13:8a

Nation will rise against nation: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Nation means “the people of one country.” In this context it is also possible to translate nation as “tribe” or “ethnic group.”

rise against: The expression rise against means “start to make war against” or “attack.”

Here are some other ways to translate this expression:

Countries will fight each other (Good News Bible)
-or-
People from one tribe will attack people from another tribe.

13:8b

and kingdom against kingdom: The phrase and kingdom against kingdom implies the verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as “will rise” in 13:8a. In many languages it is necessary to supply this verb or another verb with the same meaning here in 13:8b, as well. For example:

kingdoms will attack one another (Good News Bible)
-or-
and the people of one kingdom will march against those of another

kingdom: A kingdom is the territory that a king rules. Here it refers to the people who live in the kingdom.

Here is another way to translate this phrase:

and people who are under one ruler/chief will fight against people who are under another ruler/chief

General Comment on 13:8a–b

The statements in 13:8a and 13:8b are very similar. In some languages it may be natural to combine these statements. For example, the Contemporary English Version says:

Nations and kingdoms will go to war against each other.

13:8c

There will be earthquakes in various places: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as earthquakes refers to sudden and violent movements of the ground. When the ground shakes like this, it often destroys buildings. Jesus said that the earth would shake at different times and in different places. He implied that this would cause much damage and suffering.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

The earth will shake violently in various places.
-or-
In various places earthquakes will happen.

in various places: This phrase means “in different places” or “in many parts of the world.”

13:8d

as well as famines: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as famines refers to prolonged periods when people do not have enough food to eat. They become very hungry and many die of hunger.

The word famines should be distinguished from annual periods when food is usually in short supply. It should also be distinguished from the daily experience of hunger which shows someone that it is time to eat again.

Here is another way to translate this:

…and some people will die of hunger.

13:8e

These are the beginning of birth pains: The clause These are the beginning of birth pains is a metaphor. The word These refers to the terrible events that Jesus predicted in 13:6–8. They would be like the pains that a woman first feels when her child is about to be born. These pains increase until the moment when the child is born. In the same way, these terrible events would be a sign that there would be even more severe suffering in the future. See 13:14–22.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

These sufferings are like the first pains of childbirth.
-or-
These events are like the first pains of a woman before she gives birth. They show that greater suffering is coming.

© 2008 by SIL International®

Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0

All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.