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.”
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.
- 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.”
- 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 17:25neither is he served by men’s hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he himself gives to all life and breath, and all things.
- Mark 14:15He will himself show you a large upper room furnished and ready. Get ready for us there.”
- Acts 10:36The word which he sent to the children of Israel, preaching good news of peace by Jesus Christ — he 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, that you through his poverty might become rich.
- Acts 1:24They prayed, and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all men, show which one of these two you have chosen
- 1 Chr 29:12–18Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all! In your hand is power and might! It is in your hand to make great, and to give strength to all!
- Ps 24:1A Psalm by David. The earth is Yahweh’s, with its fullness; the world, and those who dwell therein.
- Ps 110:3Your people offer themselves willingly in the day of your power, in holy array. Out of the womb of the morning, you have the dew of your youth.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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.