Matthew 21:5

 Matthew 21:5

Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.

a. NASB 1995: “SAY TO THE DAUGHTER OF ZION, ‘BEHOLD YOUR KING IS COMING TO YOU, GENTLE, AND MOUNTED ON A DONKEY, EVEN ON A COLT, THE FOAL OF A BEAST OF BURDEN.’”  [NASB95 New American Standard Bible. Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation; All Rights Reserved]

b. NKJV:  “Tell the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your King is coming to you, Lowly, and sitting on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.’  [Scripture quotations marked "NKJV" are taken from the New King James Version®, Copyright© 1982, Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.]

c. Classic Amplified: Say to the Daughter of Zion [inhabitants of Jerusalem], Behold, your King is coming to you, lowly and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey [a beast of burden]. [Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation]

d. Peshitta Eastern Text: Tell the daughter of Zion, Behold your king is coming to you, meek, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt, the foal of an ass. [HOLY BIBLE FROM THE ANCIENT EASTERN TEXT. Copyright  Ⓒ 1933 by A.J. Holmon Co.; copyright  Ⓒ renewed 1968 by A.J. Holmon Co.; All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. HarperCollins Publishers, 195 Broadway, New York, NY 10007.]

e. ESV: “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’” [Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001, 2007, 2011, 2016 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved."]

f. Unless otherwise stated, all Greek and Hebrew definitions are from Blue Letter Bible

1. Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.

a. Tell [ye] [Strong: 2036 épō, ep'-o; a primary verb (used only in the definite past tense, the others being borrowed from G2046, G4483, and G5346); to speak or say (by word or writing):—answer, bid, bring word, call, command, grant, say (on), speak, tell.]

b. the [Strong: 3588. [tē] ὁ ho ho, including the feminine he hay, and the neuter to to in all their inflections; the definite article; the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom):--the, this, that, one, he, she, it, etc.] [Thayer: [tē] ὁ, ἡ, τό, originally τος, τῇ, τό (as is evident from the forms τοι, ται for οἱ, αἱ in Homer and the Ionic writings), corresponds to our definite article the (German der, die, das), which is properly a demonstrative pronoun, which we see in its full force in Homer, and of which we find certain indubitable traces also in all kinds of Greek prose, and hence also in the N. T.] [Additional variants: tē, hoi, oi, tēn, ta, tēs, tois, tais, tō, tōn, tou, hé, Hē, hē, hai, tas.]

c. daughter [Strong: 2364 thygátēr, thoo-gat'-air; apparently a primary word (compare "daughter"); a female child, or (by Hebraism) descendant (or inhabitant):—daughter.]

d. Sion [Strong: 4622 Siṓn, see-own'; of Hebrew origin (H6726); Sion (i.e. Tsijon), a hill of Jerusalem; figuratively, the Church (militant or triumphant):—Sion.]

e. Behold [Strong: 2400 idoú, id-oo'; second person singular imperative middle voice of G1492; used as imperative lo!; --behold, lo, see.]

f. thy [Strong: 4675 soû, soo; genitive case of G4771; of thee, thy:—X home, thee, thine (own), thou, thy.]

g. [Strong: 3588. [ho] ὁ ho ho, including the feminine he hay, and the neuter to to in all their inflections; the definite article; the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom):--the, this, that, one, he, she, it, etc.] [Thayer: [ho] ὁ, ἡ, τό, originally τος, τῇ, τό (as is evident from the forms τοι, ται for οἱ, αἱ in Homer and the Ionic writings), corresponds to our definite article the (German der, die, das), which is properly a demonstrative pronoun, which we see in its full force in Homer, and of which we find certain indubitable traces also in all kinds of Greek prose, and hence also in the N. T.] [Additional variants: tē, hoi, oi, tēn, ta, tēs, tois, tais, tō, tōn, tou, hé, Hē, hē, hai, tas.]

h. King [Strong: 935 basileús, bas-il-yooce'; probably from G939 (through the notion of a foundation of power); a sovereign (abstractly, relatively, or figuratively):—king.]

i. cometh [Strong: 2064 érchomai, er'-khom-ahee; middle voice of a primary verb (used only in the present and imperfect tenses, the others being supplied by a kindred (middle voice) ἐλεύθομαι eleúthomai el-yoo'-thom-ahee, or (active) ἔλθω élthō el'-tho, which do not otherwise occur); to come or go (in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively):—accompany, appear, bring, come, enter, fall out, go, grow, × light, × next, pass, resort, be set.]

j. [unto] thee [Strong: 4671 soí, soy; dative case of G4771; to thee:—thee, thine own, thou, thy.]

k. meek [Strong: 4239 praÿs, prah-ooce'; apparently a primary word; mild, i.e. (by implication) humble:—meek.]

l. and [Strong: 2532 kaí, kahee; apparently, a primary particle, having a copulative and sometimes also a cumulative force; and, also, even, so then, too, etc.; often used in connection (or composition) with other particles or small words:—and, also, both, but, even, for, if, or, so, that, then, therefore, when, yet.]

m. sitting [Strong: 1910 epibaínō, ep-ee-bah'-ee-no; from G1909 and the base of G939; to walk upon, i.e. mount, ascend, embark, arrive:—come (into), enter into, go abroad, sit upon, take ship.]

n. upon [Strong: 1909 epí, ep-ee'; a primary preposition; properly, meaning superimposition (of time, place, order, etc.), as a relation of distribution (with the genitive case), i.e. over, upon, etc.; of rest (with the dative case) at, on, etc.; of direction (with the accusative case) towards, upon, etc.:—about (the times), above, after, against, among, as long as (touching), at, beside, × have charge of, (be-, (where-))fore, in (a place, as much as, the time of, -to), (because) of, (up-)on (behalf of), over, (by, for) the space of, through(-out), (un-)to(-ward), with.]

o. [an] ass [Strong: 3688 ónos, on'-os; apparently a primary word; a donkey:—an ass.]

p. and [Strong: 2532 kaí, kahee; apparently, a primary particle, having a copulative and sometimes also a cumulative force; and, also, even, so then, too, etc.; often used in connection (or composition) with other particles or small words:—and, also, both, but, even, for, if, or, so, that, then, therefore, when, yet.]

q. [a] colt [Strong: 4454 pōlos, po'-los; apparently a primary word; a "foal" or "filly", i.e. (specially), a young ass:—colt.]

r. [the] foal [Strong: 5207 huiŏs, hwee-os'; apparently a primary word; a "son" (sometimes of animals), used very widely of immediate, remote or figuratively, kinship:—child, foal, son.]

s. [of an] ass [Strong: 5268 hupŏzugiŏn, hoop-od-zoog'-ee-on; neuter of a compound of G5259 and G2218; an animal under the yoke (draught-beast), i.e. (specially), a donkey:—ass.]

1). John MacArthur says that the mother ass was brought to convince the foal to participate.