Discovery BoxLuke 19:30-35 
Context19:30 telling them, 1 “Go to the village ahead of you. 2 When 3 you enter it, you will find a colt tied there that has never been ridden. 4 Untie it and bring it here. 19:31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ just say, ‘The Lord needs 5 it.’” 19:32 So those who were sent ahead found 6 it exactly 7 as he had told them. 19:33 As 8 they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, 9 “Why are you untying that colt?” 19:34 They replied, “The Lord needs it.” 19:35 Then 10 they brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks 11 on the colt, 12 and had Jesus get on 13 it.
1 tn Grk “saying.”
2 tn Grk “the village lying before [you]” (BDAG 530 s.v. κατέναντι 2.a).
3 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.
4 tn Grk “a colt tied there on which no one of men has ever sat.”
5 sn The custom called angaria allowed the impressment of animals for service to a significant figure.
6 tn Grk “sent ahead and went and found.”
7 sn Exactly as he had told them. Nothing in Luke 19-23 catches Jesus by surprise. Often he directs the action.
8 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
9 tn Grk “said to them.”
10 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
11 tn Grk “garments”; but this refers in context to their outer cloaks. The action is like 2 Kgs 9:13.
13 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.
