Matthew 21:5
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.
Study
Other translations
New International Version
“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.’”
New Living Translation
“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.’”
English Standard Version
“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.’”
Berean Study Bible
“Say to the Daughter of Zion, ‘See, your King comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’ ”
Berean Literal Bible
“Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your King comes to you, gentle and mounted on a donkey, even upon a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.'”
New King James Version
“Tell the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your King is coming to you, Lowly, and sitting on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.’ ”
New American Standard Bible
“SAY TO THE DAUGHTER OF ZION, ‘BEHOLD YOUR KING IS COMING TO YOU, HUMBLE, AND MOUNTED ON A DONKEY, EVEN ON A COLT, THE FOAL OF A DONKEY.’”
NASB 1995
“SAY TO THE DAUGHTER OF ZION, ‘BEHOLD YOUR KING IS COMING TO YOU, GENTLE, AND MOUNTED ON A DONKEY, EVEN ON A COLT, THE FOAL OF A BEAST OF BURDEN.’”
NASB 1977
“SAY TO THE DAUGHTER OF ZION, ‘BEHOLD YOUR KING IS COMING TO YOU, GENTLE, AND MOUNTED ON A DONKEY, EVEN ON A COLT, THE FOAL OF A BEAST OF BURDEN.’”
Amplified Bible
“TELL THE DAUGHTER OF ZION (the people of Jerusalem), ‘BEHOLD, YOUR KING IS COMING TO YOU, GENTLE AND MOUNTED ON A DONKEY, EVEN ON A COLT, THE FOAL OF A BEAST OF BURDEN.’”
□ ■ □
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.
Tell ye the daughter of Sion
These words seem to be taken out of Isaiah 62:11 where it is said, “say ye to the daughter of Zion, behold thy salvation cometh”, or “thy Saviour cometh”; meaning, without doubt, the Messiah.
By the daughter of Zion is meant, not the city of Jerusalem, but the inhabitants thereof, the Jewish synagogue; or as the Targum renders it, , “the congregation of Zion”, the people of the Jews; particularly the elect of God among them, those that embraced the true Messiah, and believed in him:
The words are:
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass (Zechariah 9:9).
The evangelist quotes no more of them than served for his purpose.
John, in the short account he giveth of this our Saviour’s entrance, quotes them shorter (John 12:15). The former part of the words are found in Isaiah 62:11.
The Jews agree this prophecy to respect the Messiah, though they were so blinded as not to see it was fulfilled in Christ.
Tell ye the daughter of Zion, prophesy you to the Jews, to the citizens and inhabitants of Jerusalem, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee: thy spiritual King, having salvation, the King promised and foretold, that shall bring salvation, cometh, that is, shall shortly come to thee for thy profit and advantage.
The words seem to have been cited from memory, the Hebrew text of Zechariah 9:9 beginning, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Sion; shout O daughter of Jerusalem,” and inserting “just, and having salvation” in the description of the King.
As the words stand in Zechariah (we need not here discuss the question as to the authorship or composition of that book) they paint the ideal King coming, not with “chariot” and “horse” and “battle bow,” like the conquerors of earthly kingdoms, but as a prince of peace, reviving the lowlier pageantry of the days of the Judges (Judges 5:10; 10:4; 12:14), and yet exercising a wider dominion than David or Solomon had done, “from sea to sea, and from the river (Euphrates) to the ends of the earth” (Zechariah 9:10).
That ideal our Lord claimed to fulfil.
Thus interpreted, His act was in part an apparent concession to the fevered expectations of His disciples and the multitude; in part also a protest, the meaning of which they would afterwards understand, against the character of those expectations and the self-seeking spirit which mingled with them.
Here, as before, we trace the grave, sad accommodation to thoughts other than His own to which the Teacher of new truths must often have recourse when He finds Himself misinterpreted by those who stand altogether on a lower level.
They wished Him to claim the kingdom, that they might sit on His right hand and on His left. Well, but it would be a kingdom “not of this world” (John 18:36), utterly unlike all that they were looking for.
Daughter of Zion
That is, “Jerusalem.” “Zion” was one of the hills on which the city of Jerusalem was built. On this stood the city of David and some strong fortresses. The names “daughter and virgin” were given to it often, in accordance with the Oriental figurative manner of expression. (See Isaiah 1:8; Compare Amos 5:2; Psalms 45:13; Isaiah 47:1).
It was given to them as an expression of their beauty or comeliness.
Behold, thy King cometh unto thee
Behold, thy king cometh unto thee: this, and what follows, are cited from Zechariah 9:9 and to be understood of the king Messiah, who, in a little time after this prophecy was given out, was to come to Zion, and redeem Jacob from all his iniquities, and was now come.
One of the Jewish commentators says, that interpreters are divided about the sense of this prophecy; but observes, that there are some that say this is the Messiah: and another of them affirms, that it is impossible to explain it of any other than the king Messiah; and that it can be understood of no other, I have elsewhere shown.
Meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.
And you shall know him by this; he shall come, poor, afflicted, meek, lowly, sitting upon an ass, an ass used to bear burdens, (so the word signifies), and a colt the foal of an ass: not upon both; they are exegetical of each other; the first denoted the species of the beast, the second its age.
There was not any prophecy of Christ more plainly fulfilled than this. Asses were of old beasts that great persons used to ride on (Judges 10:4; 12:14).
But after Solomon’s time the Jews got a breed of horses; so as only poor people rode upon asses, mostly reserved for burdens.
Whom could the Jews possibly expect to see coming riding into Jerusalem, under the notion of a King bringing them salvation, in so little state, upon the foal of an ass, but the person prophesied of by Zechariah (Zechariah 9:9), whom they themselves confess to be the Messiah?
And had not there been a strange veil upon their hearts, Herod’s courtiers, and Pilate’s, might have understood his kingdom was not of this world, nor he such a King as threatened their grandeur.
Meek
See Matthew 5:5. The expression here rather denotes “peaceful, not warlike;” not with pomp, and state, and the ensigns of ambition.
He came in the manner in which kings were accustomed to ride, but with none of their pride and ambitious feeling.
“Meek”; in the prophecy of Zechariah it is, “poor”, as the Messiah Jesus was, in a temporal sense; but the word, both by the Septuagint, and our evangelist, is rendered meek; as it is by the Targum, Jarchi, and Kimchi, who all explain it by “lowly, humble, or meek”: and a character it is, that well agrees with Jesus, who, in the whole of his deportment, both in life and in death, was a pattern of meekness and lowliness of mind.
sitting upon an ass, and a colt, the foal of an ass.
This is applied to the Messiah by the Jews, both ancient and modern, who consider this as an instance and evidence of his humility: they suppose, this ass to be a very uncommon one, having an hundred spots on it; and say, that it was the foal of that which was created on the eve of the sabbath; and is the same that Abraham and Moses rode upon: and they own, as before observed, that Jesus of Nazareth rode on one to Jerusalem, as is here related.
Their ancient governors, patriarchs, princes, and judges, used to ride on asses, before the introduction and multiplication of horses in Solomon’s time, forbidden by the law of God: wherefore, though this might seem mean and despicable at this present time, yet was suitable enough to Christ’s character as a king, and as the son of David, and king of Israel; strictly observing the law given to the kings of Israel, and riding in such manner as they formerly did.
Sitting upon an ass
He rode on the colt (Mark and Luke).
This expression in Matthew is one which is common with all writers (See Genesis 19:29; Judges 12:7).
A colt the foal of an ass.
Literally, of a beast of burden, the word not being the same as that previously used. In the Hebrew of Zechariah the word reproduces the old poetic phraseology of Genesis 49:11.
Greek
Say ☆ Εἴπατε (Eipate) ☆ Verb – Aorist Imperative Active – 2nd Person Plural ☆ Answer, bid, bring word, command. A primary verb; to speak or say.
To the ☆ τῇ (tē) ☆ Article – Dative Feminine Singular ☆ The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.
Daughter ☆ θυγατρὶ (thygatri) ☆ Noun – Dative Feminine Singular ☆ Apparently a primary word; a female child, or descendant.
Of Zion ☆ Σιών (Siōn) ☆ Noun – Genitive Feminine Singular ☆ Zion, the hill; used for Jerusalem or heaven. Of Hebrew origin; Sion, a hill of Jerusalem; figuratively, the Church.
See ☆ Ἰδοὺ (Idou) ☆ Verb – Aorist Imperative Active – 2nd Person Singular ☆ See! Lo! Behold! Look! Second person singular imperative middle voice of eido; used as imperative lo!
Your ☆ σου (sou) ☆ Personal / Possessive Pronoun – Genitive 2nd Person Singular ☆ You. The person pronoun of the second person singular; thou.
King ☆ Βασιλεύς (Basileus) ☆ Noun – Nominative Masculine Singular ☆ A king, ruler, but in some passages clearly to be translated: emperor. Probably from basis; a sovereign.
Comes ☆ ἔρχεταί (erchetai) ☆ Verb – Present Indicative Middle or Passive – 3rd Person Singular ☆ To come, go.
To you ☆ σοι (soi) ☆ Personal / Possessive Pronoun – Dative 2nd Person Singular ☆ You. The person pronoun of the second person singular; thou.
Gentle ☆ πραῢς (praus) ☆ Adjective – Nominative Masculine Singular ☆ Mild, gentle. Apparently a primary word; mild, i.e. humble.
And ☆ καὶ (kai) ☆ Conjunction ☆ And, even, also, namely.
Riding ☆ ἐπιβεβηκὼς (epibebēkōs) ☆ Verb – Perfect Participle Active – Nominative Masculine Singular ☆ From epi and the base of basis; to walk upon, i.e. Mount, ascend, embark, arrive.
On ☆ ἐπὶ (epi) ☆ Preposition ☆ On, to, against, on the basis of, at.
A donkey ☆ ὄνον (onon) ☆ Noun – Accusative Feminine Singular ☆ A donkey. Apparently a primary word; a donkey.
On ☆ ἐπὶ (epi) ☆ Preposition ☆ On, to, against, on the basis of, at.
A colt ☆ πῶλον (pōlon) ☆ Noun – Accusative Masculine Singular ☆ A colt, young ass, foal. Apparently a primary word; a ‘foal’ or ‘filly’, i.e., a young ass.
[the] foal ☆ υἱὸν (huion) ☆ Noun – Accusative Masculine Singular ☆ A son, descendent. Apparently a primary word; a ‘son’, used very widely of immediate, remote or figuratively, kinship.
Of a beast of burden ☆ ὑποζυγίου (hypozygiou) ☆ Noun – Genitive Neuter Singular ☆ A beast of burden, an ass or mule. Neuter of a compound of hupo and zugos; an animal under the yoke, i.e., a donkey.
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