Many spread their garments on the way, and others were cutting down branches from the trees, and spreading them on the road.
Parallel translations
- KJV And many spread their garments in the way: and others cut down branches off the trees, and strawed them in the way.
- BSB Many in the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut from the fields.
- NKJV And many spread their clothes on the road, and others cut down leafy branches from the trees and spread them on the road.
- NASB And many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches which they had cut from the fields.
- NLT Many in the crowd spread their garments on the road ahead of him, and others spread leafy branches they had cut in the fields.
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
The crowds spread garments and leafy branches on the road to welcome Jesus as a king.
Overview
Laying cloaks and branches on the path was a gesture of royal welcome and celebration. The crowd honors Jesus as a coming king, even if many misunderstand the nature of His kingdom. Their enthusiasm fulfills the messianic expectation while pointing ahead to the very different reception He will receive days later.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 1
- Lev 23:40You shall take on the first day the fruit of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before Yahweh your God seven days.
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 11:8 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.