^11:1Now¹ as they approached Jerusalem,² near Bethphage³ and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives,⁴ Jesus⁵ sent two of his disciples ^11:2and said to them, “Go to the village ahead of you.⁶ As soon as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there that has never been ridden.⁷ Untie it and bring it here. ^11:3If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it⁸ and will send it back here soon.’ ” ^11:4So⁹ they went and found a colt tied at a door, outside in the street, and untied it. ^11:5Some people standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying that colt?” ^11:6They replied as Jesus had told them, and the bystanders¹⁰ let them go. ^11:7Then¹¹ they brought the colt to Jesus, threw their cloaks¹² on it, and he sat on it.¹³^11:8Many spread their cloaks on the road and others spread branches they had cut in the fields. ^11:9Both those who went ahead and those who followed kept shouting, “Hosanna!¹⁴ Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!¹⁵^11:10Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!” ^11:11Then¹⁶ Jesus¹⁷ 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.

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Footnotes

1 Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
2 For location see ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; .
3 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.
4 “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.
5 Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
6 Grk “the village lying before you” ( κατέναντι 2.b).
7 Grk “a colt tied there on which no one of men has ever sat.”
8 The custom called angaria allowed the impressment of animals for service to a significant figure.
9 Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.
10 Grk “they”; the referent (the people mentioned in v. 5) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
11 Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
12 Grk “garments”; but this refers in context to their outer cloaks. The action is like 2 Kgs 9:13.
13 See Zech 9:9, a prophecy fulfilled here (cf. Matt 21:5; John 12:15.
14 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.” 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.
15 A quotation from Ps 118:25–26.
16 Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Then” to indicate the transition from the previous narrative.
17 Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.