^11:15Then²² they came to Jerusalem.²³ Jesus²⁴ entered the temple area²⁵ and began to drive out those who were selling and buying in the temple courts.²⁶ He turned over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves, ^11:16and he would not permit anyone to carry merchandise²⁷ through the temple courts.²⁸^11:17Then he began to teach²⁹ them and said, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’?³⁰ But you have turned it into a den³¹ of robbers!”³²^11:18The chief priests and the experts in the law³³ heard it and they considered how they could assassinate³⁴ him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed by his teaching. ^11:19When evening came, Jesus and his disciples³⁵ went out of the city.

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Footnotes

22 Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
23 For location see ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; .
24 Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
25 Grk “the temple.” The merchants (those who were selling) would have been located in the Court of the Gentiles.
26 Grk “the temple.” Matthew (21:12–27), Mark (here, 11:15–19), and Luke (19:45–46) record this incident of the temple cleansing at the end of Jesus’ ministry. John (2:13–16) records a cleansing of the temple at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. See the note on the word temple courts in for a discussion of the relationship of these accounts to one another.
27 Or “things.” The Greek word σκεῦος (skeuos) can refer to merchandise, property, goods, a vessel, or even generally “things” (but in the sense of some implement or tool). The idea here is almost certainly restricted to merchandise, rather than the more general “things,” although some suggest from the parallel with Berakhot 9.5 that Jesus was not even allowing sandals, staffs, or coin-purses to be carried through the court. The difficulty with this interpretation, however, is that it is fundamentally an appeal to Jewish oral tradition (something Jesus rarely sided with) as well as being indiscriminate toward all the worshipers.
28 Grk “the temple.”
29 The imperfect ἐδίδασκεν (edidasken) is here taken ingressively.
30 A quotation from Isa 56:7.
31 Or “a hideout” (see L&N 1.57).
32 A quotation from Jer 7:11. The meaning of Jesus’ statement about making the temple courts a den of robbers probably operates here at two levels. Not only were the religious leaders robbing the people financially, but because of this they had also robbed them spiritually by stealing from them the opportunity to come to know God genuinely. It is possible that these merchants had recently been moved to this location for convenience.
33 Or “The chief priests and the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in .
34 Grk “how they could destroy him.”
35 Grk “they”; the referents (Jesus and his disciples) have been specified in the translation for clarity. Without such clarification there is room for considerable confusion here, since there are two prior sets of plural referents in the context, “the chief priests and experts in the law” and “the whole crowd” (both in v. 18).

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

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. And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. 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.” 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. And when evening came they went out of the city.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’”

The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.

When evening came, Jesus and his disciples went out of the city.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

They came to Jerusalem, and he went into the temple and began to throw out those buying and selling. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves, and would not permit anyone to carry goods through the temple. He was teaching them: “Is it not written, My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations? But you have made it a den of thieves!”

The chief priests and the scribes heard it and started looking for a way to kill him. For they were afraid of him, because the whole crowd was astonished by his teaching.

Whenever evening came, they would go out of the city.

NLTNew Living Translation

When they arrived back in Jerusalem, Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out the people buying and selling animals for sacrifices. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves, and he stopped everyone from using the Temple as a marketplace. He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves.”

When the leading priests and teachers of religious law heard what Jesus had done, they began planning how to kill him. But they were afraid of him because the people were so amazed at his teaching.

That evening Jesus and the disciples left the city.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

And they came to Jerusalem. And he entered into the temple courts and began to drive out those who were selling and those who were buying in the temple courts, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those who were selling doves. And he did not permit anyone to carry objects through the temple courts. And he began to teach and was saying to them, “Is it not written,

‘My house will be called a house of prayer

for all the nations,’

but you have made it a cave of robbers!” And the chief priests and the scribes heard it, and began considering how they could destroy him. For they were afraid of him because the whole crowd was astounded by his teaching. And when evening came they went out of the city.

KJV 1900King James Version

And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves; And would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple. And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves. And the scribes and chief priests heard it, and sought how they might destroy him: for they feared him, because all the people was astonished at his doctrine. And when even was come, he went out of the city.

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