Text -- Luke 19:29-48 (NET)

19:29 Now when he approached Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of the disciples, 19:30 telling them, “Go to the village ahead of you. When you enter it, you will find a colt tied there that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 19:31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ just say, ‘The Lord needs it.’” 19:32 So those who were sent ahead found it exactly as he had told them. 19:33 As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying that colt?” 19:34 They replied, “The Lord needs it.” 19:35 Then they brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt, and had Jesus get on it. 19:36 As he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. 19:37 As he approached the road leading down from the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen: 19:38 “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” 19:39 But some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” 19:40 He answered, “I tell you, if they keep silent, the very stones will cry out!”

Jesus Weeps for Jerusalem under Judgment

19:41 Now when Jesus approached and saw the city, he wept over it, 19:42 saying, “If you had only known on this day, even you, the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. 19:43 For the days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and surround you and close in on you from every side. 19:44 They will demolish you– you and your children within your walls– and they will not leave within you one stone on top of another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God.”

Cleansing the Temple

19:45 Then Jesus entered the temple courts and began to drive out those who were selling things there, 19:46 saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house will be a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of robbers!” 19:47 Jesus was teaching daily in the temple courts. The chief priests and the experts in the law and the prominent leaders among the people were seeking to assassinate him, 19:48 but they could not find a way to do it, for all the people hung on his words.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Luk 19:29

¹ tn Grk “And it happened that when.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated. Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

² sn The exact location of the village of Bethphage is not known. Most locate it on the southeast side of the Mount of Olives and northwest of Bethany, about 1.5 miles (3 km) east of Jerusalem.

³ tn Grk “at the mountain called ‘of Olives.’” This form of reference is awkward in contemporary English, so the more familiar “Mount of Olives” has been used in the translation.

sn “Mountain” in English generally denotes a higher elevation than it often does in reference to places in Palestine. The Mount of Olives is really a ridge running north to south about 1.8 mi (3 km) long, east of Jerusalem across the Kidron Valley. Its central elevation is about 100 ft (30 m) higher than Jerusalem. It was named for the large number of olive trees which grew on it.

NET Notes: Luk 19:30

¹ tn Grk “saying.”

² tn Grk “the village lying before [you]” (BDAG 530 s.v. κατέναντι 2.a).

³ tn Grk “in which entering.” This is a continuation of the previous sentence in Greek, but because of the length and complexity of the construction a new sentence was started here in the translation.

⁴ tn Grk “a colt tied there on which no one of men has ever sat.”

NET Notes: Luk 19:31

¹ sn The custom called angaria allowed the impressment of animals for service to a significant figure.

NET Notes: Luk 19:32

¹ tn Grk “sent ahead and went and found.”

² sn Exactly as he had told them. Nothing in Luke 19-23 catches Jesus by surprise. Often he directs the action.

NET Notes: Luk 19:33

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

² tn Grk “said to them.”

NET Notes: Luk 19:35

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

² tn Grk “garments”; but this refers in context to their outer cloaks. The action is like 2 Kgs 9:13.

³ sn See Zech 9:9.

⁴ tn Although ἐπεβίβασαν (epebibasan) is frequently translated “set [Jesus] on it” or “put [Jesus] on it,” when used of a riding animal the verb can mean “to cause to mount” (L&N 15.98); thus here “had Jesus get on it.” The degree of assistance is not specified.

NET Notes: Luk 19:36

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

² tn The disciples initiated this action (since in 19:35 and 37 they are the subject) but the other gospels indicate the crowds also became involved. Thus it is difficult to specify the referent here as “the disciples” or “people.”

NET Notes: Luk 19:37

¹ tn Grk “the descent of”; this could refer to either the slope of the hillside itself or the path leading down from it (the second option has been adopted for the translation, see L&N 15.109).

² sn See the note on the name Mount of Olives in v. 29.

³ tn Grk “the”; the Greek article has been translated here as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

⁴ tn Here the participle χαίροντες (caironte") has been translated as a finite verb in English; it could also be translated adverbially as a participle of manner: “began to praise God joyfully.”

⁵ sn See 2:13, 20; Acts 2:47; 3:8-9.

⁶ tn Or “works of power,” “miracles.” Jesus’ ministry of miracles is what has drawn attention. See Luke 7:22.

⁷ tn Grk “they had seen, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

NET Notes: Luk 19:38

¹ sn Luke adds the title king to the citation from Ps 118:26 to make clear who was meant (see Luke 18:38). The psalm was used in looking for the deliverance of the end, thus leading to the Pharisees’ reaction.

² sn A quotation from Ps 118:26.

NET Notes: Luk 19:39

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context. Not all present are willing to join in the acclamation.

² sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.

³ sn Teacher, rebuke your disciples. The Pharisees were complaining that the claims were too great.

NET Notes: Luk 19:40

¹ tn Grk “and answering, he said.” This has been simplified in the translation to “He answered.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

² tn Grk “these.”

³ sn This statement amounts to a rebuke. The idiom of creation speaking means that even creation knows what is taking place, yet the Pharisees miss it. On this idiom, see Gen 4:10 and Hab 2:11.

NET Notes: Luk 19:41

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

² tn Grk “he.”

³ sn When Jesus approached and saw the city. This is the last travel note in Luke’s account (the so-called Jerusalem journey), as Jesus approached and saw the city before entering it.

NET Notes: Luk 19:42

¹ sn On this day. They had missed the time of Messiah’s coming; see v. 44.

² tn Grk “the things toward peace.” This expression seems to mean “the things that would ‘lead to,’ ‘bring about,’ or ‘make for’ peace.”

³ sn But now they are hidden from your eyes. This becomes an oracle of doom in the classic OT sense; see Luke 13:31-35; 11:49-51; Jer 9:2; 13:7; 14:7. They are now blind and under judgment (Jer 15:5; Ps 122:6).

NET Notes: Luk 19:43

¹ sn Jesus now predicted the events that would be fulfilled in the fall of Jerusalem in a.d. 70. The details of the siege have led some to see Luke writing this after Jerusalem’s fall, but the language of the verse is like God’s exilic judgment for covenant unfaithfulness (Hab 2:8; Jer 6:6, 14; 8:13-22; 9:1; Ezek 4:2; 26:8; Isa 29:1-4). Specific details are lacking and the procedures described (build an embankment against you) were standard Roman military tactics.

² sn An embankment refers to either wooden barricades or earthworks, or a combination of the two.

NET Notes: Luk 19:44

¹ tn Grk “They will raze you to the ground.”

sn The singular pronoun you refers to the city of Jerusalem personified.

² tn Grk “your children within you.” The phrase “[your] walls” has been supplied in the translation to clarify that the city of Jerusalem, metaphorically pictured as an individual, is spoken of here.

³ sn (Not) one stone on top of another is an idiom for total destruction.

⁴ tn Grk “leave stone on stone.”

⁵ tn Grk “the time of your visitation.” To clarify what this refers to, the words “from God” are supplied at the end of the verse, although they do not occur in the Greek text.

sn You did not recognize the time of your visitation refers to the time God came to visit them. They had missed the Messiah; see Luke 1:68-79.

NET Notes: Luk 19:45

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

² tn Grk “he.”

³ tn Grk “the temple” (also in v. 47).

sn The merchants (those who were selling things there) would have been located in the Court of the Gentiles.

⁴ sn Matthew (21:12-27), Mark (11:15-19) and Luke (here, 19:45-46) record this incident of the temple cleansing at the end of Jesus’ ministry. John (2:13-16) records a cleansing of the temple at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. See the note on the word temple courts in John 2:14 for a discussion of the relationship of these accounts to one another.

NET Notes: Luk 19:46

¹ sn A quotation from Isa 56:7.

² tn Or “a hideout” (see L&N 1.57).

³ sn A quotation from Jer 7:11. The meaning of Jesus’ statement about making the temple courts a den of robbers probably operates here at two levels. Not only were the religious leaders robbing the people financially, but because of this they had also robbed them spiritually by stealing from them the opportunity to come to know God genuinely. It is possible that these merchants had recently been moved to this location for convenience.

NET Notes: Luk 19:47

¹ tn Grk “And he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

² tn Grk “and the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 5:21.

³ tn Grk “to destroy.”

sn The action at the temple was the last straw. In their view, if Jesus could cause trouble in the holy place, then he must be stopped, so the leaders were seeking to assassinate him.

NET Notes: Luk 19:48

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

² tn Grk “they did not find the thing that they might do.”

³ sn All the people hung on his words is an idiom for intent, eager listening. Jesus’ popularity and support made it unwise for the leadership to seize him.