^12:12The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem.²³^12:13So they took branches of palm trees²⁴ and went out to meet him. They began to shout,²⁵ “Hosanna!²⁶ Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!²⁷ Blessed is²⁸ the king of Israel!” ^12:14Jesus found a young donkey²⁹ and sat on it, just as it is written, ^12:15“Do not be afraid, people of Zion;³⁰ look, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt!”³¹^12:16(His disciples did not understand these things when they first happened,³² but when Jesus was glorified,³³ then they remembered that these things were written about him and that these things had happened³⁴ to him.)³⁵

^12:17So the crowd who had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead were continuing to testify about it.³⁶^12:18Because they had heard that Jesus³⁷ had performed this miraculous sign, the crowd went out to meet him. ^12:19Thus the Pharisees³⁸ said to one another, “You see that you can do nothing. Look, the world has run off after him!”

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Footnotes

23 For location see ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; .
24 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).
25 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.
26 The expression Ὡσαννά (hōsanna, 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 (eulogēmenos ho erchomenos en onomati kuriou), although in the Fourth Gospel the author adds for good measure καὶ ὁ βασιλεὺς τοῦ Ἰσραήλ (kai ho basileus tou Israēl). 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, 9:682–84. Hosanna is an Aramaic expression that literally means, “help, I pray,” or “save, I pray.” By Jesus’ time it had become a strictly liturgical formula of praise, however, and was used as an exclamation of praise to God.
27 A quotation from Ps 118:25–26.
28 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).
29 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.
30 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.
31 A quotation from Zech 9:9.
32 Or “did not understand these things at first”; Grk “formerly.”
33 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.
34 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 ; R. E. Brown, John [], 1:).
35 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).
36 The word “it” is not included in the Greek text. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context.
37 Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
38 See the note on Pharisees in .

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written,

“Fear not, daughter of Zion;

behold, your king is coming,

sitting on a donkey’s colt!”

His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him. The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness. The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign. So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him.”

NIVNew International Version (2011)

The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,

“Hosanna!”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

“Blessed is the king of Israel!”

Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written:

“Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion;

see, your king is coming,

seated on a donkey’s colt.”

At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that these things had been done to him.

Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. Many people, because they had heard that he had performed this sign, went out to meet him. So the Pharisees said to one another, “See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!”

CSBChristian Standard Bible

The next day, when the large crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, they took palm branches and went out to meet him. They kept shouting:

“Hosanna!

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord —the King of Israel!”

Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written:

Do not be afraid,

Daughter Zion. Look, your King is coming,

sitting on a donkey’s colt.

His disciples did not understand these things at first. However, when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and that they had done these things to him.

Meanwhile, the crowd, which had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead, continued to testify. This is also why the crowd met him, because they heard he had done this sign. Then the Pharisees said to one another, “You see? You’ve accomplished nothing. Look, the world has gone after him!”

NLTNew Living Translation

The next day, the news that Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem swept through the city. A large crowd of Passover visitors took palm branches and went down the road to meet him. They shouted,

“Praise God!

Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord!

Hail to the King of Israel!”

Jesus found a young donkey and rode on it, fulfilling the prophecy that said:

“Don’t be afraid, people of Jerusalem.

Look, your King is coming,

riding on a donkey’s colt.”

His disciples didn’t understand at the time that this was a fulfillment of prophecy. But after Jesus entered into his glory, they remembered what had happened and realized that these things had been written about him.

Many in the crowd had seen Jesus call Lazarus from the tomb, raising him from the dead, and they were telling others about it. That was the reason so many went out to meet him—because they had heard about this miraculous sign. Then the Pharisees said to each other, “There’s nothing we can do. Look, everyone has gone after him!”

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

On the next day the large crowd who had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took the branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, and began crying out,

“Hosanna!

Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord,

even the king of Israel!”

So Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written,

“Do not be afraid, daughter of Zion!

Behold, your king is coming,

seated on the foal of a donkey!”

(His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and they did these things to him.) So the crowd who was with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead were continuing to testify. Because of this also the crowd went to meet him, for they had heard that he had performed this sign. So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are accomplishing nothing! Behold, the world has gone after him.”

KJV 1900King James Version

On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord. And Jesus, when he had found a young ass, sat thereon; as it is written, Fear not, daughter of Sion: behold, thy King cometh, sitting on an ass’s colt. These things understood not his disciples at the first: but when Jesus was glorified, then remembered they that these things were written of him, and that they had done these things unto him. The people therefore that was with him when he called Lazarus out of his grave, and raised him from the dead, bare record. For this cause the people also met him, for that they heard that he had done this miracle. The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, Perceive ye how ye prevail nothing? behold, the world is gone after him.

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