13:19a

For:

It may be more natural to say:

I say that because…

In some languages, it will be more natural to put the basis for praying before the command to pray in 13:18. See the General Comment below for an example.

those will be days of tribulation: The phrase those will be days of tribulation refers to days of much trouble or a time of severe distress or suffering.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

because those will be days of distress (New International Version)
-or-
because in those days people will suffer severely
-or-
because at that time there will be very much/many troubles

General Comment on 13:18–19a

In some languages it may be more natural to place the command “Pray…” (13:18) after the basis given in 13:19a. For example:

19aIn those days people will suffer very severely. 18So pray(plur) that this painful time will not happen in winter.
-or-
19aThere will be many troubles at that time. 18That is the reason why you(plur) should pray that this painful time will not happen in winter.

13:19b

unmatched: The word unmatched means “unlike” or “not the same as.” In this context it implies that the sufferings to which Jesus referred would be worse than any previous sufferings that people had ever experienced. For example, the Good News Bible says:

The trouble of those days will be far worse.

from the beginning of God’s creation: The phrase the beginning refers to the time when God created the world. Refer to your translation of Genesis 1:1.

until now: The word now refers to the time at which Jesus was speaking.

13:19c

and never to be seen again: This clause began in 13:19a, so in its complete form it would be “and those days of distress will never be seen again.” Some English versions begin a new sentence here.

never…again: The expression never…again refers to the future time after the time of suffering that Jesus was talking about.

Here is another way to translate this:

and people will never again suffer in the same degree/measure

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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
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