Mark 11
Lexham English Bible
The Triumphal Entry
11 And when they came near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples 2 and said to them, “Go into the village before you, and right away as you[a] enter into it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it.[b] 3 And if anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say[c] ‘The Lord has need of it, and will send it here again at once.’” 4 And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it. 5 And some of those who were standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” 6 So they told them, just as Jesus had said, and they allowed them to take it.[d] 7 And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, and he sat on it. 8 And many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread[e] leafy branches they[f] had cut from the fields. 9 And those who went ahead and those who were following were shouting,
“Hosanna!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord![g]
10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!”[h]
11 And he went into Jerusalem to the temple, and after[i] looking around at everything, because[j] the hour was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.
A Barren Fig Tree Cursed
12 And on the next day as[k] they were departing from Bethany, he was hungry. 13 And when he[l] saw from a distance a fig tree that had leaves, he went to see if perhaps he would find anything on it. And when he[m] came up to it he found nothing except leaves, because it was not the season for figs. 14 And he responded and[n] said to it, “Let no one eat fruit from you any more forever!”[o] And his disciples heard it.[p]
The Cleansing of the Temple
15 And they came to Jerusalem. And he entered into the temple courts[q] and[r] began to drive out those who were selling and those who were buying in the temple courts,[s] and overturned the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those who were selling doves. 16 And he did not permit anyone to carry objects[t] through the temple courts.[u] 17 And he began to teach[v] and was saying to them, “Is it not written,
‘My house will be called a house of prayer
for all the nations,’[w]
but you have made it a cave of robbers!” 18 And the chief priests and the scribes heard it,[x] and began considering[y] how they could destroy him. For they were afraid of him because the whole crowd was astounded by his teaching. 19 And when evening came they went out of the city.
The Barren Fig Tree Withered
20 And as they[z] passed by early in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. 21 And Peter remembered and[aa] said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered!” 22 And Jesus answered and[ab] said to them, “Have faith in God! 23 Truly I say to you that whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea!’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. 24 For this reason I say to you, whatever you pray and ask for, believe that you have received it,[ac] and it will be done for you. 25 And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him,[ad] so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your sins.”[ae]
Jesus’ Authority Challenged
27 And they came again to Jerusalem. And as[af] he was walking in the temple courts,[ag] the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came up to him 28 and said to him, “By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority that you do these things?” 29 So Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question. Answer me and I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. 30 The baptism of John—was it from heaven or from men? Answer me!” 31 And they began to discuss[ah] this[ai] with one another, saying, “What should we say?[aj] If we say ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 32 But if we say, ‘From men’”—they were afraid of the crowd, because they all looked upon John as truly a prophet.[ak] 33 And they replied to Jesus saying, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”
Footnotes
- Mark 11:2 Here “as” is supplied as a component of the participle (“enter”) which is understood as temporal
- Mark 11:2 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Mark 11:3 Some manuscripts omit “that” after “say” here; though understood to be present in the underlying Greek text, it introduces direct discourse here and is left untranslated, functioning much like English quotation marks
- Mark 11:6 The phrase “to take it” is not in the Greek text, but is implied
- Mark 11:8 Here the verb “spread” is an understood repetition of the verb earlier in this verse
- Mark 11:8 Here the participle “had cut” has been translated as a finite verb; it agrees in number, gender, and case with “others,” so “they’ has been supplied to indicate this
- Mark 11:9 A quotation from Ps 118:25–26
- Mark 11:10 *Here “heaven” is understood
- Mark 11:11 Here “after” is supplied as a component of the participle (“looking around”) which is understood as temporal
- Mark 11:11 Here “because” is supplied as a component of the participle (“was”) which is understood as causal
- Mark 11:12 Here “as” is supplied as a component of the temporal genitive absolute participle (“were departing”)
- Mark 11:13 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“saw”) which is understood as temporal
- Mark 11:13 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“came up”) which is understood as temporal
- Mark 11:14 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“responded”) has been translated as a finite verb
- Mark 11:14 Literally “for the age”
- Mark 11:14 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Mark 11:15 Here “courts” is supplied to distinguish this area from the interior of the temple building itself
- Mark 11:15 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“entered”) has been translated as a finite verb
- Mark 11:15 *Here “courts” is supplied to distinguish this area from the interior of the temple building itself
- Mark 11:16 Or “merchandise”
- Mark 11:16 *Here “courts” is supplied to distinguish this area from the interior of the temple building itself
- Mark 11:17 The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began to teach”)
- Mark 11:17 A quotation from Isa 56:7
- Mark 11:18 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Mark 11:18 The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began considering”)
- Mark 11:20 Here “as” is supplied as a component of the participle (“passed by”) which is understood as temporal
- Mark 11:21 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“remembered”) has been translated as a finite verb
- Mark 11:22 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“answered”) has been translated as a finite verb
- Mark 11:24 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Mark 11:25 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Mark 11:25 Most later Greek manuscripts add v. 26 after v. 25, “But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your sins”
- Mark 11:27 Here “as” is supplied as a component of the temporal genitive absolute participle (“was walking”)
- Mark 11:27 *Here “courts” is supplied to distinguish this area from the interior of the temple building itself
- Mark 11:31 The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began to discuss”)
- Mark 11:31 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Mark 11:31 Some manuscripts omit “What should we say?”
- Mark 11:32 Literally “that he was truly a prophet”
Mark 11
Easy-to-Read Version
Jesus Enters Jerusalem Like a King(A)
11 Jesus and his followers were coming closer to Jerusalem. They came to the towns of Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives. There Jesus sent two of his followers to do something. 2 He said to them, “Go to the town you can see there. When you enter it, you will find a young donkey that no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here to me. 3 If anyone asks you why you are taking the donkey, tell them, ‘The Master needs it. He will send it back soon.’”
4 The followers went into the town. They found a young donkey tied in the street near the door of a house, and they untied it. 5 Some people were standing there and saw this. They asked, “What are you doing? Why are you untying that donkey?” 6 The followers answered the way Jesus told them, and the people let them take the donkey.
7 The followers brought the donkey to Jesus. They put their coats on it, and Jesus sat on it. 8 Many people spread their coats on the road for Jesus. Others cut branches in the fields and spread the branches on the road. 9 Some of them were walking ahead of Jesus. Others were walking behind him. Everyone shouted,
10 “God bless the kingdom of our father David.
That kingdom is coming!
Praise to God in heaven!”
11 Jesus entered Jerusalem and went to the Temple. He looked at everything in the Temple area, but it was already late. So he went to Bethany with the twelve apostles.
Jesus Says a Fig Tree Will Die(C)
12 The next day, Jesus was leaving Bethany. He was hungry. 13 He saw a fig tree with leaves. So he went to the tree to see if it had any figs growing on it. But he found no figs on the tree. There were only leaves, because it was not the right time for figs to grow. 14 So Jesus said to the tree, “People will never eat fruit from you again.” His followers heard him say this.
Jesus Goes to the Temple(D)
15 When Jesus and his followers came to Jerusalem, they entered the Temple area. Jesus began driving out the people who were buying and selling things there. He turned over the tables that belonged to those who were exchanging different kinds of money. And he turned over the benches of those who were selling doves. 16 He refused to allow anyone to carry things through the Temple area. 17 Then Jesus began teaching the people and said, “It is written in the Scriptures, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations.’[b] But you have changed it into a ‘hiding place for thieves.’[c]”
18 When the leading priests and the teachers of the law heard what Jesus said, they began trying to find a way to kill him. They were afraid of him because all the people were amazed at his teaching. 19 That night Jesus and his followers left the city.
Jesus Shows the Power of Faith(E)
20 The next morning Jesus was walking with his followers. They saw the fig tree that he spoke to the day before. The tree was dry and dead, even the roots. 21 Peter remembered the tree and said to Jesus, “Teacher, look! Yesterday, you told that fig tree to die. Now it is dry and dead!”
22 Jesus answered, “Have faith in God. 23 The truth is, you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, mountain, fall into the sea.’ And if you have no doubts in your mind and believe that what you say will happen, then God will do it for you. 24 So I tell you to ask for what you want in prayer. And if you believe that you have received those things, then they will be yours. 25 When you are praying and you remember that you are angry with another person about something, forgive that person. Forgive them so that your Father in heaven will also forgive your sins.” 26 [d]
Jewish Leaders Doubt Jesus’ Authority(F)
27 Jesus and his followers went again to Jerusalem. Jesus was walking in the Temple area. The leading priests, the teachers of the law, and the older Jewish leaders came to him. 28 They said, “Tell us! What authority do you have to do these things? Who gave you this authority?”
29 Jesus answered, “I will ask you a question. You answer my question. Then I will tell you whose authority I use to do these things. 30 Tell me: When John baptized people, did his authority come from God or was it only from other people? Answer me.”
31 These Jewish leaders talked about Jesus’ question. They said to each other, “If we answer, ‘John’s baptism was from God,’ then he will say, ‘Then why didn’t you believe John?’ 32 But we can’t say that John’s baptism was from someone else.” (These leaders were afraid of the people, because the people believed that John was a prophet.)
33 So the leaders answered Jesus, “We don’t know the answer.”
Jesus said, “Then I will not tell you who gave me the authority to do these things.”
Footnotes
- Mark 11:9 Praise Literally, “Hosanna,” a Hebrew word used in praying to God for help. Here, it was probably a shout of celebration used in praising God or his Messiah. Also in verse 10.
- Mark 11:17
Quote from Isa. 56:7. - Mark 11:17
Quote from Jer. 7:11. - Mark 11:26 Some early Greek copies add verse 26: “But if you don’t forgive others, then your Father in heaven will not forgive your sins.”
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