Mark 11:3

Mark 11:3 auvto.n avposte,llei pa,lin {B}

The interpretation of this passage is obscure. Are the words kai. euvqu.j auvto.n avposte,llei pa,lin w-de part of the message, or a statement of what will happen? Matthew ( Matthew 21:3) evidently took the words in the latter sense. The presence, however, of pa,lin in most witnesses suggests that the words, as part of the message, give assurance that the animal is to be returned after Jesus has used it. Although it may be argued that copyists, moved by considerations of what would become of the animal, inserted pa,lin before or after the verb, the fact that similar considerations did not operate in the case of the Matthean parallel, as well as the strength of the testimony of a D^gr L 892 al, suggests that the original text was auvto.n avposte,llei pa,lin, which was subsequently modified either under the influence of the parallel or because it was no longer interpreted as part of the message. The future tense, which is smoother than the present, appears to be a scribal correction.