If anyone asks, ‘Why are you doing this?’ tell him, ‘The Lord needs it and will return it shortly.’”
Parallel translations
- WEB If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs him;’ and immediately he will send him back here.”
- KJV 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.
- NKJV 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.”
- NASB 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.”
- NLT If anyone asks, ‘What are you doing?’ just say, ‘The Lord needs it and will return it soon.’”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus tells them how to answer any objection: 'The Lord needs him.'
Overview
The phrase 'the Lord needs him' asserts Jesus' rightful authority over the animal and its owner. Whether by prior arrangement or supernatural insight, Jesus directs the scene with sovereign command. This careful staging underscores that Jesus is the Lord deliberately entering His city as King.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Heb 2:7–9You made him a little lower than the angels; You crowned him with glory and honor
- Acts 17:25Nor is He served by human hands, as if He needed anything, because He Himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.
- Mark 14:15And he will show you a large upper room, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.”
- Acts 10:36He has sent this message to the people of Israel, proclaiming the gospel of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.
- 2 Cor 8:9For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.
- Acts 1:24And they prayed, “Lord, You know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two You have chosen
- 1 Chr 29:12–18Both riches and honor come from You, and You are the ruler over all. In Your hands are power and might to exalt and give strength to all.
- Ps 24:1A Psalm of David. The earth is the LORD’s, and the fullness thereof, the world and all who dwell therein.
- Ps 110:3Your people shall be willing on Your day of battle. Arrayed in holy splendor, from the womb of the dawn, to You belongs the dew of Your youth.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Mark drives urgently to the cross, showing Jesus the Son of God as the suffering Servant who 'came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'
How Mark 11:3 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.