Section 11:12–14

Jesus cursed a fruitless fig tree

The events in this section took place the day after Jesus entered Jerusalem on a colt (11:1–11). Later that day, Jesus and his disciples had gone from Jerusalem to the nearby village of Bethany to spend the night (11:11). The next day, they went back to Jerusalem. This story occurs that day as they were walking back to Jerusalem.

It is good to translate this section before you decide on a heading for it.

Here are some other possible headings for this section:

Jesus condemns a fig tree
-or-
The fig tree with no fruit

There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 21:18–19 and Luke 13:6–9.

Paragraph 11:12–14

11:12a–b

The next day: The phrase The next day refers to the day after the events in 11:1–11 took place. Another way to translate this phrase is as in the New Living Translation:

The next morning

when they had left Bethany: Jesus and his disciples went from the village of Bethany back to Jerusalem. Since this is a new section, you may need to make some of this information explicit. For example:

as Jesus and his disciples were leaving the village of Bethany

had left: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as had left means “went out.” The Revised Standard Version translates it as “came out” and the Good News Bible says “coming back from.” Jesus was returning from Bethany to Jerusalem. Use the verb in your language that would be most natural in this context.

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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
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