Isaiah 1:8

1:8 Daughter Zion ¹  is left isolated,

like a hut in a vineyard,

or a shelter in a cucumber field;

she is a besieged city. ² 

Isaiah 10:32

10:32 This very day, standing in Nob,

they shake their fist at Daughter Zion’s mountain ³  –

at the hill of Jerusalem.

Isaiah 62:11

62:11 Look, the Lord announces to the entire earth: ⁴ 

“Say to Daughter Zion,

‘Look, your deliverer comes!

Look, his reward is with him

and his reward goes before him!’” ⁵ 

Psalms 9:14

9:14 Then I will ⁶  tell about all your praiseworthy acts; ⁷ 

in the gates of Daughter Zion ⁸  I will rejoice because of your deliverance.” ⁹ 

Zephaniah 3:14

3:14 Shout for joy, Daughter Zion! ¹⁰ 

Shout out, Israel!

Be happy and boast with all your heart, Daughter Jerusalem!

Zechariah 2:10

2:10 “Sing out and be happy, Zion my daughter! ¹¹  For look, I have come; I will settle in your midst,” says the Lord.

Zechariah 9:9

9:9 Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion!

Shout, daughter of Jerusalem!

Look! Your king is coming to you:

he is legitimate ¹²  and victorious, ¹³ 

humble and riding on a donkey ¹⁴  –

on a young donkey, the foal of a female donkey.

Matthew 21:5

21:5 “Tell the people of Zion, ¹⁵ 

‘Look, your king is coming to you,

unassuming and seated on a donkey,

and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’” ¹⁶ 

[1:8]  ¹ tn Heb “daughter of Zion” (so KJV, NASB, NIV). The genitive is appositional, identifying precisely which daughter is in view. By picturing Zion as a daughter, the prophet emphasizes her helplessness and vulnerability before the enemy.

[1:8]  ² tn Heb “like a city besieged.” Unlike the preceding two comparisons, which are purely metaphorical, this third one identifies the reality of Israel’s condition. In this case the comparative preposition, as in v. 7b, has the force, “in every way like,” indicating that all the earmarks of a siege are visible because that is indeed what is taking place. The verb form in MT is Qal passive participle of נָצַר (natsar, “guard”), but since this verb is not often used of a siege (see BDB 666 s.v. I נָצַר), some prefer to repoint the form as a Niphal participle from II צוּר (tsur, “besiege”). However, the latter is not attested elsewhere in the Niphal (see BDB 848 s.v. II צוּר).

[10:32]  ³ tc The consonantal text (Kethib) has “a mountain of a house (בֵּית, bet), Zion,” but the marginal reading (Qere) correctly reads “the mountain of the daughter (בַּת, bat) of Zion.” On the phrase “Daughter Zion,” see the note on the same phrase in 1:8.

[62:11]  ⁴ tn Heb “to the end of the earth” (so NASB, NRSV).

[62:11]  ⁵ sn As v. 12 indicates, the returning exiles are the Lord’s reward/prize. See also 40:10 and the note there.

[9:14]  ⁶ tn Or “so that I might.”

[9:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “all your praise.” “Praise” stands by metonymy for the mighty acts that prompt it.

[9:14]  ⁸ sn Daughter Zion is an idiomatic title for Jerusalem. It appears frequently in the prophets, but only here in the psalms.

[9:14]  ⁹ tn Heb “in your deliverance.”

[3:14]  ¹⁰ sn This phrase is used as an epithet for the city and the nation. “Daughter” may seem extraneous in English but consciously joins the various epithets and metaphors of Israel and Jerusalem as a woman, a device used to evoke sympathy from the reader.

[2:10]  ¹¹ sn This individualizing of Zion as a daughter draws attention to the corporate nature of the covenant community and also to the tenderness with which the Lord regards his chosen people.

[9:9]  ¹² tn The Hebrew term צַדִּיק (tsadiq) ordinarily translated “righteous,” frequently occurs, as here, with the idea of conforming to a standard or meeting certain criteria. The Messianic king riding into Jerusalem is fully qualified to take the Davidic throne (cf. 1 Sam 23:3; Isa 9:5-6; 11:4; 16:5; Jer 22:1-5; 23:5-6).

[9:9]  ¹³ tn The Hebrew term נוֹשָׁע (nosha’) a Niphal participle of יָשַׁע (yasha’, “to save”) could mean “one delivered” or, if viewed as active, “one bringing salvation” (similar KJV, NIV, NKJV). It is preferable to take the normal passive use of the Niphal and understand that the king, having been delivered, is as a result “victorious” (so also NRSV, TEV, NLT).

[9:9]  ¹⁴ sn The NT understands this verse to be a prophecy of the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, and properly so (cf. Matt 21:5; John 12:15), but reference to the universal rule of the king in v. 10 reveals that this is a “split prophecy,” that is, it has a two-stage fulfillment. Verse 9 was fulfilled in Jesus’ earthly ministry but v. 10 awaits a millennial consummation (cf. Rev 19:11-16).

[21:5]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “Tell the daughter of Zion” (the phrase “daughter of Zion” is an idiom for the inhabitants of Jerusalem: “people of Zion”). The idiom “daughter of Zion” has been translated as “people of Zion” because the original idiom, while firmly embedded in the Christian tradition, is not understandable to most modern English readers.

[21:5]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “the foal of an animal under the yoke,” i.e., a hard-working animal. This is a quotation from Zech 9:9.