And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed lest any man deceive you:
Parallel translations
- WEB Jesus, answering, began to tell them, “Be careful that no one leads you astray.
- BSB Jesus began by telling them, “See to it that no one deceives you.
- NKJV And Jesus, answering them, began to say: “Take heed that no one deceives you.
- NASB And Jesus began to say to them, “See to it that no one misleads you.
- NLT Jesus replied, “Don’t let anyone mislead you,
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
Jesus begins by warning them not to be deceived. Spiritual vigilance, not date-setting, is his first concern.
Overview
Before any sign, Jesus' opening command is a guard against deception. Throughout the discourse the recurring theme is 'watch' and 'take heed,' showing that his purpose is pastoral — to keep his followers from being misled in confusing times. The first danger in every age is not catastrophe but counterfeit teaching that leads hearts astray from the true Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Eph 5:6Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.
- Col 2:8Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
- Jer 29:8For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed.
- 2 Th 2:3Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
- Luke 21:8And he said, Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them.
- Rev 20:7–8And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
- Matt 24:4–5And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
- 1 Jn 4:1Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
- 1 Cor 15:33Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 13:5 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.