Mark 11:16-18

Amplified Bible

¹⁶and He would not permit anyone to carry ^[a]merchandise or household wares through the temple [grounds, using the temple area irreverently as a shortcut]. ¹⁷He began to teach and say to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a robbers’ den.”^(A) ¹⁸The chief priests and the scribes heard this and began searching for a way to destroy Him; for they were afraid of Him, since the entire crowd was struck with astonishment at His teaching.

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Footnotes

Mark 11:16 Lit a vessel. The Mishnah declared that one should not enter the temple mount with his staff (walking stick) or wallet, or with his shoes on, or with dust on his feet (according to the Talmud). Carrying merchandise through the temple showed even greater disrespect.