Mar 13:7 And when you shall hear of wars and rumours of wars...
Mar 13:7 And when you shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be you not troubled: for [such things] must needs be; but the end [shall] not [be] yet.
Alternative: But whenever you might hear [of] wars and something heard about wars, don't get excited. They are needed for the becoming but not yet the purpose.
Wordplay: The word "hear" and "rumours" are just different forms of the same word. The repeat of the verb and noun sets up a kind of echo, hearing what was heard, indicating that some of what we hear is not real, just an echo.
Hidden meaning: The word translated here as "be" actually means "becoming" and is used quite a lot by Christ to indicate that a larger process is going on. In the Lord's Prayer, for example, this word is translated into "You will be done," but the sense is much more "Your will is coming into being," not an command like it sounds in English, but the recognition of a process of becoming. So Christ is saying that wars (and our taking and complaining about them) is part of this process of becoming.
The word translated as "end" doesn't mean "end" simply in the sense of a finish, a stopping. It means end in the sense of a purpose, a goal. So Christ says that these wars are needed, but not a goal in themselves, rather a necessary by product of the process of becoming.
An easy interpretation of this is the wars are a necessary by product of human freedom, which is necessary for the becoming.
Thematically and Linguistically Related Verse(s): Mat 24:6 is the parallel verse in Matthew.
Vocabulary:
"And" is from de (de), which means "but." It is the particle that joins sentences and an adversarial way.
"When" is from hotan (hotan), which means "whenever (as a condition)," and "since (as a cause)."
"Shall hear" is from akouô (akouo), which means "hear of," "hear tell of," "what one actually hears," "know by hearsay," "listen to," "give ear to," "hear and understand," and "understand."
"War" is from polemos, (polemos), which means "war," "battle," or "fight."
"Rumours" is from akoê, (akoe) which means "hearing," "something heard," "the sense of hearing," and "ear." This is the noun form of the verb above.
"Be troubled" is from throeô, (throeo) which means "to speak," "to say," "to speak out," "to utter aloud," "to scare (causal)," "to terrify (casual)", and "to be stirred or moved (passive)." The passive is used here.
"For" comes from gar (gar) which is the introduction of a clause explaining a reason or explanation: "for," "since," and "as." In an abrupt question it means "why" and "what."
"Must needs" is from, dei (dei), which means "needful," and "there is need."
"Be" is from gignomai (ginomai), which means "to become," "to come into being," "to be produced," and "to be."
"End" is from telos, which means "come to pass," "performance," "consumation," "result," "product," "outcome," "end," "achievement," "attainment," "goal," "state of completion," "maturity," "services rendered," "something done," "task," "duty," "toll," and "custom."
"But" is from alla (alla), which means "otherwise," "but," "still," "at least," "except," "yet," nevertheless," "rather," "moreover," and "nay." It denotes an exception or a simple opposition.
