What Does Mark 13:7 Mean in the King James?
And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled: for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
Greek uses the same hearing-family for both “hear” and “reports,” so war news reaching you is not proof that the end has arrived.
THE MEANING
Wars and reports of wars reach you now, but their arrival does not mean that the end has arrived. The verse holds the distinction plainly: these things must happen, and the completion is still “not yet.”
WHAT THIS UNDOES
A frightening report means the final collapse has already arrived.
THE ROOT
ἀκούω
akouō
GROWS FROM
ἀκου-
akou-
Hear, listen; the act of receiving sound or a message.
The Greek verb for “hear” and the noun translated “rumours” belong to the same hearing-family. The words hold war reports inside the act of hearing: the news can reach you without proving that the end has arrived.
ALSO GROWS
akoē: Hearing; report or tidings.
ἀκοή
This is the noun behind “rumours,” linking the report directly to the act of hearing.
hypakouō: Listen to; obey.
ὑπακούω
This related verb shows the family extending from receiving sound to responding to what is heard.
τέλος
telos
GROWS FROM
τελ-
tel-
An end, goal, outcome, or completion.
“end” in this verse is telos. The word can carry the sense of a reached completion, not only a stopping point. The verse separates events that must occur from their culmination: the reports are present, but the τέλος has not yet arrived.
ALSO GROWS
teleō: Complete; bring to completion.
τελέω
This verb makes the completion sense of “end” visible.
teleios: Complete; mature.
τέλειος
This related form describes a state of completion, adding depth to the verse’s distinction between events underway and their final outcome.
THE PATTERN
Alarming news can be real without meaning that the feared culmination has already arrived.
He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD.Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid.Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.THE THREAD
So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.Romans uses ἀκοή (akoē, “hearing”) for the hearing through which a message arrives; Mark uses its same root in ἀκοὰς (akoas, “reports” or “hearings”) for news of war. The shared root makes the channel visible while Mark keeps the report distinct from the arrival of τέλος (telos, “completion” or “end”).
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