Mark 13:20

If the Lord had not cut short those days, nobody would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, whom He has chosen, He has cut them short.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Jesus addresses his disciples during the Olivet discourse, describing a future period of unprecedented tribulation. He explains the divine intervention that will interrupt this timeframe.

The words — ἐκολόβωσεν (ekolobōsen) literally means "cut short" or "mutilated," describing the Lord’s decisive action on the timeline. κύριος (kurios) identifies the sovereign agent exercising this authority over history.

The thread — This statement runs parallel to Matthew 24:22, which records the identical promise regarding the elect. It echoes Zechariah 13:8, where the Lord declares that He will cut off two-thirds of the land while preserving a remnant.

Why it lands — The text states that survival during the tribulation depends entirely on God’s voluntary interruption of the appointed days. It requires readers to trust in divine election as the sole basis for preservation rather than human endurance or timing.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Greek words

King James Version

And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect’s sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days.

Cross-references

Matthew 24:22 If those days had not been cut short, nobody would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, those days will be cut short.
Isaiah 65:8 This is what the LORD says: “As the new wine is found in a cluster of grapes, and men say, ‘Do not destroy it, for it contains a blessing,’ so I will act on behalf of My servants; I will not destroy them all.
Zechariah 13:8 And in all the land, declares the LORD, two-thirds will be cut off and perish, but a third will be left in it.
Romans 11:28 Regarding the gospel, they are enemies on your account; but regarding election, they are loved on account of the patriarchs.
Isaiah 1:9 Unless the LORD of Hosts had left us a few survivors, we would have become like Sodom, we would have resembled Gomorrah.
Isaiah 6:13 And though a tenth remains in the land, it will be burned again. As the terebinth and oak leave stumps when felled, so the holy seed will be a stump in the land.”
Romans 11:5 In the same way, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace.
Romans 11:23 And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.