Matthew 21:1-11

The Triumphal Entry

21:1 Now ¹  when they approached Jerusalem ²  and came to Bethphage, ³  at the Mount of Olives, ⁴  Jesus sent two disciples, 21:2 telling them, “Go to the village ahead of you. ⁵  Right away you will find a donkey tied there, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. 21:3 If anyone says anything to you, you are to say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ ⁶  and he will send them at once.” 21:4 This ⁷  took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet: ⁸ 

21:5 “Tell the people of Zion, ⁹ 

‘Look, your king is coming to you,

unassuming and seated on a donkey,

and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’” ¹⁰ 

21:6 So ¹¹  the disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. 21:7 They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks ¹²  on them, and he sat on them. 21:8 A ¹³  very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road. Others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 21:9 The crowds that went ahead of him and those following kept shouting, ¹⁴  “Hosanna ¹⁵  to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! ¹⁶  Hosanna in the highest!” 21:10 As he entered Jerusalem the whole city was thrown into an uproar, ¹⁷  saying, “Who is this?” 21:11 And the crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth ¹⁸  in Galilee.”

Mark 11:1-11

The Triumphal Entry

11:1 Now ¹⁹  as they approached Jerusalem, ²⁰  near Bethphage ²¹  and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, ²²  Jesus ²³  sent two of his disciples 11:2 and said to them, “Go to the village ahead of you. ²⁴  As soon as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there that has never been ridden. ²⁵  Untie it and bring it here. 11:3 If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it ²⁶  and will send it back here soon.’” 11:4 So ²⁷  they went and found a colt tied at a door, outside in the street, and untied it. 11:5 Some people standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying that colt?” 11:6 They replied as Jesus had told them, and the bystanders ²⁸  let them go. 11:7 Then ²⁹  they brought the colt to Jesus, threw their cloaks ³⁰  on it, and he sat on it. ³¹  11:8 Many spread their cloaks on the road and others spread branches they had cut in the fields. 11:9 Both those who went ahead and those who followed kept shouting, “Hosanna! ³²  Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! ³³  11:10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!” 11:11 Then ³⁴  Jesus ³⁵  entered Jerusalem and went to the temple. And after looking around at everything, he went out to Bethany with the twelve since it was already late.

John 12:12-16

The Triumphal Entry

12:12 The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. ³⁶  12:13 So they took branches of palm trees ³⁷  and went out to meet him. They began to shout, ³⁸  “Hosanna! ³⁹  Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! ⁴⁰  Blessed is ⁴¹  the king of Israel!” 12:14 Jesus found a young donkey ⁴²  and sat on it, just as it is written, 12:15 “Do not be afraid, people of Zion; ⁴³  look, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt!” ⁴⁴  12:16 (His disciples did not understand these things when they first happened, ⁴⁵  but when Jesus was glorified, ⁴⁶  then they remembered that these things were written about him and that these things had happened ⁴⁷  to him.) ⁴⁸ 

[21:1]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[21:1]  ² map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[21:1]  ³ sn The exact location of the village of Bethphage is not known. Most put it on the southeast side of the Mount of Olives and northwest of Bethany, about 1.5 miles (3 km) east of Jerusalem.

[21:1]  ⁴ 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 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) long, east of Jerusalem across the Kidron Valley. Its central elevation is about 30 meters (100 ft) higher than Jerusalem. It was named for the large number of olive trees which grew on it.

[21:2]  ⁵ tn Grk “the village lying before you” (BDAG 530 s.v. κατέναντι 2.b).

[21:3]  ⁶ sn The custom called angaria allowed the impressment of animals for service to a significant figure.

[21:4]  ⁷ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[21:4]  ⁸ tn Grk “what was spoken by the prophet, saying.” The present participle λέγοντος (legontos) is redundant and has not been translated.

[21:5]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “the foal of an animal under the yoke,” i.e., a hard-working animal. This is a quotation from Zech 9:9.

[21:6]  ¹¹ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of Jesus’ instructions in vv. 2-3.

[21:7]  ¹² tn Grk “garments”; but this refers in context to their outer cloaks. The action is like 2 Kgs 9:13.

[21:8]  ¹³ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[21:9]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “were shouting, saying.” The participle λέγοντας (legontas) is redundant here in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[21:9]  ¹⁵ 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.” 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.

[21:9]  ¹⁶ sn A quotation from Ps 118:25-26.

[21:10]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “was shaken.” The translation “thrown into an uproar” is given by L&N 25.233.

[21:11]  ¹⁸ map For location see Map1 D3; Map2 C2; Map3 D5; Map4 C1; Map5 G3.

[11:1]  ¹⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[11:1]  ²⁰ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[11:1]  ²¹ sn The exact location of the village of Bethphage is not known. Most put it on the southeast side of the Mount of Olives and northwest of Bethany, about 1.5 miles (3 km) east of Jerusalem.

[11:1]  ²² 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 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) long, east of Jerusalem across the Kidron Valley. Its central elevation is about 30 meters (100 ft) higher than Jerusalem. It was named for the large number of olive trees which grew on it.

[11:1]  ²³ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:2]  ²⁴ tn Grk “the village lying before you” (BDAG 530 s.v. κατέναντι 2.b).

[11:2]  ²⁵ tn Grk “a colt tied there on which no one of men has ever sat.”

[11:3]  ²⁶ sn The custom called angaria allowed the impressment of animals for service to a significant figure.

[11:4]  ²⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.

[11:6]  ²⁸ tn Grk “they”; the referent (the people mentioned in v. 5) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:7]  ²⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[11:7]  ³⁰ tn Grk “garments”; but this refers in context to their outer cloaks. The action is like 2 Kgs 9:13.

[11:7]  ³¹ sn See Zech 9:9, a prophecy fulfilled here (cf. Matt 21:5; John 12:15.

[11:9]  ³² 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.” 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.

[11:9]  ³³ sn A quotation from Ps 118:25-26.

[11:11]  ³⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Then” to indicate the transition from the previous narrative.

[11:11]  ³⁵ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:12]  ³⁶ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[12:13]  ³⁷ 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]  ³⁸ 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]  ³⁹ 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]  ⁴⁰ sn A quotation from Ps 118:25-26.

[12:13]  ⁴¹ 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]  ⁴² 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]  ⁴³ 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]  ⁴⁴ sn A quotation from Zech 9:9.

[12:16]  ⁴⁵ tn Or “did not understand these things at first”; Grk “formerly.”

[12:16]  ⁴⁶ sn When Jesus was glorified, that is, glorified through his resurrection, exaltation, and return to the Father. Jesus’ glorification is consistently portrayed this way in the Gospel of John.

[12:16]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “and that they had done these things,” though the referent is probably indefinite and not referring to the disciples; as such, the best rendering is as a passive (see ExSyn 402-3; R. E. Brown, John [AB], 1:458).

[12:16]  ⁴⁸ sn The comment His disciples did not understand these things when they first happened (a parenthetical note by the author) informs the reader that Jesus’ disciples did not at first associate the prophecy from Zechariah with the events as they happened. This came with the later (postresurrection) insight which the Holy Spirit would provide after Jesus’ resurrection and return to the Father. Note the similarity with John 2:22, which follows another allusion to a prophecy in Zechariah (14:21).