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.
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.”
- BSB If anyone asks, ‘Why are you doing this?’ tell him, ‘The Lord needs it and will return it shortly.’”
- 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 2:7–9Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands:
- Acts 17:25Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;
- Mark 14:15And he will shew you a large upper room furnished and prepared: there make ready for us.
- Acts 10:36The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:)
- 2 Cor 8:9For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.
- Acts 1:24And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen,
- 1 Chr 29:12–18Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all.
- Ps 24:1The earth is the LORD’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.
- Ps 110:3Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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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.