Mark 13:35
in Mark 13Therefore keep watch, because you do not know when the master of the house will return—whether in the evening, at midnight, when the rooster crows, or in the morning.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Watch therefore: for ye know not when the lord of the house cometh, whether at even, or at midnight, or at cockcrowing, or in the morning;
KJV
Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning:
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This verse in Mark 13
Commentary
16 notes on this verse(Hom. in Evan. 9) Not only, however, those of us who rule over Churches, but all are required to watch the doors of their hearts, lest the evil suggestions of the devil enter into them, and lest our Lord find us sleeping. Wherefore concluding this parable He adds, Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning: lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.
This site's exposition
instructed the doorkeeper to keep watch
on Mark 13:34-37
The discourse closes on a man who left his house and instructed the doorkeeper to keep watch. The last line, I say to everyone: Keep watch, carries the command from the four disciples to all who hear it.
This site's exposition
when the master of the house
Albert Barnes explains that the four times named are the four divisions into which the Jews divided the night. Theophylact applies them to the stages of a life. Evening stands for old age, midnight for the middle of life, and the rooster's crow for the waking of reason.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
"Away," he cries, "with dull repose, The sleep of death and sinful sloth; With hearts now sober, just and pure, Keep watch, for I am very near."
A commentator
Apostolic ConstitutionsConstitutions of the Holy Apostles Book 7 · Written before 380.
proposed
Be watchful for your life. "Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning, and ye like unto men who wait for their Lord, when He will come, at even, or in the morning, or at cock-crowing, or at midnight. For at what hour they think not, the Lord will come; and if they open to Him, blessed are those servants, because they were found watching. For He will gird Himself, and will make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them." Watch therefore, and pray, that ye do not sleep unto death. For your former good deeds will not profit you, if at the last part of your life you go astray from the true faith.
The Medieval Church3 voices
Therefore, keep watch; for you do not know when the Lord will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at the cock's crow, or in the morning. Lest, when he comes suddenly, he finds you sleeping. However, the man who went on a journey …
But let us also consider what is said from another perspective. Evening signifies the end when someone dies in old age; midnight, when someone reaches the middle of life; cockcrow, when reason begins to unfold in us, for the cock signifies reason, which awakens us …
For we must needs watch with our souls before the death of the body. For he who sleeps applies not his mind to real bodies, but to phantoms, and when he awakes, he possesses not what he had seen; so also are those, whom the love of this world seizes upon in this life; they quit after this life what they dreamed was real.
8 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church1 voice
See again that He has not said, I know not when the time will be, but, Ye know not. For the reason why He concealed it was that it was better for us; for if, now that we know not the end, we are careless, what should we do if we knew it? We should keep on our wickednesses even unto the end. Let us therefore attend to His words; for the end comes at even, when a man dies in old age; at midnight, when he dies in the midst of his youth; and at cockcrow, when our reason is perfect within us; for when a child begins to live according to his reason, then the cock cries loud within him, rousing him from the sleep of sense; but the age of childhood is the morning.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
(4.) His coming will indeed be coming suddenly; it will be a great surprise and terror to those that are careless, and asleep, it will come upon them as a thief in the night. (5.) It is therefore the indispensable duty of all Christ's disciples, to watch, to be awake, and keep awake; " What I say unto you four (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens+odd-straight-quotes
3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives over against the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately, 4 Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled? How apt many of Christ's own disciples are to idolize things that look great, and have been long looked upon as sacred.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-run:43w-of-66
Watch ye therefore,....
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Watch ye - Be diligent, faithful, and waiting for the return of your Lord, who will come at an unexpected hour. Master of the house - Denoting here the Lord Jesus. At even, or at midnight, or ... - This refers to the four divisions into which the Jews divided the night.
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Mark (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1857)
proposed
“But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come. It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake. Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning— lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.” Mark 13:32-37 These verses conclude Mark's report of our Lord's prophecy on the Mount of Olives. They ought to form a personal application of the whole discourse to our consciences. We learn from these verses, that the exact time of our Lord Jesus Christ's second advent is purposely withheld from His church . The event is certain. The precise day and hour are not revealed. "Of that day and hour knows no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven." There is deep wisdom and mercy in this intentional silence. We have reason to thank God that the thing has been hidden from us. Uncertainty about the date of the Lord's return is calculated to keep believers in an attitude of constant expectation, and to preserve them from despondency. What a dreary prospect the early church would have had before it, if it had known for certain that Christ would not return to earth for at least fifteen hundred years! The hearts of men like Athanasius, Chrysostom, and Augustine, might well have sunk within them, if they had been aware of the centuries of darkness through which the world would pass, before their Master came back to take the kingdom. What a quickening motive, on the other hand, true Christians have perpetually had, for a close walk with God!
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Mark (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1857)
proposed
“But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come. It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake.
Watch ye therefore - The more the master is expected, the more diligent ought the servants to be in working, watching, and keeping themselves in readiness. Can one who has received the sentence of his death, and has no right to live a moment, need any admonition to prepare to die? Does not a prisoner who expects his deliverance, hold himself in continual readiness to leave his dungeon?
The words behind it
19 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| γρηγορεῖτε | gregoreite | do watch | G1127 → | 22 times |
| οὖν· | oun | therefore; | G3767 → | 497 times |
| οὐκ | ouk | not | G3756 → | 1664 times |
| οἴδατε | oidate | you know | ||
| γὰρ | gar | for | G1063 → | 1039 times |
| πότε | pote | when | G4219 → | 19 times |
| ὁ | ho | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| κύριος | kurios | master | G2962 → | 711 times |
| τῆς | tes | of the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| οἰκίας | oikias | house | G3614 → | 93 times |
| ἔρχεται | erchetai | comes | G2064 → | 628 times |
| ἢ | e | or | G2228 → | 342 times |
| ὀψὲ | opse | at evening | G3796 → | |
| ἢ | e | or | G2228 → | 342 times |
| μεσονύκτιον | mesonuktion | at midnight | G3317 → | |
| ἢ | e | or | G2228 → | 342 times |
| ἀλεκτοροφωνίας | alektorophonias | when the rooster crows | G219 → | |
| ἢ | e | or | G2228 → | 342 times |
| πρωΐ· | proi | morning; | G4404 → | 11 times |
γρηγορεῖτεdo watch
gregoreiteG1127 →22 times
οὖν·therefore;
ounG3767 →497 times
οὐκnot
oukG3756 →1664 times
οἴδατεyou know
oidate
γὰρfor
garG1063 →1039 times
πότεwhen
poteG4219 →19 times
ὁthe
hoG3588 →19766 times
κύριοςmaster
kuriosG2962 →711 times
τῆςof the
tesG3588 →19766 times
οἰκίαςhouse
oikiasG3614 →93 times
ἔρχεταιcomes
erchetaiG2064 →628 times
ἢor
eG2228 →342 times
ὀψὲat evening
opseG3796 →
ἢor
eG2228 →342 times
μεσονύκτιονat midnight
mesonuktionG3317 →
ἢor
eG2228 →342 times
ἀλεκτοροφωνίαςwhen the rooster crows
alektorophoniasG219 →
ἢor
eG2228 →342 times
πρωΐ·morning;
proiG4404 →11 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Matthew 24:42Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day on which your Lord will come.
it leads to
- Matthew 25:13
Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Revelation 16:15
“Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who remains awake and clothed, so that he will not go naked and let his shame be exposed.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Luke 21:36
So keep watch at all times, and pray that you may have the strength to escape all that is about to happen and to stand before the Son of Man.”
- 1 Thessalonians 5:6
So then, let us not sleep as the others do, but let us remain awake and sober.
- Matthew 25:13
Through
Matthew 24:44For this reason, you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour you do not expect.
it leads to
- Luke 12:40
You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour you do not expect.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Matthew 25:10
But while they were on their way to buy it, the bridegroom arrived. Those who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet, and the door was shut.
- Matthew 24:42
Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day on which your Lord will come.
- Luke 12:40
Through
Mark 13:33Be on your guard and stay alert! For you do not know when the appointed time will come.
it leads to
- Romans 13:11–12
And do this, understanding the occasion. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.
- Romans 13:11–12
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies5
About Mark
This page draws on 13 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Alexander Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture, Mark; Apostolic Constitutions, Constitutions of the Holy Apostles Book 7; Bede, On the Gospel of Mark; Gregory the Dialogist, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Mark (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition); John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Prudentius, A HYMN FOR COCK-CROW; Pseudo-Jerome, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Mark and Theophylact of Ohrid, Catena Aurea by Aquinas.