Mark 11
Legacy Standard Bible
The Triumphal Entry
11 (A)And as they *approached Jerusalem, at Bethphage and (B)Bethany, near (C)the Mount of Olives, He *sent two of His disciples, 2 and *said to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, on which no one yet has ever sat; untie it and bring it here. 3 And if anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ you say, ‘The Lord has need of it’; and immediately he [a]will send it back here.” 4 And they went away and found a colt tied at the door, outside in the street; and they *untied it. 5 And some of the bystanders were saying to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” 6 And they spoke to them just as Jesus had told them, and they gave them permission. 7 (D)And they *brought the colt to Jesus and put their garments on it; and He sat on it. 8 And many spread their garments in the road, and others spread leafy branches, having cut them from the fields. 9 And those who went in front and those who followed were shouting:
“Hosanna!
(E)Blessed is He who comes in the name of the [b]Lord;
10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David;
Hosanna (F)in the highest!”
11 (G)And Jesus entered Jerusalem and came into the temple; and after looking around at everything, (H)He left for Bethany with the twelve, since it was already late.
The Barren Fig Tree
12 (I)And on the next day, when they had left Bethany, He became hungry. 13 And seeing at a distance a fig tree that had leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find anything on it; and when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. 14 And He answered and said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” And His disciples were listening.
Jesus Drives Merchants from the Temple
15 (J)Then they *came to Jerusalem. And He entered the temple and began to drive out those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling [c]doves; 16 and He was not permitting anyone to carry [d]merchandise through the temple. 17 And He began to teach and say to them, “Is it not written, ‘(K)My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? (L)But you have made it a robbers’ [e]den.” 18 And the chief priests and the scribes heard this, and (M)began seeking how to destroy Him; for they were afraid of Him, for (N)the whole crowd was astonished at His teaching.
19 (O)And when evening came, [f]they were going out of the city.
20 (P)And as they were passing by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. 21 And being reminded, Peter *said to Him, “(Q)Rabbi, look, the fig tree which You cursed has withered.” 22 And Jesus answered and *said to them, “(R)Have faith in God. 23 (S)Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says [g]is going to happen, it will be granted him. 24 For this reason I say to you, (T)all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted to you. 25 And whenever you (U)stand praying, (V)forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions. 26 [h][(W)But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your transgressions.”]
The Authority of Jesus Challenged
27 Then they *came again to Jerusalem. (X)And as He was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders *came to Him, 28 and began saying to Him, “By what authority are You doing these things, or who gave You this authority to do these things?” 29 And Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question, and you answer Me, and then I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 30 Was the baptism of John from heaven, or from men? Answer Me.” 31 And they began reasoning among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ 32 But if we say, ‘From men’?”—they were afraid of the crowd, for everyone was regarding John to have been a real prophet. 33 And answering Jesus, they *said, “We do not know.” And Jesus *said to them, “Neither [i]will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”
Footnotes
- Mark 11:3 Lit sends
- Mark 11:9 In OT, Yahweh, cf. Ps 118:26
- Mark 11:15 Lit the doves
- Mark 11:16 Lit a vessel
- Mark 11:17 Lit cave
- Mark 11:19 Jesus and His disciples
- Mark 11:23 Lit is happening
- Mark 11:26 Early mss omit this v
- Mark 11:33 Lit do I tell
Mark 11
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 11
The Entry into Jerusalem.[a] 1 When they drew near to Jerusalem,(A) to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples 2 and said to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately on entering it, you will find a colt tethered on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here. 3 If anyone should say to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ reply, ‘The Master has need of it and will send it back here at once.’” 4 So they went off and found a colt tethered at a gate outside on the street, and they untied it. 5 Some of the bystanders said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” 6 They answered them just as Jesus had told them to, and they permitted them to do it. 7 So they brought the colt to Jesus and put their cloaks over it. And he sat on it. 8 Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. 9 Those preceding him as well as those following kept crying out:(B)
“Hosanna!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
10 Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that is to come!
Hosanna in the highest!”
11 He entered Jerusalem and went into the temple area. He looked around at everything and, since it was already late, went out to Bethany with the Twelve.(C)
Jesus Curses a Fig Tree.[b] 12 The next day as they were leaving Bethany he was hungry.(D) 13 Seeing from a distance a fig tree in leaf, he went over to see if he could find anything on it. When he reached it he found nothing but leaves; it was not the time for figs. 14 And he said to it in reply, “May no one ever eat of your fruit again!” And his disciples heard it.
Cleansing of the Temple.[c] 15 They came to Jerusalem,(E) and on entering the temple area he began to drive out those selling and buying there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves. 16 He did not permit anyone to carry anything through the temple area. 17 Then he taught them saying, “Is it not written:
‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples’?
But you have made it a den of thieves.”(F)
18 The chief priests and the scribes came to hear of it and were seeking a way to put him to death, yet they feared him because the whole crowd was astonished at his teaching. 19 When evening came, they went out of the city.(G)
The Withered Fig Tree. 20 (H)Early in the morning, as they were walking along, they saw the fig tree withered to its roots. 21 Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.” 22 Jesus said to them in reply, “Have faith in God. 23 Amen, I say to you, 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 shall be done for him.(I) 24 Therefore I tell you, all that you ask for in prayer, believe that you will receive it and it shall be yours.(J) 25 When you stand to pray, forgive anyone against whom you have a grievance, so that your heavenly Father may in turn forgive you your transgressions.”(K) [26 ][d]
The Authority of Jesus Questioned.[e] 27 They returned once more to Jerusalem.(L) As he was walking in the temple area, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders approached him 28 and said to him, “By what authority are you doing these things? Or who gave you this authority to do them?” 29 Jesus said to them, “I shall ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 30 Was John’s baptism of heavenly or of human origin? Answer me.” 31 They discussed this among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘Of heavenly origin,’ he will say, ‘[Then] why did you not believe him?’ 32 But shall we say, ‘Of human origin’?”—they feared the crowd, for they all thought John really was a prophet. 33 So they said to Jesus in reply, “We do not know.” Then Jesus said to them, “Neither shall I tell you by what authority I do these things.”
Footnotes
- 11:1–11 In Mark’s account Jesus takes the initiative in ordering the preparation for his entry into Jerusalem (Mk 11:1–6) even as he later orders the preparation of his last Passover supper (Mk 14:12–16). In Mk 10:9–10 the greeting Jesus receives stops short of proclaiming him Messiah. He is greeted rather as the prophet of the coming messianic kingdom. Contrast Mt 21:9.
- 11:12–14 Jesus’ search for fruit on the fig tree recalls the prophets’ earlier use of this image to designate Israel; cf. Jer 8:13; 29:17; Jl 1:7; Hos 9:10, 16. Cursing the fig tree is a parable in action representing Jesus’ judgment (Mk 11:20) on barren Israel and the fate of Jerusalem for failing to receive his teaching; cf. Is 34:4; Hos 2:14; Lk 13:6–9.
- 11:15–19 See note on Mt 21:12–17.
- 11:26 This verse, which reads, “But if you do not forgive, neither will your heavenly Father forgive your transgressions,” is omitted in the best manuscripts. It was probably added by copyists under the influence of Mt 6:15.
- 11:27–33 The mounting hostility toward Jesus came from the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders (Mk 11:27); the Herodians and the Pharisees (Mk 12:13); and the Sadducees (Mk 12:18). By their rejection of God’s messengers, John the Baptist and Jesus, they incurred the divine judgment implied in Mk 11:27–33 and confirmed in the parable of the vineyard tenants (Mk 12:1–12).
Mark 11
GOD’S WORD Translation
The King Comes to Jerusalem(A)
11 When they came near Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples ahead of him. 2 He said to them, “Go into the village ahead of you. As you enter it, you will find a young donkey tied there. No one has ever sat on it. Untie it, and bring it. 3 If anyone asks you what you are doing, say that the Lord needs it. That person will send it here at once.”
4 The disciples found the young donkey in the street. It was tied to the door of a house. As they were untying it, 5 some men standing there asked them, “Why are you untying that donkey?” 6 The disciples answered them as Jesus had told them. So the men let them go.
7 They brought the donkey to Jesus, put their coats on it, and he sat on it. 8 Many spread their coats on the road. Others cut leafy branches in the fields and spread them on the road. 9 Those who went ahead and those who followed him were shouting,
“Hosanna!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
10 Blessed is our ancestor David’s kingdom that is coming!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
11 Jesus came into Jerusalem and went into the temple courtyard, where he looked around at everything. Since it was already late, he went out with the twelve apostles to Bethany.
Jesus Curses the Fig Tree(B)
12 The next day, when they left Bethany, Jesus became hungry. 13 In the distance he saw a fig tree with leaves. He went to see if he could find any figs on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves because it wasn’t the season for figs. 14 Then he said to the tree, “No one will ever eat fruit from you again!” His disciples heard this.
Jesus Throws Out the Moneychangers(C)
15 When they came to Jerusalem, Jesus went into the temple courtyard and began to throw out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the moneychangers’ tables and the chairs of those who sold pigeons. 16 He would not let anyone carry anything across the temple courtyard.
17 Then he taught them by saying, “Scripture says, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations,’ but you have turned it into a gathering place for thieves.”
18 When the chief priests and the experts in Moses’ Teachings heard him, they looked for a way to kill him. They were afraid of him because he amazed all the crowds with his teaching.
19 (Every evening Jesus and his disciples would leave the city.)
The Fig Tree Dries Up(D)
20 While Jesus and his disciples were walking early in the morning, they saw that the fig tree had dried up. 21 Peter remembered ⌞what Jesus had said⌟, so he said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has dried up.”
22 Jesus said to them, “Have faith in God! 23 I can guarantee this truth: This is what will be done for someone who doesn’t doubt but believes what he says will happen: He can say to this mountain, ‘Be uprooted and thrown into the sea,’ and it will be done for him. 24 That’s why I tell you to have faith that you have already received whatever you pray for, and it will be yours. 25 Whenever you pray, forgive anything you have against anyone. Then your Father in heaven will forgive your failures.” [a]
Jesus’ Authority Challenged(E)
27 Jesus and his disciples returned to Jerusalem. As he was walking in the temple courtyard, the chief priests, the experts in Moses’ Teachings, and the leaders came to him. 28 They asked him, “What gives you the right to do these things? Who told you that you could do this?”
29 Jesus said to them, “I’ll ask you a question. Answer me, and then I’ll tell you why I have the right to do these things. 30 Did John’s right to baptize come from heaven or from humans? Answer me!”
31 They discussed this among themselves. They said, “If we say, ‘from heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ 32 But if we say, ‘from humans,’ ⌞then what will happen⌟?” They were afraid of the people. All the people thought of John as a true prophet. 33 So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”
Jesus told them, “Then I won’t tell you why I have the right to do these things.”
Footnotes
- 11:25 Some manuscripts and translations add verse 26: “But if you don’t forgive, your Father in heaven will not forgive your failures.”
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