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Matthew 21 General Notes
Structure and formatting
Some translations set each line of poetry farther to the right than the rest of the text to make it easier to read. The ULB does this with the poetry in 21:5,16 and 42, which are words from the Old Testament.
Special concepts in this chapter
The donkey and the colt
Jesus rode into Jerusalem on an animal. In this way he was like a king who came into a city after he had won an important battle. Also, the kings of Israel in the Old Testament rode on donkeys. Other kings rode on horses. So Jesus was showing that he was the king of Israel and that he was not like other kings.
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John all wrote about this event. Matthew and Mark wrote that the disciples brought Jesus a donkey. John wrote that Jesus found a donkey. Luke wrote that they brought him a colt. Only Matthew wrote that there were both a donkey had a colt. No one knows for sure whether Jesus rode the donkey or the colt. It is best to translate each of these accounts as it appears in the ULB without trying to make them all say exactly the same thing. (See: Matthew 21:1-7 and Mark 11:1-7 and Luke 19:29-36 and John 12:14-15)
Hosanna
This is what the people shouted to welcome Jesus into Jerusalem. This word means "save us," but people used it to praise God.
Other possible translation difficulties in this chapter
"The kingdom of God will be taken away from you"
No one knows for sure what this phrase means. No one knows if Jesus meant that God would someday give the kingdom back or not.