Mark 13:5-6

13:5 Jesus began to say to them, “Watch out ¹  that no one misleads you. 13:6 Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ ²  and they will mislead many.

Mark 13:9

Persecution of Disciples

13:9 “You must watch out for yourselves. You will be handed over ³  to councils ⁴  and beaten in the synagogues. ⁵  You will stand before governors and kings ⁶  because of me, as a witness to them.

Mark 13:23

13:23 Be careful! I have told you everything ahead of time.

[13:5]  ¹ tn Or “Be on guard.”

[13:6]  ² tn That is, “I am the Messiah.”

[13:9]  ³ tn Grk “They will hand you over.” “They” is an indefinite plural, referring to people in general. The parallel in Matt 10:17 makes this explicit.

[13:9]  ⁴ sn Councils in this context refers to local judicial bodies attached to the Jewish synagogue. This group would be responsible for meting out justice and discipline within the Jewish community.

[13:9]  ⁵ sn See the note on synagogue in 1:21.

[13:9]  ⁶ sn These statements look at persecution both from a Jewish context as the mention of councils and synagogues suggests, and from a Gentile one as the reference to governors and kings suggests. Some fulfillment of Jewish persecution can be seen in Acts.