Mark 11:29-32 - Compare All Versions
Mark 11:29-32 NIV (New International Version)
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.)
Mark 11:29-32 ESV (English Standard Version 2025)
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.
Mark 11:29-32 NLT (New Living Translation)
“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.
Mark 11:29-32 CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
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.
Mark 11:29-32 KJV (King James Version)
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.
Mark 11:29-32 NKJV (New King James Version)
But Jesus answered and said to them, “I also will ask you one question; then answer Me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things: The baptism of John—was it from heaven or from men? Answer Me.” And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From men’ ”—they feared the people, for all counted John to have been a prophet indeed.
Mark 11:29-33 MSG (The Message)
Jesus responded, “First let me ask you a question. Answer my question and then I’ll present my credentials. About the baptism of John—who authorized it: heaven or humans? Tell me.” They were on the spot, and knew it. They pulled back into a huddle and whispered, “If we say ‘heaven,’ he’ll ask us why we didn’t believe John; if we say ‘humans,’ we’ll be up against it with the people because they all hold John up as a prophet.” They decided to concede that round to Jesus. “We don’t know,” they said. Jesus replied, “Then I won’t answer your question either.”
Mark 11:29-32 NASB2020 (New American Standard Bible - NASB)
But Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question, and you answer Me, and then I will tell you by what authority I do these things. Was the baptism of John from heaven, or from men? Answer Me.” And they began considering the implications among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ But should we say, ‘From men’?”—they were afraid of the people, for they all considered John to have been a real prophet.
Mark 11:29-32 AMP (Amplified Bible)
Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question, and you answer Me, and then I will tell you by what authority I do these things. Was the baptism of John [the Baptist] from heaven [that is, ordained by God] or from men? Answer Me.” They began discussing it with each other, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ But shall we say, ‘From men?’ ”—they were afraid [to answer because] of the crowd, for everyone considered John to have been a real prophet.
Mark 11:29-32 NET (New English Translation)
Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question. Answer me and I will tell you by what authority I do these things: John’s baptism – was it from heaven or from people? Answer me.” They discussed with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From people – ’” (they feared the crowd, for they all considered John to be truly a prophet).