On Mount of Olives, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked Jesus when these things will be.
Mark 13:23 But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things.
Mark 13:23 So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time.
Mark 13:23 Watch out! I have warned you about this ahead of time!
You, however, beware: I have foretold to you everything.
This verse begins with the pronoun "you." Since the first verb is a command, it normally would not have a "you" in English translations, but it must because of this pronoun. None of the translators capture this.
The Greek word translated as "foretold," "told ahead of time," and "warned ahead of time" is used only twice by Jesus, here and in the parallel verse in Matthew. It means, literally, "tell ahead." It makes no reference to time. This is Jesus's only direct reference to his making prophecies.
We know what to look for it we have been told what is cominng
- CW --Confusing Word -- The "take heed" does not capture the word's specific meaning in this situation.
- OS -- Outdated Source -- The Greek word translated as "behold existed in the KJV Greek source but not the one we used today.
- MW - Missing Word -- The word "you" is not shown in the English translation.
- WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "so" means "but."
- WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "be on your guard" means "look."
- CW --Confusing Word -- This is not a common word usually translated as "told."
- IW - Inserted Word -- The word "of time" doesn't exist in the source.
- MW - Missing Word -- The word "you" is not shown in the English translation.
- MW - Missing Word -- The word "but" is not shown in the English translation.
- CW --Confusing Word -- The "warned" does not capture the word's specific meaning in this situation
- WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "about this" means "all."
- IW - Inserted Word -- The word "of time" doesn't exist in the source.
But -- -- The Greek word translated as "but" means "but", "however", and "on the other hand". Since it always falls in the second position, translating it as "however" often captures its feeling better.
take - (CW)The verb translated as "take...heep" means "to see", "to look to", "to look like", "to beware", and "to look for." It is the more tangible sense of seeing, such as seeing what is right in front of you rather than understanding "look" in English. This is not the specific meaning of the word in this situation because there are English words meaning "look" or "watch" that work.
ye -- The pronoun "ye" is used explicitly as the subject of the sentence. Since it is already part of the verb, its use here creates emphasis on the "you" but since this is a command, which usually doesn't have a subject, this single word words.
heed: -- This completes the meaning of the verb as a warning.
behold, -- (OS) There are no Greek words that can be translated as "behold" in the source we use today but it does exist in the source that the KJV translators used.
I -- This is from the first-person, singular form of the following verb.
have -- This helping verb "have" indicates that the following verb is the tense indicating an action competed in the past.
foretold -- The Greek verb translated as "foretold" is a compound word, using the common word for "to say" and "to speak" with the prefix meaning "before." It is used here in the sense saying something before.
you -- This form of you could be a simple indirect object, but the form can also mean "for your benefit."
all -- The word translated as "all" is the Greek adjective meaning "all", "the whole", "every," and similar ideas. When it is used as a noun, we would say "everything." As an adverb, it means "in every way", "on every side," and "altogether."
things - There is no word, "things," in the Greek source, but this word comes from the neuter, plural form of the previous adjective.
missing "you"-- (MW) The untranslated word "you" is not shown in the English translation, but it is emphasized in the Greek. It begins the verse. The pronoun information is part of the verb and adding the pronoun itself is only added to emphasized it. The sense is saying, "you yourself," in English.
So -- (WW) The Greek word translated as "so" means "but", "however", and "on the other hand". Since it always falls in the second position, translating it as "however" often captures its feeling better.
be on your guard; -- (WW) The verb translated as "be on your guard" means "to see", "to look to", "to look like", "to beware", and "to look for." It is the more tangible sense of seeing, such as seeing what is right in front of you rather than understanding "look" in English.
I -- This is from the first-person, singular form of the following verb.
have -- This helping verb "have" indicates that the following verb is the tense indicating an action competed in the past.
told -- (CW) The Greek verb translated as "told" means "foretold". It is a compound word, using the common word for "to say" and "to speak" with the prefix meaning "before." It is used here in the sense saying something before. This is not one of the words usually translated as "told."
you -- This form of you could be a simple indirect object, but the form can also mean "for your benefit."
all -- The word translated as "all" is the Greek adjective meaning "all", "the whole", "every," and similar ideas. When it is used as a noun, we would say "everything." As an adverb, it means "in every way", "on every side," and "altogether."
ahead -- This is from the prefix of the verb above which means "before."
of time. -- (IW) There are no Greek word that can be translated as "of time" in the Greek source.
missing "you"-- (MW) The untranslated word "you" is not shown in the English translation, but it is emphasized in the Greek. It begins the verse. The pronoun information is part of the verb and adding the pronoun itself is only added to emphasized it. The sense is saying, "you yourself," in English.
missing "but"-- (MW) The untranslated word "but", "however", and "on the other hand". Since it always falls in the second position, translating it as "however" often captures its feeling better.
Watch out; -- The verb translated as "watch out" means "to see", "to look to", "to look like", "to beware", and "to look for." It is the more tangible sense of seeing, such as seeing what is right in front of you rather than understanding "look" in English.
I -- This is from the first-person, singular form of the following verb.
have -- This helping verb "have" indicates that the following verb is the tense indicating an action competed in the past.
warned -- (CW) The Greek verb translated as "warned" means "foretold" it is a compound word, using the common word for "to say" and "to speak" with the prefix meaning "before." It is used here in the sense saying something before. This is not the specific meaning of the word in this situation. .
you -- This form of you could be a simple indirect object, but the form can also mean "for your benefit."
about this -- (WW) The word translated as "about this" is the Greek adjective meaning "all", "the whole", "every," and similar ideas. When it is used as a noun, we would say "everything." As an adverb, it means "in every way", "on every side," and "altogether."
ahead -- This is from the prefix of the verb above which means "before."
of time. -- (IW) There are no Greek word that can be translated as "of time" in the Greek source.
ὑμεῖς [92 verses](pron 2nd pl nom) "You" is hymeis, which is the plural nominative form of the second person, "you." -- The pronoun "you" is used explicitly as the subject of the sentence. When it has no verb, the verb "is" or the previous verb is assumed. When it is already part of the verb, its use here creates emphasis on the "you" as we might say "you yourselves." It sometimes precedes a verbal adjective or infinitive where it is not part of the verb. It is plural.
δὲ [446 verses](conj) "But" is de which means "but" and "on the other hand." It is the particle that joins sentences in an adversarial way but can also be an explanation of indirect cause ("so").
βλέπετε: [46 verses](verb 2nd pl pres imperat act) "Take heed" is from of blepo, which means "to look," "to see," "to look to," "to look like," "to rely on," "to look longingly," "to propose," "to beware," "to behold," and "to look for." Used with the prepostion meaning "from" (ἀπὸ) to means "watch out."
προείρηκα [2 verses](verb 1st sg perf ind act) "Foretold" is prolego, which means to "say beforehand", or "say by way of preface."
ὑμῖν [289 verses](pron 2nd pl dat) "To you" is humin the plural form of su the pronoun of the second person, "you."
πάντα. [212 verses](adj pl neut acc) "All things" is pas, which means "all," "the whole," "every," "anyone," "all kinds," and "anything." In the adverbial form, it means "every way," "on every side," "in every way," and "altogether."
Instead of asking us to hear his words, Christ asking us to seem them. In doing so, he doesn't use the Greek verb for "see" in the sense of "understanding" but an alternative verb that means physical seeing.
By using the adjective "all" here, Jesus is being either purposely vague or all specifically all encompassing, referring simultaneously to his predictions about the end times, false prophets, and the good times that follow. As with all Christ's prophecies, he leave us our freedom to choose him meaning.
The vagueness regarding what is being predicted is structural in the use of the adjective "all" without a noun to apply it too. Jesus can tell us the future, but he always leaves us our freedom to decide what he means. If we knew the future specifically, we would have no freedom to choose.
So in saying this, Christ could be saying that he as predicted these things or that he has commanded them beforehand. In other words, he has chosen all things beforehand.
What does he refer to here? He has been talking generally about the end times, but his previous verse was about the coming false prophets. Christ covers them all.