Matthew 21:5

³ And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them.

⁴ All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying,

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.

⁶ And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them,

⁷ And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon.

Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: “Say to the Daughter of Zion, ‘See, your King comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”
KJV: 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.
WEB: “Tell the daughter of Zion, behold, your King comes to you, humble, and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
ASV: Tell ye the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, Meek, and riding upon an ass, And upon a colt the foal of an ass.
DARBY: Say to the daughter of Zion, Behold thy King cometh to thee, meek, and mounted upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.
BLB: “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your King comes to you, gentle and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’”

ÅB: «Si til Sions datter:
‘Se kongen din kommer til deg;
ydmyk, ridende på et esel – slavedyrets fole’».
OTB: “Si til Sions datter: ‘Se, din konge kommer til deg, saktmodig og ridende på et esel, ja, på en fole, en eselfoles unge.’”
B1930: Si til Sions datter: Se, din konge kommer til dig, saktmodig og ridende på et asen, på trældyrets fole.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

Zechariah 9:9–10
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.
Read in context
Isaiah 62:11
Behold, the LORD hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.
Read in context
Isaiah 9:6–7
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Read in context
Isaiah 12:6
Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.
Read in context
Genesis 49:10
The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.
Read in context
Hosea 1:7
But I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them by the LORD their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen.
Read in context
Zephaniah 3:14–15
Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem.
Read in context
Isaiah 40:9
O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!
Read in context