Mark 11
Christian Standard Bible
The Triumphal Entry
11 When(A) they approached Jerusalem,(B) at Bethphage and Bethany(C) near the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples 2 and told them, “Go into the village ahead of you. As soon as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, 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 needs it and will send it back here right away.’”
4 So they went and found a colt outside in the street, tied by a door. They untied it, 5 and some of those standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” 6 They answered them just as Jesus had said; so they let them go.
7 They brought the colt to Jesus and threw their clothes on it, and he sat on it. 8 Many people spread their clothes on the road,(D) and others spread leafy branches cut from the fields.[a] 9 Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted:
Hosanna!
Blessed is he who comes
in the name(E) of the Lord
10 Blessed is the coming kingdom(G)
of our father David!(H)
Hosanna(I) in the highest heaven!
11 He went into Jerusalem(J) and into the temple.(K) After looking around at everything, since it was already late, he went out to Bethany(L) with the Twelve.
The Barren Fig Tree Is Cursed
12 The(M) next day when they went out from Bethany, he was hungry. 13 Seeing in the distance a fig(N) tree with leaves, he went to find out if there was anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for it was not the season for figs. 14 He said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit(O) from you again!”(P) And his disciples(Q) heard it.
Cleansing the Temple
15 They came to Jerusalem,(R) and he went into the temple(S) and began to throw out those buying and selling. He overturned the tables of the money changers(T) and the chairs of those selling doves, 16 and would not permit anyone to carry goods through the temple. 17 He was teaching them: “Is it not written,(U) My house(V) will be called a house of prayer(W) for all nations?[c] But you have made it a den of thieves!”[d](X)
18 The chief priests and the scribes(Y) heard it and started looking for a way to kill him. For they were afraid(Z) of him, because the whole crowd was astonished by his teaching.
19 Whenever evening came, they would go out of the city.
The Barren Fig Tree Is Withered
20 Early(AA) in the morning, as they were passing by, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots up. 21 Then Peter(AB) remembered and said to him, “Rabbi,(AC) look! The fig tree that you cursed(AD) has withered.”
22 Jesus replied to them, “Have faith in God.(AE) 23 Truly I tell you,(AF) if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt(AG) in his heart, but believes(AH) that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.(AI) 24 Therefore I tell you, everything you pray(AJ) and ask for(AK)—believe that you have received[e](AL) it and it will be yours. 25 And whenever you stand(AM) praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive(AN) him, so that your Father(AO) in heaven(AP) will also forgive(AQ) you your wrongdoing.”[f]
The Authority of Jesus Challenged
27 They(AR) came again to Jerusalem.(AS) As he was walking in the temple,(AT) the chief priests, the scribes,(AU) and the elders(AV) came 28 and asked him, “By what authority(AW) are you doing these things? Who gave you this authority to do these things?”
29 Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question;(AX) then answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 30 Was John’s baptism(AY) from heaven or of human origin? Answer me.”
31 They discussed it among themselves: “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Then why didn’t you believe(AZ) him?’ 32 But if we say, ‘Of human origin’”—they were afraid of the crowd, because everyone thought that John was truly a prophet.(BA) 33 So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”
And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”
Footnotes
- 11:8 Other mss read others were cutting leafy branches from the trees and spreading them on the road
- 11:9 Ps 118:26
- 11:17 Is 56:7
- 11:17 Jr 7:11
- 11:24 Some mss read you receive; other mss read you will receive
- 11:25 Some mss include v. 26: “But if you don’t forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your wrongdoing.”
Mark 11
Contemporary English Version
Jesus Enters Jerusalem
(Matthew 21.1-11; Luke 19.28-40; John 12.12-19)
11 Jesus and his disciples reached Bethphage and Bethany near the Mount of Olives. When they were getting close to Jerusalem, Jesus sent two of them on ahead. 2 He told them, “Go into the next village. As soon as you enter it, you will find a young donkey that has never been ridden. Untie the donkey and bring it here. 3 If anyone asks why you are doing this, say, ‘The Lord[a] needs it and will soon bring it back.’ ”
4 The disciples left and found the donkey tied near a door that faced the street. While they were untying it, 5 some of the people standing there asked, “Why are you untying the donkey?” 6 They told them what Jesus had said, and the people let them take it.
7 The disciples led the donkey to Jesus. They put some of their clothes on its back, and Jesus got on. 8 Many people spread clothes on the road, while others spread branches they had cut from the fields.[b]
9 (A) In front of Jesus and behind him, people went along shouting,
“Hooray![c]
God bless the one who comes
in the name of the Lord!
10 God bless the coming kingdom
of our ancestor David.
Hooray for God
in heaven above!”
11 After Jesus had gone to Jerusalem, he went into the temple and looked around at everything. But since it was already late in the day, he went back to Bethany with the twelve disciples.
Jesus Puts a Curse on a Fig Tree
(Matthew 21.18,19)
12 When Jesus and his disciples left Bethany the next morning, he was hungry. 13 From a distance Jesus saw a fig tree covered with leaves, and he went to see if there were any figs on the tree. But there were none, because it wasn't the season for figs. 14 So Jesus said to the tree, “Never again will anyone eat fruit from this tree!” The disciples heard him say this.
Jesus in the Temple
(Matthew 21.12-17; Luke 19.45-48; John 2.13-22)
15 After Jesus and his disciples reached Jerusalem, he went into the temple and began chasing out everyone who was selling and buying. He turned over the tables of the moneychangers and the benches of those who were selling doves. 16 Jesus would not let anyone carry things through the temple. 17 (B) Then he taught the people and said, “The Scriptures say, ‘My house should be called a place of worship for all nations.’ But you have made it a place where robbers hide!”
18 The chief priests and the teachers of the Law of Moses heard what Jesus said, and they started looking for a way to kill him. They were afraid of him, because the crowds were completely amazed at his teaching.
19 That evening, Jesus and the disciples went outside the city.
A Lesson from the Fig Tree
(Matthew 21.20-22)
20 As the disciples walked past the fig tree the next morning, they noticed that it was completely dried up, roots and all. 21 Peter remembered what Jesus had said to the tree. Then Peter said, “Teacher, look! The tree you put a curse on has dried up.”
22 Jesus told his disciples:
Have faith in God! 23 (C) If you have faith in God and don't doubt, you can tell this mountain to get up and jump into the sea, and it will. 24 Everything you ask for in prayer will be yours, if you only have faith.
25-26 (D) Whenever you stand up to pray, you must forgive what others have done to you. Then your Father in heaven will forgive your sins.[d]
A Question about Jesus' Authority
(Matthew 21.23-27; Luke 20.1-8)
27 Jesus and his disciples returned to Jerusalem. And as he was walking through the temple, the chief priests, the nation's leaders, and the teachers of the Law of Moses came over to him. 28 They asked, “What right do you have to do these things? Who gave you this authority?”
29 Jesus answered, “I have just one question to ask you. If you answer it, I will tell you where I got the right to do these things. 30 Who gave John the right to baptize? Was it God in heaven or merely some human being?”
31 They thought it over and said to each other, “We can't say that God gave John this right. Jesus will ask us why we didn't believe John. 32 On the other hand, these people think that John was a prophet. So we can't say it was merely some human who gave John the right to baptize.”
They were afraid of the crowd 33 and told Jesus, “We don't know.”
Jesus replied, “Then I won't tell you who gave me the right to do what I do.”
Footnotes
- 11.3 The Lord: Or “The master of the donkey.”
- 11.8 spread … branches from the fields: This was one way that the Jewish people welcomed a famous person.
- 11.9 Hooray: This translates a word that can mean “please save us.” But it is most often used as a shout of praise to God.
- 11.25,26 your sins: Some manuscripts add, “But if you do not forgive others, God will not forgive you.”
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.
