when ye see these things come to pass, when ye see the Jewish nation embroiled in wars, distracted by false Christs and prophets, and drawing upon them the displeasure of the Romans, especially when ye see them persecuting you for your Master's sake, and thereby standing to what they did when they put…

Read the whole note in the console

Adam Clarke on Mark 13:32

Neither the Son - This clause is not found either in Matthew or Luke; and Ambrose says it was wanting in some Greek copies in his time. To me it is utterly unaccountable, how Jesus, who knew so correctly all the particulars which he here lays down, and which were to a jot and tittle verified by the event - how he who knew that not one stone should be left on another, should be ignorant of the day and hour when this should be done, though Daniel, Dan 9:24, etc., could fix the very year, not less than five hundred years before it happened: how he in whom the fullness of the Godhead dwelt bodily, and all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, should not know this small matter, I cannot comprehe…

Read the whole note in the console

John Gill on Mark 13:33

Take ye heed, watch and pray,.... This seems to be the principal reason why the day and hour of Jerusalem's destruction, though known by the Father, were not made known to any man, neither to the angels, nor by them; nor to the son of man in the days of his flesh, nor by him when on earth; that his people might be upon their guard, against false Christs, and prophets, and their deception; and watch unto prayer, and in it, lest they fell into temptation, and that day should come upon them unawares: for ye know not when the time is; the exact and precise time: for though the people of God had notice of it, and were sensible it was at hand, and did make their escape out of Jerusalem; yet they…

The Church Fathers

A person does not go wrong when he knows that he does not know something, but only when he thinks he knows something which he does not know.
— Augustine of Hippo, LETTER 199, TO HESYCHIUS 52

The end of all things is concealed from us. For in the end of all is the end of each, and in the end of each is the end of all [on the last day]. Whereas this time is uncertain and always in prospect, we may advance day by day as if summoned, reaching forward to the things before us and forgetting the things behind. For who, if they knew the day of the end, would not disregard the interval? But if ignorant, would they not be more ready day by day? It was on this account that the Savior said: "Watch; for you do not know when the time will come."
— Athanasius of Alexandria, Discourses Against the Arians 3.49

As, therefore, when the wild olive has been engrafted, if it remain in its former condition, viz., a wild olive, it is "cut off, and cast into the fire;" but if it takes kindly to the graft, and is changed into the good olive-tree, it becomes a fruit-bearing olive, planted, as it were, in a king's paradise: so likewise men, if they do truly progress by faith towards better things, and receive the Spirit of God, and bring forth the fruit thereof, shall be spiritual, as being planted in the paradise of God. For when men sleep, the enemy sows the material of tares; and for this cause did the Lord command His disciples to be on the watch.
— Irenaeus, Irenaeus Against Heresies Book 5

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Prophecy — Or prediction, was one of the functions of the prophet. It has been defined as a “miracle of knowledge, a declaration or description or representation of something future, beyond the power of human…
Commandments · DISCOURSE — DISCOURSE
Earth · 5:18;24:3,14,29-31,35-39; — 5:18;24:3,14,29-31,35-39;
Judgment, The · The certainty of, a motive to: Prayer and watchfulness — The certainty of, a motive to: Prayer and watchfulness
Watchfulness · 36:18-21; — 36:18-21;

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Mark 13:33

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Mark 13:28–end

Adam Clarke on Mark 13:32

John Gill on Mark 13:33

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Mark 13:33

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Mark 13:28–end

Adam Clarke on Mark 13:32

John Gill on Mark 13:33

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Mark 13:33

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Mark 13:33-37