Discovery BoxLuke 19:29-35 
Context19:29 Now 1 when he approached Bethphage 2 and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, 3 he sent two of the disciples, 19:30 telling them, 4 “Go to the village ahead of you. 5 When 6 you enter it, you will find a colt tied there that has never been ridden. 7 Untie it and bring it here. 19:31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ just say, ‘The Lord needs 8 it.’” 19:32 So those who were sent ahead found 9 it exactly 10 as he had told them. 19:33 As 11 they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, 12 “Why are you untying that colt?” 19:34 They replied, “The Lord needs it.” 19:35 Then 13 they brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks 14 on the colt, 15 and had Jesus get on 16 it.
1 tn Grk “And it happened that when.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated. Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
2 sn The exact location of the village of Bethphage is not known. Most locate it on the southeast side of the Mount of Olives and northwest of Bethany, about 1.5 miles (3 km) east of Jerusalem.
3 tn Grk “at the mountain called ‘of Olives.’” This form of reference is awkward in contemporary English, so the more familiar “Mount of Olives” has been used in the translation.
sn “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 1.8 mi (3 km) long, east of Jerusalem across the Kidron Valley. Its central elevation is about 100 ft (30 m) higher than Jerusalem. It was named for the large number of olive trees which grew on it.
4 tn Grk “saying.”
5 tn Grk “the village lying before [you]” (BDAG 530 s.v. κατέναντι 2.a).
6 tn Grk “in which entering.” This is a continuation of the previous sentence in Greek, but because of the length and complexity of the construction a new sentence was started here in the translation.
7 tn Grk “a colt tied there on which no one of men has ever sat.”
8 sn The custom called angaria allowed the impressment of animals for service to a significant figure.
9 tn Grk “sent ahead and went and found.”
10 sn Exactly as he had told them. Nothing in Luke 19-23 catches Jesus by surprise. Often he directs the action.
11 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
12 tn Grk “said to them.”
13 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
14 tn Grk “garments”; but this refers in context to their outer cloaks. The action is like 2 Kgs 9:13.
16 tn Although ἐπεβίβασαν (epebibasan) is frequently translated “set [Jesus] on it” or “put [Jesus] on it,” when used of a riding animal the verb can mean “to cause to mount” (L&N 15.98); thus here “had Jesus get on it.” The degree of assistance is not specified.
