What Does Matthew 21:5 Mean?
Say to the daughter of Zion, Look, your king comes to you, gentle, and sitting upon a donkey, and upon a colt, the foal of a donkey.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
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.THE KEY
The King’s rule comes near to you in meekness, riding an animal of ordinary labor.
THE MEANING
You are addressed as the one the King comes to, and he approaches mounted on a donkey and its colt. His arrival holds authority and gentleness together: his rule draws near without a display of force.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that authority can reach you only through intimidation: this King comes meekly without ceasing to be King.
THE ROOT
βασιλεύς
basileus
GROWS FROM
βασιλεύ-
basileu-
The Greek word-family of kingly rule.
English can make “king” sound like a title attached to a person. The related Greek words for kingdom and reigning show that this King’s coming brings rule into nearness with you.
ALSO GROWS
basileia: Kingdom, reign, or kingship.
βασιλεία
The King who comes to you brings his realm and rule into view.
basileuō: To be king or reign.
βασιλεύω
The same word-family links the King’s identity with the act of ruling.
πραΰς
praus
GROWS FROM
πραΰ-
prau-
Gentle, mild, or meek.
“gentle” in this verse is praus. Meekness does not cancel the word King; the verse holds royal authority and gentleness in one arrival. The same adjective describes Jesus in Matthew 11:29, where he names his own nature as meek and lowly in heart.
ALSO GROWS
prautēs: Gentleness or meekness.
πραΰτης
This related noun makes the quality of the King’s arrival a quality in its own right.
praunō: To soften, tame, or make gentle.
πραΰνω
This related verb carries the family’s sense of gentleness into an action.
THE PATTERN
The King’s authority appears through gentleness and peace, not through the breaking of the vulnerable or the instruments of war.
I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the war-bow will be cut off. He will speak wholeness to the nations, and his rule will be from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth.A crushed reed he will not break, and a dimming wick he will not snuff out. He will bring out judgment into truth.Lift my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and low in heart, and you will find rest for your living souls.THE THREAD
Lift my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and low in heart, and you will find rest for your living souls.The same Greek adjective rendered “meek” describes the King’s approach here and Jesus’ nature there. The one who comes to you is the one who names himself meek and lowly in heart.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us