Markus 11:15

Cleansing the Temple

11:15 Then ¹  they came to Jerusalem. ²  Jesus ³  entered the temple area ⁴  and began to drive out those who were selling and buying in the temple courts. ⁵  He turned over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves,

Markus 12:3-4

12:3 But ⁶  those tenants ⁷  seized his slave, ⁸  beat him, ⁹  and sent him away empty-handed. ¹⁰  12:4 So ¹¹  he sent another slave to them again. This one they struck on the head and treated outrageously.

[11:15]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[11:15]  ² map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[11:15]  ³ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:15]  ⁴ tn Grk “the temple.”

[11:15]  sn The merchants (those who were selling) would have been located in the Court of the Gentiles.

[11:15]  ⁵ tn Grk “the temple.”

[11:15]  sn 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 John 2:14 for a discussion of the relationship of these accounts to one another.

[12:3]  ⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[12:3]  ⁷ tn Grk “But they”; the referent (the tenants, v. 1) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:3]  ⁸ tn Grk “seizing him, they beat and sent away empty-handed.” The referent of the direct object of “seizing” (the slave sent by the owner) has been specified in the translation for clarity. The objects of the verbs “beat” and “sent away” have been supplied in the translation to conform to English style. Greek often omits direct objects when they are clear from the context.

[12:3]  ⁹ sn The image of the tenants beating up the owner’s slave pictures the nation’s rejection of the prophets and their message.

[12:3]  ¹⁰ sn The slaves being sent empty-handed suggests that the vineyard was not producing any fruit – and thus neither was the nation of Israel.

[12:4]  ¹¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the tenants’ mistreatment of the first slave.