9:14 Then John’s 2 disciples came to Jesus 3 and asked, “Why do we and the Pharisees 4 fast often, 5 but your disciples don’t fast?”
21:5 “Tell the people of Zion, 12
‘Look, your king is coming to you,
unassuming and seated on a donkey,
and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’” 13
1 tn Or “otherwise the latter will trample them under their feet and the former will turn around and tear you to pieces.” This verse is sometimes understood as a chiasm of the pattern a-b-b-a, in which the first and last clauses belong together (“dogs…turn around and tear you to pieces”) and the second and third clauses belong together (“pigs…trample them under their feet”).
2 sn John refers to John the Baptist.
3 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
4 sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.
5 sn John’s disciples and the Pharisees followed typical practices with regard to fasting and prayer. Many Jews fasted regularly (Lev 16:29-34; 23:26-32; Num 29:7-11). The zealous fasted twice a week on Monday and Thursday.
6 sn The penny refers to an assarion, a small Roman copper coin. One of them was worth one-sixteenth of a denarius or less than a half hour’s average wage. Sparrows were the cheapest items sold in the market. God knows about even the most financially insignificant things; see Isa 49:15.
7 tn Or “to the ground without the knowledge and consent of your Father.”
8 sn A yoke is a wooden bar or frame that joins two animals like oxen or horses so that they can pull a wagon, plow, etc. together. Here it is used figuratively of the restrictions that a teacher or rabbi would place on his followers.
9 sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.
10 sn The passive was restored points to healing by God. Now the question became: Would God exercise his power through Jesus, if what Jesus was doing were wrong? Note also Jesus’ “labor.” He simply spoke and it was so.
11 tn Grk “But answering, he said to them.”
12 tn 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.
13 tn Grk “the foal of an animal under the yoke,” i.e., a hard-working animal. This is a quotation from Zech 9:9.
14 tn Grk “saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant here in contemporary English and has not been translated.
15 tn Grk “this”; the referent (the cup) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
16 tn The translation “put your sword back in its place” for this phrase is given in L&N 85.52.