Matthew 23:39

23:39 For I tell you, you will not see me from now until you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!’” ¹ 

Luke 19:37-38

19:37 As he approached the road leading down from ²  the Mount of Olives, ³  the whole crowd of his ⁴  disciples began to rejoice ⁵  and praise ⁶  God with a loud voice for all the mighty works ⁷  they had seen: ⁸  19:38 “Blessed is the king ⁹  who comes in the name of the Lord! ¹⁰  Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

John 12:13-15

12:13 So they took branches of palm trees ¹¹  and went out to meet him. They began to shout, ¹²  “Hosanna! ¹³  Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! ¹⁴  Blessed is ¹⁵  the king of Israel!” 12:14 Jesus found a young donkey ¹⁶  and sat on it, just as it is written, 12:15 “Do not be afraid, people of Zion; ¹⁷  look, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt!” ¹⁸ 

[23:39]  ¹ sn A quotation from Ps 118:26.

[19:37]  ² 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).

[19:37]  ³ sn See the note on the name Mount of Olives in v. 29.

[19:37]  ⁴ tn Grk “the”; the Greek article has been translated here as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

[19:37]  ⁵ 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.”

[19:37]  ⁶ sn See 2:13, 20; Acts 2:47; 3:8-9.

[19:37]  ⁷ tn Or “works of power,” “miracles.” Jesus’ ministry of miracles is what has drawn attention. See Luke 7:22.

[19:37]  ⁸ tn Grk “they had seen, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[19:38]  ⁹ 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.

[19:38]  ¹⁰ sn A quotation from Ps 118:26.

[12:13]  ¹¹ sn The Mosaic law stated (Lev 23:40) that branches of palm trees were to be used to celebrate the feast of Tabernacles. Later on they came to be used to celebrate other feasts as well (1 Macc. 13:51, 2 Macc. 10:7).

[12:13]  ¹² tn Grk “And they were shouting.” An ingressive force for the imperfect tense (“they began to shout” or “they started shouting”) is natural in this sequence of events. The conjunction καί (kai, “and”) is left untranslated to improve the English style.

[12:13]  ¹³ tn The expression ῾Ωσαννά (Jwsanna, literally in Hebrew, “O Lord, save”) in the quotation from Ps 118:25-26 was probably by this time a familiar liturgical expression of praise, on the order of “Hail to the king,” although both the underlying Aramaic and Hebrew expressions meant “O Lord, save us.” As in Mark 11:9 the introductory ὡσαννά is followed by the words of Ps 118:25, εὐλογημένος ὁ ἐρχόμενος ἐν ὀνόματι κυρίου (euloghmeno" Jo ercomeno" en onomati kuriou), although in the Fourth Gospel the author adds for good measure καὶ ὁ βασιλεὺς τοῦ ᾿Ισραήλ (kai Jo basileu" tou Israhl). In words familiar to every Jew, the author is indicating that at this point every messianic expectation is now at the point of realization. It is clear from the words of the psalm shouted by the crowd that Jesus is being proclaimed as messianic king. See E. Lohse, TDNT 9:682-84.

[12:13]  ¹⁴ sn A quotation from Ps 118:25-26.

[12:13]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel.” The words “Blessed is” are not repeated in the Greek text, but are repeated in the translation to avoid the awkwardness in English of the ascensive καί (kai).

[12:14]  ¹⁶ sn The author does not repeat the detailed accounts of the finding of the donkey recorded in the synoptic gospels. He does, however, see the event as a fulfillment of scripture, which he indicates by quoting Zech 9:9.

[12:15]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “Do not be afraid, 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.

[12:15]  ¹⁸ sn A quotation from Zech 9:9.