Mark 11
New American 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 has ever sat; untie it and bring it here. 3 And if anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it’; and immediately he [a]will send it back here.” 4 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 told them just as Jesus had said, and they gave them permission. 7 (D)They *brought the colt to Jesus and *put their cloaks on it; and He sat on it. 8 And many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches which they had cut from the fields. 9 And those who went in front and those who followed were shouting:
“[b]Hosanna!
(E)Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord;
10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David;
[c]Hosanna (F)in the highest!”
11 (G)And Jesus entered Jerusalem and came into the temple area; and after looking around at everything, (H)He left for Bethany with the twelve, since it was already late.
12 (I)On the next day, when they had left Bethany, He became hungry. 13 Seeing from a distance a fig tree in leaf, 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 said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” And His disciples were listening.
Jesus Drives Money Changers from the Temple
15 (J)Then they *came to Jerusalem. And He entered the temple area and began to drive out those who were selling and buying on the temple grounds, and He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling [d]doves; 16 and He would not allow anyone to carry [e]merchandise through the temple grounds. 17 And He began to teach and say to them, “Is it not written: ‘(K)My house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? (L)But you have made it a den of robbers.” 18 And the chief priests and the scribes heard this, and they (M)began seeking how to put Him to death; for they were afraid of Him, because all (N)the crowd was astonished at His teaching.
19 And (O)whenever evening came, [f]they would leave the city.
20 (P)As they were passing by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots up. 21 And being reminded, Peter *said to Him, “(Q)Rabbi, look, the fig tree that 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 thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted to him. 24 Therefore, 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 for your [g]offenses. 26 [[h](W)But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your [i]offenses.”]
Jesus’ Authority Questioned
27 And they *came again to Jerusalem. (X)And as He was walking in the temple area, the chief priests, 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 But 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 considering the implications among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ 32 But should we say, ‘From men’?”—they were afraid of the [j]people, for they all considered John to have been a real prophet. 33 Answering Jesus, they *said, “We do not know.” And Jesus *said to them, “Neither am I telling you by what authority I do these things.”
Footnotes
- Mark 11:3 Lit sends
- Mark 11:9 Aramaic for Save, we pray
- Mark 11:10 Aramaic for Save, we pray
- Mark 11:15 Lit the doves
- Mark 11:16 Lit a vessel; i.e., a receptacle or implement of any kind
- Mark 11:19 I.e., Jesus and His disciples
- Mark 11:25 Or wrongdoings
- Mark 11:26 Early mss do not contain this v
- Mark 11:26 Or wrongdoings
- Mark 11:32 Lit crowd
Mark 11
Amplified Bible
The Triumphal Entry
11 When they were nearing Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany near the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of His disciples,(A) 2 saying to them, “Go into the [a]village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find a [donkey’s] [b]colt tied, which has never been ridden by anyone; untie it and bring it here. 3 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it’; and immediately he will send it here.” 4 So they went away [to the village] and found a colt tied outside at a gate in the street, and they untied it. 5 Some of the people who were standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” 6 They replied to them just as Jesus had directed, and they allowed them to go. 7 They brought the colt to Jesus and put their coats on it, and He sat on it. 8 And many [of the people] spread their coats on the road [as an act of tribute and homage before a new king], and others [scattered a layer of] leafy branches which they had cut from the fields [honoring Him as Messiah].(B) 9 Those who went in front and those who were following [Him] were shouting [in joy and praise],
“Hosanna ([c]Save, I pray)!
Blessed (praised, glorified) is He who comes in the name of the Lord!(C)
10
“Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!
Hosanna in the highest [heaven]!”
11 Jesus entered Jerusalem and went to the temple [enclosure]; and after looking around at everything, He left for Bethany with the twelve [disciples], because it was already late [in the day].
12 On the next day, when they had left Bethany, He was hungry.(D) 13 Seeing at a distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if He would find anything on it. But He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. 14 He said to it, “No one will ever eat fruit from you again!” And His disciples were listening [to what He said].
Jesus Drives Moneychangers from the Temple
15 Then they came to Jerusalem. And He entered the temple [grounds] and began driving out [with force] the people who were [d]selling and buying [animals for sacrifice] in the temple area, and overturned the tables of the moneychangers [who made a profit exchanging foreign money for temple coinage] and the seats of those who were selling doves;(E) 16 and He would not permit anyone to carry [e]merchandise or household wares through the temple [grounds, using the temple area irreverently as a shortcut]. 17 He began to teach and say to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a robbers’ den.”(F) 18 The chief priests and the scribes heard this and began searching for a way to destroy Him; for they were afraid of Him, since the entire crowd was struck with astonishment at His teaching.
19 When evening came, Jesus and His disciples would leave the city.
20 In the morning, as they were passing by, the disciples saw that the fig tree had withered away from the roots up. 21 And remembering, Peter said to Him, “Rabbi (Master), look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered!” 22 Jesus replied, “Have faith in God [constantly]. 23 I assure you and most solemnly say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea!’ and [f]does not doubt in his heart [in God’s unlimited power], but believes that what he says is going to take place, it will be done for him [in accordance with God’s will].(G) 24 For this reason I am telling you, whatever things you ask for in prayer [in accordance with God’s will], believe [with confident trust] that you have received them, and they will be given to you. 25 Whenever you [g]stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him [drop the issue, let it go], so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions and wrongdoings [against Him and others]. 26 [h][But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your transgressions.”]
Jesus’ Authority Questioned
27 They came again to Jerusalem. And as Jesus was walking in the [courts and porches of the] temple, the [i]chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to Him,(H) 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 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 [the Baptist] from heaven [that is, ordained by God] or from men? Answer Me.” 31 They began discussing it with each other, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ 32 But [j]shall we say, ‘From men?’” —they were afraid [to answer because] of the crowd, for everyone considered John to have been a real prophet. 33 So they replied to Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”
Footnotes
- Mark 11:2 Probably Bethphage.
- Mark 11:2 A colt that had not been used was considered holy by the Jews and was fit to carry a king.
- Mark 11:9 Or Save now.
- Mark 11:15 These vendors could charge pilgrims inflated prices for animals designated for sacrifice because OT law forbade the use of animals with blemishes or defects (Deut 17:1 etc.), and the religious leaders had dictated even more stringent requirements. For example, they ruled that a blemish on an eyelid disqualified an animal for sacrifice (according to the Talmud).
- Mark 11:16 Lit a vessel. The Mishnah declared that one should not enter the temple mount with his staff (walking stick) or wallet, or with his shoes on, or with dust on his feet (according to the Talmud). Carrying merchandise through the temple showed even greater disrespect.
- Mark 11:23 Jesus used this moment to emphasize to the disciples that a person’s confident, abiding faith combined with God’s power can produce absolutely amazing results, if the request is in harmony with God’s will. God is fully capable of doing that which man regards as impossible (cf 14:36; James 4:3).
- Mark 11:25 Standing was a common posture for prayer among the Jews (see Matt 6:5).
- Mark 11:26 Early mss do not contain this verse.
- Mark 11:27 These three groups composed the Sanhedrin, the Jewish High Court.
- Mark 11:32 Or if we say.
Mark 11
New Living Translation
Jesus’ Triumphant Entry
11 As Jesus and his disciples approached Jerusalem, they came to the towns of Bethphage and Bethany on the Mount of Olives. Jesus sent two of them on ahead. 2 “Go into that village over there,” he told them. “As soon as you enter it, you will see a young donkey tied there that no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 3 If anyone asks, ‘What are you doing?’ just say, ‘The Lord needs it and will return it soon.’”
4 The two disciples left and found the colt standing in the street, tied outside the front door. 5 As they were untying it, some bystanders demanded, “What are you doing, untying that colt?” 6 They said what Jesus had told them to say, and they were permitted to take it. 7 Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their garments over it, and he sat on it.
8 Many in the crowd spread their garments on the road ahead of him, and others spread leafy branches they had cut in the fields. 9 Jesus was in the center of the procession, and the people all around him were shouting,
“Praise God![a]
Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
10 Blessings on the coming Kingdom of our ancestor David!
Praise God in highest heaven!”[b]
11 So Jesus came to Jerusalem and went into the Temple. After looking around carefully at everything, he left because it was late in the afternoon. Then he returned to Bethany with the twelve disciples.
Jesus Curses the Fig Tree
12 The next morning as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. 13 He noticed a fig tree in full leaf a little way off, so he went over to see if he could find any figs. But there were only leaves because it was too early in the season for fruit. 14 Then Jesus said to the tree, “May no one ever eat your fruit again!” And the disciples heard him say it.
Jesus Clears the Temple
15 When they arrived back in Jerusalem, Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out the people buying and selling animals for sacrifices. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves, 16 and he stopped everyone from using the Temple as a marketplace.[c] 17 He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves.”[d]
18 When the leading priests and teachers of religious law heard what Jesus had done, they began planning how to kill him. But they were afraid of him because the people were so amazed at his teaching.
19 That evening Jesus and the disciples left[e] the city.
20 The next morning as they passed by the fig tree he had cursed, the disciples noticed it had withered from the roots up. 21 Peter remembered what Jesus had said to the tree on the previous day and exclaimed, “Look, Rabbi! The fig tree you cursed has withered and died!”
22 Then Jesus said to the disciples, “Have faith in God. 23 I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart. 24 I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours. 25 But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too.[f]”
The Authority of Jesus Challenged
27 Again they entered Jerusalem. As Jesus was walking through the Temple area, the leading priests, the teachers of religious law, and the elders came up to him. 28 They demanded, “By what authority are you doing all these things? Who gave you the right to do them?”
29 “I’ll tell you by what authority I do these things if you answer one question,” Jesus replied. 30 “Did John’s authority to baptize come from heaven, or was it merely human? Answer me!”
31 They talked it over among themselves. “If we say it was from heaven, he will ask why we didn’t believe John. 32 But do we dare say it was merely human?” For they were afraid of what the people would do, because everyone believed that John was a prophet. 33 So they finally replied, “We don’t know.”
And Jesus responded, “Then I won’t tell you by what authority I do these things.”
Footnotes
- 11:9 Greek Hosanna, an exclamation of praise that literally means “save now”; also in 11:10.
- 11:9-10 Pss 118:25-26; 148:1.
- 11:16 Or from carrying merchandise through the Temple.
- 11:17 Isa 56:7; Jer 7:11.
- 11:19 Greek they left; other manuscripts read he left.
- 11:25 Some manuscripts add verse 26, But if you refuse to forgive, your Father in heaven will not forgive your sins. Compare Matt 6:15.
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