Mark 13:17

17 And woe to those {who are pregnant} and to those who are nursing [their babies] in those days!

Mark 13:17 Meaning and Commentary

Mark 13:17

But woe to them that are with child
Who because of their burdens, would be very unfit for, and very incapable of fleeing with any haste; and therefore very liable to fall into the hands of the enemy, and become their prey:

and to them that give suck in those days;
who could not bear to leave their children behind, and yet would not be able to carry them with them; at least not without great trouble, and which would much retard their flight, and endanger their being taken by the enemy; (See Gill on Matthew 24:19).

Mark 13:17 In-Context

15 The one who is on his housetop must not come down or go inside to take anything out of his house,

16 and the one who is in the field must not turn back to pick up his cloak.

17 And woe to those {who are pregnant} and to those who are nursing [their babies] in those days!

18 But pray that it will not happen in winter.

19 For [in] those days there will be tribulation of such a kind as has not happened from the beginning of the creation that God created until now, and never will happen.

Footnotes

• [a]. Literally "who have in the womb"
• [b]. *The words "[their babies]" are not in the Greek text but are supplied as a necessary clarification