English Standard Version ESV
The Message Bible MSG
1 Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples
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When they were nearing Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany on Mount Olives, he sent off two of the disciples with instructions:
2 and said to them, "Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it.
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"Go to the village across from you. As soon as you enter, you'll find a colt tethered, one that has never yet been ridden. Untie it and bring it.
3 If anyone says to you, 'Why are you doing this?' say, 'The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.'"
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If anyone asks, 'What are you doing?' say, 'The Master needs him, and will return him right away.'"
4 And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it.
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They went and found a colt tied to a door at the street corner and untied it.
5 And some of those standing there said to them, "What are you doing, untying the colt?"
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Some of those standing there said, "What are you doing untying that colt?"
6 And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go.
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The disciples replied exactly as Jesus had instructed them, and the people let them alone.
7 And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it.
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They brought the colt to Jesus, spread their coats on it, and he mounted.
8 And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields.
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The people gave him a wonderful welcome, some throwing their coats on the street, others spreading out rushes they had cut in the fields.
9 And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
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Running ahead and following after, they were calling out, Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in God's name!
10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!"
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Blessed the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in highest heaven!
11 And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.
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He entered Jerusalem, then entered the Temple. He looked around, taking it all in. But by now it was late, so he went back to Bethany with the Twelve.
12 On the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry.
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As they left Bethany the next day, he was hungry.
13 And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.
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Off in the distance he saw a fig tree in full leaf. He came up to it expecting to find something for breakfast, but found nothing but fig leaves. (It wasn't yet the season for figs.)
14 And he said to it, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again." And his disciples heard it.
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He addressed the tree: "No one is going to eat fruit from you again - ever!" And his disciples overheard him.
15 And they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons.
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They arrived at Jerusalem. Immediately on entering the Temple Jesus started throwing out everyone who had set up shop there, buying and selling. He kicked over the tables of the bankers and the stalls of the pigeon merchants.
16 And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple.
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He didn't let anyone even carry a basket through the Temple.
17 And he was teaching them and saying to them, "Is it not written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations'? But you have made it a den of robbers."
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And then he taught them, quoting this text: My house was designated a house of prayer for the nations; You've turned it into a hangout for thieves.
18 And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and were seeking a way to destroy him, for they feared him, because all the crowd was astonished at his teaching.
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The high priests and religion scholars heard what was going on and plotted how they might get rid of him. They panicked, for the entire crowd was carried away by his teaching.
19 And when evening came they went out of the city.
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At evening, Jesus and his disciples left the city.
20 As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots.
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In the morning, walking along the road, they saw the fig tree, shriveled to a dry stick.
21 And Peter remembered and said to him, "Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered."
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Peter, remembering what had happened the previous day, said to him, "Rabbi, look - the fig tree you cursed is shriveled up!"
22 And Jesus answered them, "Have faith in God.
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Jesus was matter-of-fact: "Embrace this God-life. Really embrace it,
23 Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be taken up and thrown into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.
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and nothing will be too much for you. This mountain, for instance: Just say, 'Go jump in the lake' - no shuffling or shilly-shallying - and it's as good as done.
24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
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That's why I urge you to pray for absolutely everything, ranging from small to large. Include everything as you embrace this God-life, and you'll get God's everything.
25 And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses."
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And when you assume the posture of prayer, remember that it's not all asking. If you have anything against someone, forgive - only then will your heavenly Father be inclined to also wipe your slate clean of sins."
27 And they came again to Jerusalem. And as he was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him,
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Then when they were back in Jerusalem once again, as they were walking through the Temple, the high priests, religion scholars, and leaders came up
28 and they said to him, "By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?"
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and demanded, "Show us your credentials. Who authorized you to speak and act like this?"
29 Jesus said to them, "I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things.
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Jesus responded, "First let me ask you a question. Answer my question and then I'll present my credentials.
30 Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man? Answer me."
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About the baptism of John - who authorized it: heaven or humans? Tell me."
31 And they discussed it with one another, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will say, 'Why then did you not believe him?'
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They were on the spot, and knew it. They pulled back into a huddle and whispered, "If we say 'heaven,' he'll ask us why we didn't believe John;
32 But shall we say, 'From man'?"--they were afraid of the people, for they all held that John really was a prophet.
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if we say 'humans,' we'll be up against it with the people because they all hold John up as a prophet."
33 So they answered Jesus, "We do not know." And Jesus said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things."
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They decided to concede that round to Jesus. "We don't know," they said. Jesus replied, "Then I won't answer your question either."
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.