^11:27They came again to Jerusalem.³⁹ While Jesus⁴⁰ was walking in the temple courts,⁴¹ the chief priests, the experts in the law,⁴² and the elders came up to him ^11:28and said, “By what authority⁴³ are you doing these things? Or who gave you this authority to do these things?” ^11:29Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question. Answer me and I will tell you by what authority I do these things: ^11:30John’s baptism—was it from heaven or from people?⁴⁴ Answer me.” ^11:31They discussed with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ ^11:32But if we say, ‘From people—’ ” (they feared the crowd, for they all considered John to be truly a prophet). ^11:33So⁴⁵ they answered Jesus,⁴⁶ “We don’t know.”⁴⁷ Then Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you⁴⁸ by what authority⁴⁹ I am doing these things.”

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Footnotes

39 For location see ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; .
40 Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
41 Grk “the temple.”
42 Or “the chief priests, the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in .
43 On this phrase, see ποῖος 2.a.γ.
44 The plural Greek term ἀνθρώπων (anthrōpōn) is probably used here (and in v. 32) in a generic sense, referring to both men and women (cf. , , “of human origin”; , “from human beings”; , “merely human”). The question is whether John’s ministry was of divine or human origin.
45 Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.
46 Grk “answering, they said to Jesus.” The participle ἀποκριθέντες (apokrithentes) is redundant, but the syntax of the phrase has been modified to conform to English style.
47 Very few questions could have so completely revealed the wicked intentions of the religious leaders. Jesus’ question revealed the motivation of the religious leaders and exposed them for what they really were—hypocrites. They indicted themselves when they cited only two options and chose neither of them (“We do not know”). The point of Mark 11:27–33 is that no matter what Jesus said in response to their question they were not going to believe it and would in the end use it against him.
48 Neither will I tell you. Though Jesus gave no answer, the analogy he used to their own question makes his view clear. His authority came from heaven.
49 On this phrase, see ποῖος 2.a.γ. This is exactly the same phrase as in v. 28.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

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, and they said to him, “By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?” Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man? Answer me.” And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ But shall we say, ‘From man’?”—they were afraid of the people, for they all held that John really was a prophet. 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.”

NIVNew International Version (2011)

They arrived again in Jerusalem, and while Jesus was walking in the temple courts, the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders came to him. “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you authority to do this?”

Jesus replied, “I will ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. John’s baptism—was it from heaven, or of human origin? Tell me!”

They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ But if we say, ‘Of human origin’ …” (They feared the people, for everyone held that John really was a prophet.)

So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”

Jesus said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

CSBChristian Standard Bible

They came again to Jerusalem. As he was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came and asked him, “By what authority are you doing these things? Who gave you this authority to do these things?”

Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question; then answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. Was John’s baptism from heaven or of human origin? Answer me.”

They discussed it among themselves: “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ But if we say, ‘Of human origin’ ”—they were afraid of the crowd, because everyone thought that John was truly a prophet. So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”

And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

NLTNew Living Translation

Again they entered Jerusalem. As Jesus was walking through the Temple area, the leading priests, the teachers of religious law, and the elders came up to him. They demanded, “By what authority are you doing all these things? Who gave you the right to do them?”

“I’ll tell you by what authority I do these things if you answer one question,” Jesus replied. “Did John’s authority to baptize come from heaven, or was it merely human? Answer me!”

They talked it over among themselves. “If we say it was from heaven, he will ask why we didn’t believe John. But do we dare say it was merely human?” For they were afraid of what the people would do, because everyone believed that John was a prophet. So they finally replied, “We don’t know.”

And Jesus responded, “Then I won’t tell you by what authority I do these things.”

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

And they came again to Jerusalem. And as he was walking in the temple courts, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came up to him and said to him, “By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority that you do these things?” So Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question. Answer me and I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. The baptism of John—was it from heaven or from men? Answer me!” And they began to discuss this with one another, saying, “What should we say? If we say ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From men’ ”—they were afraid of the crowd, because they all looked upon John as truly a prophet. And they replied to Jesus saying, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

KJV 1900King James Version

And they come again to Jerusalem: and as he was walking in the temple, there come to him the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders, And say unto him, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority to do these things? And Jesus answered and said unto them, I will also ask of you one question, and answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? answer me. And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then did ye not believe him? But if we shall say, Of men; they feared the people: for all men counted John, that he was a prophet indeed. And they answered and said unto Jesus, We cannot tell. And Jesus answering saith unto them, Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things.

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