Mark 11:4-11

11:4 So¹ 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 bystanders² let them go. 11:7 Then³ they brought the colt to Jesus, threw their cloaks⁴ on it, and he sat on it.⁵ 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!⁶ Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!⁷ 11:10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!” 11:11 Then⁸ Jesus⁹ 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.

¹tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.

²tn Grk “they”; the referent (the people mentioned in v. 5) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

⁴tn Grk “garments”; but this refers in context to their outer cloaks. The action is like 2 Kgs 9:13.

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

⁶tn 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.

sn 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.

⁷sn A quotation from Ps 118:25-26.

⁸tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Then” to indicate the transition from the previous narrative.

⁹tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.