Mark 11:3

Christian Standard Bible ®

If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here right away.’”

Parallel Translations

King James Version (1611)
And if any man say vnto you, Why doe yee this? Say yee, that the Lord hath need of him: and straightway he will send him hither.

King James Version
And if any man say unto you, Why do ye this? say ye that the Lord hath need of him; and straightway he will send him hither.

English Standard Version
If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?' say, ‘The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.'"

New American Standard Bible
"And if anyone says to you, 'Why are you doing this?' say, 'The Lord has need of it'; and immediately he will send it back here."

New Century Version
If anyone asks you why you are doing this, tell him its Master needs the colt, and he will send it at once."

Amplified Bible
"If anyone asks you, 'Why are you doing this?' say, 'The Lord needs it'; and immediately he will send it here."

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"If anyone says to you, 'Why are you doing this?' you say, 'The Lord has need of it'; and immediately he will send it back here."

Legacy Standard Bible
And if anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?' you say, ‘The Lord has need of it'; and immediately he will send it back here."

Berean Standard Bible
If anyone asks, 'Why are you doing this?' tell him, 'The Lord needs it and will return it shortly.'"

Contemporary English Version
If anyone asks why you are doing that, say, ‘The Lord needs it and will soon bring it back.'"

Complete Jewish Bible
If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?' tell him, ‘The Lord needs it,' and he will send it here right away."

Darby Translation
And if any one say to you, Why do ye this? say, The Lord has need of it; and straightway he sends it hither.

Easy-to-Read Version
If anyone asks you why you are taking the donkey, tell them, ‘The Master needs it. He will send it back soon.'"

Geneva Bible (1587)
And if any man say vnto you, Why doe ye this? Say that the Lord hath neede of him, and straightway he will send him hither.

George Lamsa Translation
And if any man should say to you, Why are you doing this? say to him that our Lord needs it; and immediately he will send it here.

Good News Translation
And if someone asks you why you are doing that, say that the Master needs it and will send it back at once."

Lexham English Bible
And if anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?' say ‘The Lord has need of it, and will send it here again at once.'"

Literal Translation
And if anyone says to you, Why do you do this? say, The Lord has need of it. And he will at once send it here.

American Standard Version
And if any one say unto you, Why do ye this? say ye, The Lord hath need of him; and straightway he will send him back hither.

Bible in Basic English
And if anyone says to you, Why are you doing this? say, The Lord has need of him and will send him back straight away.

Hebrew Names Version
If anyone asks you, 'Why are you doing this?' say, 'The Lord needs him;' and immediately he will send him back here."

International Standard Version
If anyone asks you, 'Why are you doing this?,' say, 'The Lord needs it,' and he will send it back here at once."

Etheridge Translation
And if any man shall say to you, Why do you this ? say to him, Because for our Lord it is requested, and at once he will send him hither.

Murdock Translation
And, if any one say to you, Why do ye this? Say ye to him: Because our Lord hath need of him. And immediately he will send him hither.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And yf any man say vnto you, why do ye so? Say ye, that the Lorde hath neede of hym: and strayghtway he wyll sende hym hyther.

English Revised Version
And if any one say unto you, Why do ye this? say ye, The Lord hath need of him; and straightway he will send him back hither.

World English Bible
If anyone asks you, 'Why are you doing this?' say, 'The Lord needs him;' and immediately he will send him back here."

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
And if any say to you, Why do ye this? Say, The Lord hath need of him; and straightway he will send him hither.

Weymouth's New Testament
And if any one asks you, `Why are you doing that?' say, `The Master needs it, and will send it back here without delay.'"

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And if ony man seye ony thing to you, What doen ye? seie ye, that he is nedeful to the Lord, and anoon he schal leeue hym hidir.

Update Bible Version
And if any one says to you, Why do you do this? say, The Lord has need of him; and right away he will send him back here.

Webster's Bible Translation
And if any man shall say to you, Why do ye this? say ye that the Lord hath need of him; and immediately he will send him hither.

New English Translation
If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?' say, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here soon.'"

New King James Version
And if anyone says to you, "Why are you doing this?' say, "The Lord has need of it,' and immediately he will send it here."

New Living Translation
If anyone asks, ‘What are you doing?' just say, ‘The Lord needs it and will return it soon.'"

New Life Bible
If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing that?' say, ‘The Lord needs it. He will send it back again soon.'"

New Revised Standard
If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?' just say this, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here immediately.'"

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And, if anyone unto you should say - Why are ye doing this? say - The Lord, of him hath need; and, straightway, he sendeth him off again here.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And if any man shall say to you: What are you doing? Say ye that the Lord hath need of him. And immediately he will let him come hither.

Revised Standard Version
If any one says to you, 'Why are you doing this?' say, 'The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.'"

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
And if eny man saye vnto you: why do ye soo? Saye that the Lorde hath neade of him: and streight waye he will sende him hidder.

Young's Literal Translation
and if any one may say to you, Why do ye this? say ye that the lord hath need of it, and immediately he will send it hither.'

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And yf eny man saye vnto you: wherfore do ye that? Then saye ye: The LORDE hath nede therof, and forth with he shal sende it hither.

Mace New Testament (1729)
if any one should ask you, why you do so? tell him, the Lord has occasion for it, and immediately he will send it hither.

Simplified Cowboy Version
If anyone questions you, just tell them the Lord needs it and will return it shortly."

Contextual Overview

¹When they approached Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany near the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples ²and 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. ³If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here right away.’”⁴So they went and found a colt outside in the street, tied by a door. They untied it, ⁵and some of those standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” ⁶They answered them just as Jesus had said; so they let them go. ⁷They brought the donkey to Jesus and threw their clothes on it, and he sat on it. ⁸Many people spread their clothes on the road, and others spread leafy branches cut from the fields. ⁹Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted: ¹⁰Blessed is the coming kingdomof our father David!Hosanna in the highest heaven!

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

that: Psalms 24:1, Acts 10:36, Acts 17:25, 2 Corinthians 8:9, Hebrews 2:7-9

and straightway: Mark 14:15, 1 Chronicles 29:12-18, Psalms 110:3, Acts 1:24

Reciprocal: Psalms 97:5 - the Lord of Matthew 21:2 - General Mark 14:13 - Go Mark 14:14 - The Master Luke 19:31 - the Lord John 21:7 - It is

Cross-References

Genesis 11:4
And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the sky. Let us make a name for ourselves; otherwise, we will be scattered throughout the earth.”

Genesis 11:6
The Lord said, “If they have begun to do this as one people all having the same language, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.

Genesis 11:7
Come, let’s go down there and confuse their language so that they will not understand one another’s speech.”

Genesis 11:18
Peleg lived 30 years and fathered Reu.

Genesis 14:10
Now the Siddim Valley contained many asphalt pits, and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some fell into them, but the rest fled to the mountains.

Exodus 1:14
and made their lives bitter with difficult labor in brick and mortar and in all kinds of fieldwork. They ruthlessly imposed all this work on them.

Exodus 2:3
But when she could no longer hide him, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with asphalt and pitch. She placed the child in it and set it among the reeds by the bank of the Nile.

2 Samuel 12:31
He removed the people who were in the city and put them to work with saws, iron picks, and iron axes, and to labor at brickmaking. He did the same to all the Ammonite cities. Then he and all his troops returned to Jerusalem.

Psalms 64:5
They adopt an evil plan;they talk about hiding traps and say,“Who will see them?”

Proverbs 1:11
If they say—“Come with us!Let’s set an ambush and kill someone.Let’s attack some innocent person just for fun!

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And if any man say unto you,.... As very likely they would, and it would be strange if they should not say something to them, especially the owners of it:

why do ye this? Why do ye untie the ass, and attempt to carry it away, when it is none of your own, and it belongs to another man?

Say ye that the Lord hath need of him; our Lord and yours, the Lord of heaven and earth, and all things in it; it looks as if this title, "the Lord", was what Jesus was well known by; see John 11:28; unless it can be thought, that the owners of the colt were such, that believed in Christ, as is not improbable; and so would at once understand by the language who it was for, and let it go:

and straightway he will send him, hither; as soon as ever he hears that the Lord, by whom he would presently understand Jesus, wanted him for his present purpose; he will send him with all readiness and cheerfulness, without the least hesitation, or making any dispute about it.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

See this passage illustrated in the notes at Matthew 21:1-16.

Mark 11:4

Two ways met - A crossroads. A public place, probably near the center of the village.

Mark 11:5

What do ye, loosing the colt? - Or, why do ye do this? What authority have you for doing it?

See this passage illustrated in the notes at Matthew 21:1-16.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Mark 11:3. And straightway he will send him hither. — From the text, I think it is exceedingly plain, that our Lord did not beg, but borrow, the colt; therefore the latter clause of this verse should be understood as the promise of returning him. Is not the proper translation the following? And if any one say to you, Why do ye this? Say, the Lord hath need of him, and will speedily send him back hither - και ευθεως αυτον αποστελλει ὡδε. Some eminent critics take the same view of the passage.