Mark 11
1 When they got close to Jerusalem, approaching Bethphage and Bethany by the Mount of Olives, Jesusa sent two of his students, 2 and he told them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and straightaway when you go into it, you’ll find a foal tied there that no one has ever ridden. Untie it, and bring it. 3 If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing that?’ say, ‘The lord needs it, and he will send it back here straightaway.’”
4 They left and found a foal tied at a door, outside in the street, and they untied it. 5 Some of the people standing there said to them, “What are you doing untying that foal?” 6 So they told them just what Jesus told them, and they let them go. 7 They brought the foal to Jesus, and they spread their cloaks over it, and he sat on it. 8 Many people laid out their cloaks on the road while others laid out leaves they cut from the countryside. 9 Both those who went ahead and those who followed were shouting,
Hoshea na!b
Praisedc be the one who comes representing the LORD!d
10 Praised be the coming reigne of our ancestor David!
Hoshea na, One who is in the highest places!f
11 Jesusg went into Jerusalem to the sacred groundsh and after looking around at everything, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve since it was already late in the evening.
12 The next day, as they were leaving Bethany, he was hungry. 13 He noticed a leafy fig tree from a distance and went to see what he could find on it. When he got there, he found nothing on it except leaves since it wasn’t the season for figs. 14 He reacted by saying to it, “May no one eat fruit from you ever again!” and his students heard.
15 Then they went to Jerusalem, and Jesus went inside the sacred grounds and began to drive out those who were selling and buying in the sacred grounds. He threw over the tables that were for the money changers and the seats for the dove sellers, 16 and he didn’t allow anyone to carry things through the sacred grounds.
17 He began teaching and saying to them, “Isn’t it written that ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all people groups’?i Yet you have turned it into a ‘hideout for robbers’!”j 18 When the lead priests and Bible scholars heard, the started exploring how they could assassinatek him because they were afraid of him since the whole crowd was amazed by his teaching. 19 When evening came, Jesus and his studentsl went outside the city.
20 As they were going by before dawn,m they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. 21 Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you wished ill uponn has withered!”
22 Jesus answered and told them, “Hold ontoo God’sp faithfulness. 23 Honestly, I’m telling you that whoever says to this mountain,q ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea!’ and is not ambivalentr but instead faithfully trustss that what they say will happen, it will happen for them. 24 That’s why I tell you, whatever you pray for and request, trust that you will receive it, and it will be yours. 25 When you stand praying, if you are holding something against anyone, let it go,t so your divineu Father can let your shortfallsv go for you.”
27 w Then they went back to Jerusalem. While Jesusx was walking around the sacred grounds, the lead priests, Bible scholars, and elders came to him 28 and said, “With what authority are you doing these things? Or who gave you this authority to do these things?”
29 “I will ask you about one matter,”y Jesus replied. “Answer me, and I will tell you with what authority I am doing these things: 30 Was John’s submersion from the heavens or from people? Answer me!”
31 They began to deliberate with each other, saying, “If we say ‘from the heavens,’ then he will say, ‘Then why didn’t you trust him?’ 32 However, if we say ‘from people…’” (they were afraid of the crowd since they all said that John was a prophet).
33 “We don’t know,” they responded to Jesus.
And Jesus told them, “Then I won’t tell you with what I authority I’m doing these things either.”
FOOTNOTES:
a Literally, ‘he’
b Traditionally, ‘hosanna.’ ‘Hosanna’ isn’t properly a word. It’s the Hebrew words Hoshea na transferred into Greek letters, and then transferred into English letters. They are a quotation from Psalm 118:25. Na makes it a plea, with the closest English translation being ‘please,’ but it’s stronger than a simple request. Hoshea translates to something like ‘save, deliver, liberate, free, be victorious, be open, rescue, defend.’ The expectation here, since they are pairing it with Heir of David, is that they see Jesus as the rightful king of Israel who will liberate them from Roman rule.
c Traditionally, ‘blessed.’ This word is eulogeo, to ‘speak well of’ that Jesus used when blessing the food when feeding the crowd, and a related word to the action he did toward the children in Mark 10:16.
d Citation of Psalm 118:26
e Traditionally, ‘kingdom.’ It’s one possible translation, but in this context it is not about a country, the place a king controls. It is about the state of being the leader and how that leader directs the people.
f The phrase ‘in the highest’ is the literal translation. It is not what Psalm 118:25 says either in Hebrew or the Greek translation (Septuagint). The Septuagint does use this word in other places, and when it’s plural as it is here, it’s assumed to mean the ‘highest regions,’ meaning the sky or the ‘heavens.’ When it’s singular, it’s traditionally translated as Most High as a way to refer to God. Much like Matthew uses ‘of the heavens’ to refer to God in the same way that American news media refer to ‘The White House’ to mean the president, ‘in the highest’ seems to be referring to something related to God to refer to God without saying it directly.
g Literally, ‘he’
h Traditionally, ‘temple,’ but it’s not referring to the building. Ieros literally means ‘sacred’ or ‘divine’and referred to something connected with God or gods. In this case it is referring to the temple grounds.
i Quotation of Isaiah 56:7
j Quotation of Jeremiah 7:11
k Literally, ‘destroy’
l Literally, ‘they.’ “Jesus and his students” is added for clarity.
m Literally, this word refers to the fourth watch of the night, the last period of darkness before dawn.
n Traditionally, ‘cursed.’ However, kataraomai literally means ‘speak against’ and is not about casting a spell or miraculously causing harm. It is the same meaning we use today when we say, “He cursed at me.” It’s about wishing ill fortunes or declaring impending hardship for someone. It’s the opposite of eulogeo, translated as ‘praise’ or ‘speak well of’ or ‘give well-wishes.’
o Or ‘have’ or ‘remember’ or ‘understand’
p With theou in the genitive case, it would be unusual (so unusual, in fact, that this would be the only instance of it) to have it indicate the object of pistis (‘faithfulness’ or ‘trust’). It is much more likely that this sentence is referring to pistis that is the faithfulness of God, that belongs to God or originates from God.
q Many assume ‘this mountain’ refers to Mount Zion, on which Jerusalem is built. However, another theory that seems more relevant to the context is that while Jesus was approaching Jerusalem, he would have had a clear view of the Herodium and the Dead Sea. According to John A. Beck’s Zondervan Dictionary of Biblical Imagery (2011), “The Herodium was a palace set on top of an artificially shaped mountain. When Herod the Great was looking for a building site for his palace-fortress that would double as a monumental tomb upon his death, he did not find one high enough to suit his ego. Consequently, he picked a site and ordered that the soil and stone of a nearby mountain be moved to his building site. Herod had moved a mountain, an event that became a symbol for the pagan intrusion of a Roman-occupied Promised Land. […] Jewish tradition observes that the Dead Sea is the place for disposing of articles with a pagan connection (Mishnah, Abodah Zarah 3:3, 9). When we link the connotations of the Herodium and the Dead Sea, Jesus’ point becomes clearer. People with wealth and power can move mountains. But in the kingdom of God, those with true faith can demand that the symbols of paganism be sent off to the proper place, and it will happen” (p. 62).
r Traditionally, ‘does not doubt in his heart.’ Literally, it says ‘is not divided in his heart.’ The idea is to have contradictory desires that pull in opposing directions.
s Traditionally, ‘believes’
t Traditionally, ‘forgive.’ This is the same word used in places for sending wives out of the home (divorce) and in Matthew 6 for releasing claim to debt owed. It carries the idea of sending away or releasing. ‘Let go’ here seems to capture a faithful rendering of the word along with the effect of disregarding the past and invalidating any potential future claim for recompense of some kind.
u Literally, ‘father in the heavens’
v Traditionally, ‘trespasses’ or ‘transgressions.’ It literally means ‘a fall to the side’ and can mean to fall short of being able to repay a debt or to try to sidestep an instruction.
w The most reliable manuscripts do not include verse 26, which scholars believe to have been added to make it match Matthew 6:15. It traditionally reads, “But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your sins.”
x Literally, ‘he’
y This word is logos, often translated as ‘word’ in some contexts and can be translated as ‘conversation’ or ‘discussion’ or what speakers have in mind as they speak.