He left them, and went out of the city to Bethany, and camped there.
Parallel translations
- KJV And he left them, and went out of the city into Bethany; and he lodged there.
- BSB Then He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where He spent the night.
- NKJV Then He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and He lodged there.
- NASB And He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and spent the night there.
- NLT Then he returned to Bethany, where he stayed overnight.
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 leaves the leaders, goes out to Bethany, and lodges there for the night. He withdraws from confrontation to a place near the city.
Overview
Jesus departs Jerusalem for Bethany, a village on the Mount of Olives where friends like Mary, Martha, and Lazarus lived. This brief withdrawal punctuates the mounting tension of Passion week. It sets the stage for his return the next morning and the events that continue to unfold toward the cross.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- John 11:18Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about fifteen stadia away.
- Luke 24:50He led them out as far as Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them.
- Mark 11:11Jesus entered into the temple in Jerusalem. When he had looked around at everything, it being now evening, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.
- John 11:1Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus from Bethany, of the village of Mary and her sister, Martha.
- Mark 11:19When evening came, he went out of the city.
- Matt 16:4An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and there will be no sign given to it, except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” He left them, and departed.
- Luke 19:29When he came near to Bethsphage and Bethany, at the mountain that is called Olivet, he sent two of his disciples,
- Luke 8:37–38All the people of the surrounding country of the Gadarenes asked him to depart from them, for they were very much afraid. He entered into the boat, and returned.
- Mark 11:1When they came near to Jerusalem, to Bethsphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples,
- Luke 10:38As they went on their way, he entered into a certain village, and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house.
- Mark 3:7Jesus withdrew to the sea with his disciples, and a great multitude followed him from Galilee, from Judea,
- Matt 26:6Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper,
- John 12:1–3Then six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, who had been dead, whom he raised from the dead.
- Hos 9:12Though they bring up their children, yet I will bereave them, so that not a man shall be left. Indeed, woe also to them when I depart from them!
- Jer 6:8Be instructed, Jerusalem, lest my soul be alienated from you; lest I make you a desolation, a land not inhabited.”
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
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
How Matthew 21:17 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.