Mark 11
English Standard Version
The Triumphal Entry
11 (A)Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to (B)Bethphage and Bethany, at (C)the Mount of Olives, Jesus[a] sent (D)two of his disciples 2 and said to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, (E)on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it. 3 If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.’” 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 standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” 6 And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go. 7 And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it. 8 And many (F)spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. 9 And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, (G)“Hosanna! (H)Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! 10 Blessed is (I)the coming (J)kingdom of (K)our father (L)David! (M)Hosanna (N)in the highest!”
11 (O)And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, (P)he went out to Bethany with the twelve.
Jesus Curses the Fig Tree
12 (Q)On the following day, when they came from Bethany, (R)he was hungry. 13 (S)And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for (T)it was not the season for figs. 14 And he said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it.
Jesus Cleanses the Temple
15 (U)And they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of (V)the money-changers and the seats of those who sold (W)pigeons. 16 And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. 17 And he was teaching them and saying to them, “Is it not written, (X)‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But (Y)you have made it a den of robbers.” 18 And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and (Z)were seeking a way to destroy him, for they feared him, because (AA)all the crowd was astonished at his teaching. 19 (AB)And when evening came they[b] went out of the city.
The Lesson from the Withered Fig Tree
20 (AC)As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots. 21 And Peter remembered and said to him, (AD)“Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.” 22 And Jesus answered them, “Have (AE)faith in God. 23 (AF)Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, (AG)‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not (AH)doubt in his heart, but (AI)believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. 24 Therefore I tell you, (AJ)whatever you ask in prayer, (AK)believe that you (AL)have received[c] it, and it will be yours. 25 And whenever (AM)you stand praying, (AN)forgive, (AO)if you have anything against anyone, so that (AP)your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”[d]
The Authority of Jesus Challenged
27 (AQ)And they came again to Jerusalem. And as he was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him, 28 and they said to him, (AR)“By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?” 29 Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 30 Was the baptism of John (AS)from heaven or from man? Answer me.” 31 And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, (AT)‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 32 But shall we say, ‘From man’?”—(AU)they were afraid of the people, for they all held that John really was (AV)a prophet. 33 So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”
Footnotes
- Mark 11:1 Greek he
- Mark 11:19 Some manuscripts he
- Mark 11:24 Some manuscripts are receiving
- Mark 11:25 Some manuscripts add verse 26: But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your trespasses
Mark 11
Common English Bible
Jesus enters Jerusalem
11 When Jesus and his followers approached Jerusalem, they came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives. Jesus gave two disciples a task, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village over there. As soon as you enter it, you will find tied up there a colt that no one has ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 3 If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘Its master needs it, and he will send it back right away.’”
4 They went and found a colt tied to a gate outside on the street, and they untied it. 5 Some people standing around said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” 6 They told them just what Jesus said, and they left them alone. 7 They brought the colt to Jesus and threw their clothes upon it, and he sat on it. 8 Many people spread out their clothes on the road while others spread branches cut from the fields. 9 Those in front of him and those following were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord![a] 10 Blessings on the coming kingdom of our ancestor David! Hosanna in the highest!” 11 Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. After he looked around at everything, because it was already late in the evening, he returned to Bethany with the Twelve.
Fig tree and the temple
12 The next day, after leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. 13 From far away, he noticed a fig tree in leaf, so he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing except leaves, since it wasn’t the season for figs. 14 So he said to it, “No one will ever again eat your fruit!” His disciples heard this.
15 They came into Jerusalem. After entering the temple, he threw out those who were selling and buying there. He pushed over the tables used for currency exchange and the chairs of those who sold doves. 16 He didn’t allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. 17 He taught them, “Hasn’t it been written, My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations?[b] But you’ve turned it into a hideout for crooks.”[c] 18 The chief priests and legal experts heard this and tried to find a way to destroy him. They regarded him as dangerous because the whole crowd was enthralled at his teaching. 19 When it was evening, Jesus and his disciples went outside the city.
Power, prayer, and forgiveness
20 Early in the morning, as Jesus and his disciples were walking along, they saw the fig tree withered from the root up. 21 Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look how the fig tree you cursed has dried up.”
22 Jesus responded to them, “Have faith in God! 23 I assure you that whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea’—and doesn’t waver but believes that what is said will really happen—it will happen. 24 Therefore I say to you, whatever you pray and ask for, believe that you will receive it, and it will be so for you. 25 And whenever you stand up to pray, if you have something against anyone, forgive so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your wrongdoings.”[d]
Controversy over authority
27 Jesus and his disciples entered Jerusalem again. As Jesus was walking around the temple, the chief priests, legal experts, and elders came to him. 28 They asked, “What kind of authority do you have for doing these things? Who gave you this authority to do them?”
29 Jesus said to them, “I have a question for you. Give me an answer, then I’ll tell you what kind of authority I have to do these things. 30 Was John’s baptism of heavenly or of human origin? Answer me.”
31 They argued among themselves, “If we say, ‘It’s of heavenly origin,’ he’ll say, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ 32 But we can’t say, ‘It’s of earthly origin.’” They said this because they were afraid of the crowd, because they all thought John was a prophet. 33 They answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”
Jesus replied, “Neither will I tell you what kind of authority I have to do these things.”
Footnotes
- Mark 11:9 Ps 118:26
- Mark 11:17 Isa 56:7
- Mark 11:17 Jer 7:11
- Mark 11:25 11:26 is omitted in most critical editions of the Gk New Testament And if you don’t forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive you your wrongdoings.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible