^21:1Now¹ when they approached Jerusalem² and came to Bethphage,³ at the Mount of Olives,⁴ Jesus sent two disciples, ^21:2telling 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. ^21:3If anyone says anything to you, you are to say, ‘The Lord needs them,’⁶ and he will send them at once.” ^21:4This⁷ 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

^21:6So¹¹ the disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. ^21:7They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks¹² on them, and he sat on them. ^21:8A¹³ very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road. Others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ^21:9The crowds that went ahead of him and those following kept shouting,¹⁴ “Hosanna¹⁵ to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!¹⁶ Hosanna in the highest!”

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Matthew 21:9: Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!

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 “the village lying before you” ( κατέναντι 2.b).
6 The custom called angaria allowed the impressment of animals for service to a significant figure.
7 Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
8 Grk “what was spoken by the prophet, saying.” The present participle λέγοντος (legontos) is redundant and has not been translated.
9 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.
10 Grk “the foal of an animal under the yoke,” i.e., a hard-working animal. This is a quotation from Zech 9:9.
11 Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of Jesus’ instructions in vv. 2–3.
12 Grk “garments”; but this refers in context to their outer cloaks. The action is like 2 Kgs 9:13.
13 Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
14 Grk “were shouting, saying.” The participle λέγοντας (legontas) is redundant here in contemporary English and has not been translated.
15 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.” 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.
16 A quotation from Ps 118:25–26.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying,

“Say to the daughter of Zion,

‘Behold, your king is coming to you,

humble, and mounted on a donkey,

on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’ ”

The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”

NIVNew International Version (2011)

As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”

This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

“Say to Daughter Zion,

‘See, your king comes to you,

gentle and riding on a donkey,

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

The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,

“Hosanna to the Son of David!”

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

“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

CSBChristian Standard Bible

When they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage at the Mount of Olives, Jesus then sent two disciples, telling them, “Go into the village ahead of you. At once you will find a donkey tied there with her colt. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them at once.”

This took place so that what was spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled:

Tell Daughter Zion,

“See, your King is coming to you,

gentle, and mounted on a donkey,

and on a colt,

the foal of a donkey.”

The disciples went and did just as Jesus directed them. They brought the donkey and the colt; then they laid their clothes on them, and he sat on them. A very large crowd spread their clothes on the road; others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them on the road. Then the crowds who went ahead of him and those who followed shouted:

Hosanna to the Son of David!

Blessed is he who comes in the name

of the Lord!

Hosanna in the highest heaven!

NLTNew Living Translation

As Jesus and the disciples approached Jerusalem, they came to the town of Bethphage on the Mount of Olives. Jesus sent two of them on ahead. “Go into the village over there,” he said. “As soon as you enter it, you will see a donkey tied there, with its colt beside it. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone asks what you are doing, just say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will immediately let you take them.”

This took place to fulfill the prophecy that said,

“Tell the people of Jerusalem,

‘Look, your King is coming to you.

He is humble, riding on a donkey—

riding on a donkey’s colt.’ ”

The two disciples did as Jesus commanded. They brought the donkey and the colt to him and threw their garments over the colt, and he sat on it.

Most of the crowd spread their garments on the road ahead of him, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Jesus was in the center of the procession, and the people all around him were shouting,

“Praise God for the Son of David!

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

Praise God in highest heaven!”

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

And when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village before you, and right away you will find a donkey tied and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. And if anyone says anything to you, you will say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” Now this took place so that what was spoken through the prophet would be fulfilled, saying,

“Say to the daughter of Zion,

‘Behold, your king is coming to you,

humble and mounted on a donkey,

and on a colt, the foal of a pack animal.’ ”

So the disciples went and did just as Jesus directed them, and brought the donkey and the colt and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. And a very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them on the road. And the crowds who went ahead of him and the ones who followed were shouting, saying,

“Hosanna to the Son of David!

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

Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

KJV 1900King James Version

And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples, Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me. And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them. All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass. And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them, And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon. And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way. And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.

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