A person out on the deck of a roof must not go down into the house to pack.
Parallel translations
- WEB and let him who is on the housetop not go down, nor enter in, to take anything out of his house.
- KJV And let him that is on the housetop not go down into the house, neither enter therein, to take any thing out of his house:
- BSB Let no one on the housetop go back inside to retrieve anything from his house.
- NKJV Let him who is on the housetop not go down into the house, nor enter to take anything out of his house.
- NASB Whoever is on the housetop must not go down, nor go in to get anything out of his house.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
When the sign comes, no one on the rooftop should waste time going inside for belongings. Flight must be immediate.
Overview
Flat Judean rooftops were everyday living space reached by outside stairs. Jesus stresses such urgency that one should not even pause to gather possessions. The coming judgment on Jerusalem would leave no time for delay, and the vivid command teaches that some dangers call for decisive, unhesitating obedience rather than attachment to earthly goods.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Luke 17:31–33In that day, he who will be on the housetop, and his goods in the house, let him not go down to take them away. Let him who is in the field likewise not turn back.
- Heb 11:7By faith, Noah, being warned about things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared a ship for the saving of his house, through which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.
- Phil 3:7–8However, I consider those things that were gain to me as a loss for Christ.
- Prov 22:3A prudent man sees danger, and hides himself; but the simple pass on, and suffer for it.
- Gen 19:26But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.
- Acts 27:38When they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, throwing out the wheat into the sea.
- Matt 24:16–18then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
- Prov 6:4–5Give no sleep to your eyes, nor slumber to your eyelids.
- Acts 27:18–19As we labored exceedingly with the storm, the next day they began to throw things overboard.
- Job 2:4Satan answered Yahweh, and said, “Skin for skin. Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life.
- Gen 19:22Hurry, escape there, for I can’t do anything until you get there.” Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.
- Gen 19:15–17When the morning came, then the angels hurried Lot, saying, “Get up! Take your wife, and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the iniquity of the city.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Mark drives urgently to the cross, showing Jesus the Son of God as the suffering Servant who 'came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'
How Mark 13:15 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.