Mark 11
The full text of Mark 11 in the Trinity Bible Version — clear modern English, translated from the original Greek. Free to read.
1 As they were approaching Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany near the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples
2 and said to them, "Go to the village ahead of you. As soon as you enter it, you will find a colt tied up, one that no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here.
3 If anyone asks you, 'Why are you doing this?' say, 'The Lord needs it.' And right away he will send it back here.
4 They went and found a colt tied at a door outside on the street, and they untied it.
5 Some of the people standing there asked them, "What are you doing, untying that colt?"
6 They answered as Jesus had told them, and the people let them go.
7 They brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, and he sat on it.
8 Many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches they had cut from the fields.
9 Those going ahead and those following were shouting, "Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the LORD!
10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest heaven!
11 He entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. After looking around at everything, since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.
12 The next day, as they were leaving Bethany, he was hungry.
13 Seeing a fig tree in leaf from a distance, he went to see if he might find any fruit on it. But when he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.
14 In response he said to the tree, "No one will ever eat fruit from you again!" And his disciples were listening.
15 They came to Jerusalem, and he entered the temple courts and began driving out those selling and buying in the temple. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those selling doves,
16 And he would not let anyone carry merchandise through the temple courts.
17 And he was teaching them, saying, "Is it not written: 'My house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations'? But you have made it 'a den of robbers.'"
18 The chief priests and the scribes heard this and kept looking for a way to kill him, because they feared him—for the whole crowd was astounded by his teaching.
19 When evening came, they went out of the city.
20 In the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots.
21 Peter remembered and said to him, "Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered."
22 "Have faith in God," Jesus replied.
23 Truly I tell you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,' and does not waver in their heart but trusts that what they say is coming to pass—it will be theirs.
24 That is why I tell you: whatever you ask for when you pray, believe you have received it, and it will be yours.
25 And whenever you stand praying, forgive whatever you hold against anyone, so that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your wrongs.
27 They came again to Jerusalem. As Jesus was walking in the temple courts, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to him,
28 and they 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'll ask you one question. Answer me, and I'll tell you by what authority I do these things.
30 John's baptism—was it from heaven or from men? Answer me.
31 They discussed it among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will say, 'Then why didn't you believe him?'
32 But if we say, 'From men'—they feared the crowd, for everyone considered John to be a real prophet.
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."
Translation notes (20)
- Mark 11:3a Or 'its owner needs it' — κύριος + genitive pronoun in Koine often means 'owner of' (cf. Matt 20:8; Mark 12:9). On that reading, the speaker is claiming ownership, not divine authority.
- Mark 11:3b This can also be translated "or 'and he will send it right back here.'" The Greek verb apostellei is in the present indicative tense; this part of the sentence may continue the disciples' quoted speech (as a promise) or be Mark's narration about the owner's prompt return. The Greek language does not clearly indicate which meaning is intended.
- Mark 11:8a The Greek word stibadas refers to leafy branches or rushes used as bedding or matting, which were cut here from the fields (not "trees" as in some traditional translations).
- Mark 11:9a "Hosanna" is a Greek transliteration of the Hebrew/Aramaic hoshi'a-na, meaning "save now" or "please." It is a cry of acclamation drawn from Psalm 118:25–26.
- Mark 11:10a "Hosanna" transliterates Greek ὡσαννά, from Hebrew הוֹשִׁיעָה־נָּא (Ps 118:25), originally "save now" but used here as a shout of acclamation.
- Mark 11:10b This can also be translated "or 'the kingdom of our father David that is coming.'" The Greek word erchomenē, used here as a description, echoes ho erchomenos in verse 9, indicating that the kingdom itself is arriving in a way that relates to the end times.
- Mark 11:10c Some manuscripts (A K N Γ Δ Θ f1 f13) add "in the name of the Lord" after "kingdom," making the text consistent with verse 9. This phrase is omitted in other manuscripts (ℵ B C L W Ψ 892) and is not included in the critical Greek text.
- Mark 11:14a The Greek phrase mēketi eis ton aiōna, which literally means "no longer into the age," is an emphatic way of saying "never again."
- Mark 11:15a The Greek phrase "the temple" (to hieron) refers to the wider temple complex, likely the Court of the Gentiles, rather than the inner sanctuary (naos).
- Mark 11:16a The Greek word skeuos means "vessel" or "container." In this context, it likely refers to goods or merchandise being transported as a shortcut through the temple grounds.
- Mark 11:17a This is a combined quotation from Isaiah 56:7 ("house of prayer for all the nations") and Jeremiah 7:11 ("den of robbers"). Mark is the only one among the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke to keep the phrase "for all the nations."
- Mark 11:17b The Greek word lēstēs means a violent bandit or insurrectionist (see Mark 15:27). The historian Josephus also used this term for armed brigands, indicating it refers to more than a petty thief.
- Mark 11:19a The Greek verb here is plural, meaning 'they were going out,' which likely refers to Jesus and his disciples; however, some manuscripts read the singular, 'he went out.'
- Mark 11:22a Greek πίστιν θεοῦ; standard objective genitive ('faith in God'). A minority but serious reading takes it as subjective ('the faithfulness of God'); cf. identical construction in Rom 3:3.
- Mark 11:22b A few early manuscripts (D Θ f13, and several Old Latin versions) include the Greek word ei, reading 'if you have faith in God' (ei echete pistin theou), which makes verse 22 conditional with verse 23. However, the critical Greek text does not include ei.
- Mark 11:23a The Greek word diakrithē means 'be divided' or 'waver.' This verb echoes the language of being 'double-minded' found in James 1:6–8, suggesting more than just intellectual doubt.
- Mark 11:23b The Greek verb ginetai is in the present tense ('is coming to pass' or 'is happening'), which is deliberately paired with the future tense verb estai ('it will be') at the end of the sentence, indicating a purposeful shift in time.
- Mark 11:24a The Greek verb elabete is in the aorist tense ('you received'), which is rendered in English as the perfect tense to convey the completed action behind the request. Some interpret this as 'proleptic,' meaning 'believe that you received it [as already granted].'
- Mark 11:25a The Greek word paraptōmata means 'false steps,' 'lapses,' or 'offenses'; it is traditionally translated as 'trespasses.'
- Mark 11:25b Some later manuscripts add verse 26, which reads: 'But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.' This verse is omitted by manuscripts א B L W Δ Ψ but included by A C D Θ 𝔐.
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