Matius 21:5

21:5 “Tell the people of Zion, ¹ 

‘Look, your king is coming to you,

unassuming and seated on a donkey,

and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’” ² 

Matius 16:24

16:24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone wants to become my follower, ³  he must deny ⁴  himself, take up his cross, ⁵  and follow me.

[21:5]  ¹ 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.

[21:5]  ² tn Grk “the foal of an animal under the yoke,” i.e., a hard-working animal. This is a quotation from Zech 9:9.

[16:24]  ³ tn Grk “to come after me.”

[16:24]  ⁴ tn This translation better expresses the force of the Greek third person imperative than the traditional “let him deny,” which could be understood as merely permissive.

[16:24]  ⁵ sn To bear the cross means to accept the rejection of the world for turning to Jesus and following him. Discipleship involves a death that is like a crucifixion; see Gal 6:14.