What Does Mark 13:31 Mean?
The heavens and the earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.THE KEY
Heaven and earth and Jesus’ words share the same verb of passing, but the verse emphatically excludes his words from that end.
THE MEANING
What seems most solid around you is not the final measure of permanence. Jesus’ words endure beyond the order of heaven and earth, so their lasting does not depend on the world that hears them.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
This undoes the assumption that what is vast and visible must last longer than what is spoken: the verse says heaven and earth pass, while Jesus’ words do not.
THE ROOT
λόγοι
logoi
GROWS FROM
λεγ-/λογ- (leg-/log-)
Say, speak, tell; this word family names speech and what is spoken.
English “words” can sound like fragile sentences, but λόγοι names what is spoken, the sayings themselves. Jesus’ speech shares the verse’s scale with heaven and earth, yet is expressly excluded from their passing.
ALSO GROWS
legō: say, speak
λέγω
This verb belongs to the same word family and shows that the λόγοι here are spoken sayings.
logion: utterance, saying, oracle
λόγιον
This branch also names a spoken declaration, keeping attention on the substance of what is said.
logizomai: reckon, count, consider
λογίζομαι
This related form carries the word family into reckoning and thought, showing its reach beyond a sound alone.
παρέρχομαι
parerchomai
GROWS FROM
ἔρχομαι
erchomai
Come or go; move from one place or state to another.
The same verb forms both halves of the verse: heaven and earth pass away, while Jesus’ words are emphatically said not to pass away. The second clause denies that movement to his words, making their endurance the sharp exception.
ALSO GROWS
eiserchomai: enter, come in
εἰσέρχομαι
This compound uses the same come-and-go root, with a prefix that marks movement inward.
exerchomai: go out, come forth
ἐξέρχομαι
This compound marks movement outward; beside it, παρέρχομαι names passing by or away.
THE PATTERN
Created forms can fade or pass away while the word of God remains.
The grass dries, the flower withers, but the word of our God stands for the ages.They will perish, but you remain; and they will all wear out like a garment.But the word of the Lord remains for the ages. And this is the word that was brought to you as good news.THE THREAD
In the beginning was the word, and the word was turned toward God, and the word was God.John uses the Greek noun λόγος (logos, “Word”), the singular form of the same word family as Mark’s λόγοι (“words”). John places the Word at the beginning; Mark declares that Jesus’ words remain when heaven and earth pass away.
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