¹⁸Now in the morning, as he returned to the city, he was hungry. ¹⁹Seeing a fig tree by the road, he came to it, and found nothing on it but leaves. He said to it, “Let there be no fruit from you forever!”

Immediately the fig tree withered away.

¹²The next day, when they had come out from Bethany, he was hungry. ¹³Seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came to see if perhaps he might find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. ¹⁴Jesus told it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” and his disciples heard it.

¹²Jesus entered into the temple of God, and drove out all of those who sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the money changers’ tables and the seats of those who sold the doves. ¹³He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’[1] but you have made it a den of robbers!”[2]

¹⁴The blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. ¹⁵But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children who were crying in the temple and saying, “Hosanna to the son of David!” they were indignant, ¹⁶and said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?”

Jesus said to them, “Yes. Did you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of babes and nursing babies you have perfected praise?’”[3]

[1]21:13 Isaiah 56:7

[2]21:13 Jeremiah 7:11

[3]21:16 Psalm 8:2

¹⁵They came to Jerusalem, and Jesus entered into the temple, and began to throw out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money changers, and the seats of those who sold the doves. ¹⁶He would not allow anyone to carry a container through the temple. ¹⁷He taught, saying to them, “Isn’t it written, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations?’[1] But you have made it a den of robbers!”[2]

¹⁸The chief priests and the scribes heard it, and sought how they might destroy him. For they feared him, because all the multitude was astonished at his teaching.

[1]11:17 Isaiah 56:7

[2]11:17 Jeremiah 7:11

⁴⁵He entered into the temple, and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it, ⁴⁶saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house is a house of prayer,’[1] but you have made it a ‘den of robbers’!”[2]

⁴⁷He was teaching daily in the temple, but the chief priests and the scribes and the leading men among the people sought to destroy him. ⁴⁸They couldn’t find what they might do, for all the people hung on to every word that he said.

[1]19:46 Isaiah 56:7

[2]19:46 Jeremiah 7:11

¹⁷He left them, and went out of the city to Bethany, and lodged there.

¹⁹When evening came, he went out of the city.

a) Transposed. From Mark we learn that the incident and the discussion on the matter took place on two different days, Monday and Tuesday morning. In Matthew the story of the two days is compressed into one, Tuesday morning. See No. 219.

b) Not to be confused with the cleansing of the Temple at the beginning of our Lord's ministry at the Passover of 27 A.D. John 2:13-21. See No. 84.

Bible References taken from:
The World English Bible (WEB) is a Public Domain (no copyright) Modern English translation of the Holy Bible, based on the American Standard Version of the Holy Bible first published in 1901, the Biblia Hebraica Stutgartensa Old Testament, and the Greek Majority Text New Testament.