Mark 13:2

And Jesus answering said unto him, Seest thou these great buildings? there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

13:1-4 See how little Christ values outward pomp, where there is not real purity of heart. He looks with pity upon the ruin of precious souls, and weeps over them, but we do not find him look with pity upon the ruin of a fine house. Let us then be reminded how needful it is for us to have a more lasting abode in heaven, and to be prepared for it by the influences of the Holy Spirit, sought in the earnest use of all the means of grace.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

What manner of stones - The stones here referred to were those used in the building of the temple, and the walls on the sides of Mount Moriah, on which the temple stood. The temple was constructed of white marble, and the blocks were of a prodigious size. Josephus says that these stones were, some of them, 50 feet long, 24 feet broad, and 16 feet in thickness.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

2. And Jesus answering said unto him, Seest thou these great buildings?—"Ye call My attention to these things? I have seen them. Ye point to their massive and durable appearance: now listen to their fate."

there shall not be left—"left here" (Mt 24:2).

one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down—Titus ordered the whole city and temple to be demolished [Josephus, Wars of the Jews, 7.1.1]; Eleazar wished they had all died before seeing that holy city destroyed by enemies' hands, and before the temple was so profanely dug up [Wars of the Jews, 7.8.7].

Matthew Poole's Commentary

See Poole on "Mark 13:1"

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And Jesus answering said unto him,.... The Persic version reads, "unto them"; and so Beza's most ancient copy but as that question is put by one, the reply is made to him:

seest thou these great buildings? how beautiful and strong they are. The Vulgate Latin and Ethiopic versions, add the word all; and the sense is, dost thou take a survey of all these buildings, and of the whole of this stately edifice? and dost thou not admire the strength and grandeur of them? and dost thou not think they will be of long duration, and that the demolition of them is scarcely possible?

There shall not be left one stone upon another. The Syriac and Arabic versions add, "here": as in Matthew 24:9, and so it is read in four of Beza's copies, and in others:

that shall not be thrown down; See Gill on Matthew 24:2.

Geneva Study Bible

And Jesus answering said unto him, Seest thou these great buildings? there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Expositor's Greek Testament

Mark 13:2. βλέπεις: a question, do you see? to fix attention on an object concerning which a startling statement is to be made.—μεγάλας, great buildings, acknowledging the justness of the admiration and pointing to a feature which might seem incompatible with the statement following: that vast strong pile surely proof against destruction!

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

2. there shall not be left] Though now they seem fixed in their places for eternity. And even as He said, less than forty years afterwards, “Zion was ploughed as a field, and Jerusalem became heaps, and the mountain of the House as the high places of the forest” (Micah 3:12). Titus himself was amazed at the massive buildings of Jerusalem, and traced in his triumph the hand of God (Jos. Bell. Jud. vi. 9. 1). At his departure after the capture of the city, he left the tenth legion under the command of Terentius Rufus to carry out the work of demolition, and Josephus tells us (Bell. Jud. vii. 1. 1) that the whole inclosing walls and precincts of the Temple were “so thoroughly levelled and dug up that no one visiting the city would believe it had ever been inhabited.”

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 2. - There shall not be left here one stone upon another, which shall not be thrown down. The word (ῶδε) "here" is rightly inserted; and the prophecy is justified by scientific investigation. The expression is not hyperbolic. Modern investigation shows that the present wall has been rebuilt, probably on the foundation of the older One. Mark 13:2

Vincent's Word Studies

Thrown down (καταλυθῇ)

Rather, loosened down. A very graphic word, implying gradual demolition.