King James Version

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.

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Greek

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The KJV’s Greek text (Textus Receptus) does not include “upon” (ἐπὶ) before colt here.

Εἴπατεeipateto sayλέγω (légō)Greek uses a different stem for this verb’s past forms.verb, aorist active imperative, 2nd person plural — “to say”, a single actionG3004(denoting speech in progress), (a) I say, speak; I mean, mention, tell, (b) I call, name, especially in the pass., (c) I tell, command.This verse uses “say”.Strong’s files this form under G2036 (ἔπω, speak/say).Tell yeτῇtētheὁ (ho)article, dative, singular, feminine — “the”, the to- or for-formG3588the, the definite article.θυγατρὶthugatridaughterθυγάτηρ (thugatēr)noun, dative, singular, feminine — “daughter”, the to- or for-formG2364a daughter; hence (Hebraistic?), of any female descendent, however far removed; even of one unrelated: my young lady.the daughterΣιώνsiōnof SionΣιώνnoun, genitive, singular, feminine — “of Sion”, the of-formG4622Zion, the hill; used for Jerusalem or heaven.of SionἸδοὺidouBeholdἰδούparticle — “Behold”G2400See! Lo! Behold! Look!.Beholdὁhotheὁarticle, nominative, singular, masculine — “the”, the subject formG3588the, the definite article.βασιλεύςbasileusKingβασιλεύςnoun, nominative, singular, masculine — “King”, the subject formG935a king, ruler, but in some passages clearly to be translated: emperor.Kingσουsouyouσύ (su)personal pronoun, genitive, singular — “you”, the of-formG4771you.ἔρχεταίerchetaicomethἔρχομαι (erchomai)verb, present middle indicative, 3rd person singular — “cometh”, an ongoing or repeated actionG2064I come, go.comethσοιsoiunto theeσύ (su)personal pronoun, dative, singular — “unto thee”, the to- or for-formG4771you.unto theeπραῢςprausgentleπραΰςadjective, nominative, singular, masculine — “gentle”, the subject formG4239Strong’s files this form under G4235 (πρᾷος).meekκαὶkaiandκαίconjunction — “and”G2532and, even, also, namely.This verse uses “and”.andἐπιβεβηκὼςepibebēkōssittingἐπιβαίνω (epibainō)verb, perfect active participle, nominative, singular, masculine — “sitting”, a completed action with a present resultG1910(a) I set foot on, step on, (b) I mount (a horse), board (a vessel).sittingἐπὶepiuponἐπίpreposition — “upon”G1909on, to, against, on the basis of, at.uponὄνονononan assὄνος (onos)noun, accusative, singular, feminine — “an ass”, the object formG3688a donkey, an ass.This verse uses “an ass”.an assκαὶkaiandκαίconjunction — “and”G2532and, even, also, namely.This verse uses “and”.andἐπὶepiuponἐπίpreposition — “upon”G1909on, to, against, on the basis of, at.πῶλονpōlona coltπῶλος (pōlos)noun, accusative, singular, masculine — “a colt”, the object formG4454a colt, young ass, foal.This verse uses “a colt”.a coltυἱὸνhuionfoalυἱός (huios)noun, accusative, singular, masculine — “foal”, the object formG5207a son, descendent.the foalὑποζυγίουhupozugiouof an assὑποζύγιον (hupozugion)noun, genitive, singular, neuter — “of an ass”, the of-formG5268a beast of burden, an ass or mule.of an ass

Literal (Young’s Literal Translation)

'Tell ye the daughter of Zion, Lo, thy king doth come to thee, meek, and mounted on an ass, and a colt, a foal of a beast of burden.'

Compare Public-Domain Translations

The King James Version remains the text of this page and the canonical URL.

American Standard Version (1901)

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.

Young’s Literal Translation

'Tell ye the daughter of Zion, Lo, thy king doth come to thee, meek, and mounted on an ass, and a colt, a foal of a beast of burden.'

World English Bible

“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.”

Darby Translation

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.

Douay-Rheims

Tell ye the daughter of Sion: Behold thy king cometh to thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of her that is used to the yoke.

Quotes

Isaiah 62:11 Isaiah 62:11 · King James VersionBehold, 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.Isaiah 62:11 · King James VersionOpen the Source
that it might be fulfilled
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.

Fulfills

Zechariah 9:9 Zechariah 9:9 · King James VersionRejoice 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.Zechariah 9:9 · King James VersionOpen the Source
that it might be fulfilled · king riding on an ass · NT explicit, early church, Edersheim’s rabbinic list
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.

Cross-references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. How This List Was Built. See the Full Map.

The King James Version (1769) is in the public domain in the United States.