Discovery BoxMatthew 21:2-6 
Context21:2 telling them, “Go to the village ahead of you. 1 Right away you will find a donkey tied there, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. 21:3 If anyone says anything to you, you are to say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ 2 and he will send them at once.” 21:4 This 3 took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet: 4
21:5 “Tell the people of Zion, 5
‘Look, your king is coming to you,
unassuming and seated on a donkey,
and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’” 6
21:6 So 7 the disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them.
1 tn Grk “the village lying before you” (BDAG 530 s.v. κατέναντι 2.b).
2 sn The custom called angaria allowed the impressment of animals for service to a significant figure.
3 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
4 tn Grk “what was spoken by the prophet, saying.” The present participle λέγοντος (legontos) is redundant and has not been translated.
5 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.
6 tn Grk “the foal of an animal under the yoke,” i.e., a hard-working animal. This is a quotation from Zech 9:9.
7 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of Jesus’ instructions in vv. 2-3.
