God’s Word Translation
John 12:15
15“Don’t be afraid, people of Zion! Your king is coming. He is riding on a donkey’s colt.”
John 12:15 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Fear not, daughter of Sion: behold, thy King cometh, sitting on an ass’s colt.
- New International Version (NIV)“Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)"Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt!"
- New King James Version (NKJV)“Fear not, daughter of Zion; Behold, your King is coming, Sitting on a donkey’s colt.”
Context of John 12:15
13So they took palm branches and went to meet him. They were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord, the king of Israel!” 14Jesus obtained a donkey and sat on it, as Scripture says: “Don’t be afraid, people of Zion! Your king is coming. He is riding on a donkey’s colt.” 16At first Jesus’ disciples didn’t know what these prophecies meant. However, when Jesus was glorified, the disciples remembered that these prophecies had been written about him. The disciples remembered that they had taken part in fulfilling the prophecies. 17The people who had been with Jesus when he called Lazarus from the tomb and brought him back to life reported what they had seen.
Read all of John 12John 12:15 word by word
μὴ φοβοῦ θυγάτηρ Σιών· ἰδοὺ ὁ βασιλεύς σου ἔρχεται καθήμενος ἐπὶ πῶλον ὄνου.Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Fearφοβέωphobeō · to fearG5399
- notμήmē · notG3361
- daughterθυγάτηρthugatēr · daughterG2364
- of SionΣιώνSiōn · ZionG4622
- beholdὁράωhoraō · to see: seeG3708
- thyσύsu · youG4771
- Kingὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- Kingβασιλεύςbasileus · kingG935
- comethἔρχομαιerchomai · to come/goG2064
- sittingκάθημαιkathēmai · to sitG2521
- onἐπίepi · upon/to/againstG1909
- an ass’sὄνοςonos · donkeyG3688
- coltπῶλοςpōlos · coltG4454
Cross-references for John 12:15
- Isaiah 35:4Tell those who are terrified, “Be brave; don’t be afraid. Your God will come with vengeance, with divine revenge. He will come and rescue you.”
- Isaiah 40:9Go up a high mountain, Zion. Tell the good news! Call out with a loud voice, Jerusalem. Tell the good news! Raise your voice without fear. Tell the cities of Judah: “Here is your God!”
- Isaiah 41:14Don’t be afraid, Jacob, you worm. You people of Israel, I will help you,” declares the Lord, your Defender, the Holy One of Israel.
- Isaiah 62:11The Lord has announced to the ends of the earth: “Tell my people Zion, ‘Your Savior is coming. His reward is with him, and the people he has won arrive ahead of him.’ ”
- Micah 4:8You, Jerusalem, watchtower of the flock, stronghold of the people of Zion, your former government will come back to you. The kingdom will return to the people of Jerusalem.
- Zephaniah 3:16On that day Jerusalem will be told, “Do not be afraid, Zion! Do not lose courage!”
- Zechariah 2:9I’m going to shake my fist at the nations, and their own slaves will loot them. Then you will know that the Lord of Armies has sent me.
- Matthew 2:2They asked, “Where is the one who was born to be the king of the Jews? We saw his star rising and have come to worship him.”
- Deuteronomy 17:16The king must never own a large number of horses or make the people return to Egypt to get more horses. The Lord has told you, “You will never go back there again.”
- Judges 5:10You people who ride on brown donkeys, who sit on saddle blankets, and who walk on the road—think.
- Judges 12:14He had 40 sons and 30 grandsons who rode on 70 donkeys. He judged Israel for eight years.
- 2 Samuel 15:1Soon after this, Absalom acquired a chariot, horses, and 50 men to run ahead of him.
- 2 Samuel 16:2“Why did you bring these?” David asked Ziba. “The donkeys are for the king’s family to ride on,” Ziba answered. “The bread and the ripe fruit are for ⌞your⌟ servants to eat. The wine is for those who become tired and thirsty in the desert.”
- 1 Kings 1:33and he said, “Take my officials with you. Put my son Solomon on my mule, and take him to Gihon.
Commentaries on John 12:15
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 12-19Verses 12-19 See this passage explained in the notes at Mark 11:1-11; John 12:16 Was glorified - Was raised from the dead, and had ascended to heaven. John 12:17 Bare record - Testified that he had raised him, and, as was natural, spread the report through the city. This excited much attention, and the people came out in multitudes to meet one who had power to work such miracles. John 12:19 Prevail nothing - All your efforts are ineffectual to stop the…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 12-19Verses 12-19 Christ's riding in triumph to Jerusalem is recorded by all the evangelists. Many excellent things, both in the word and providence of God, disciples do not understand at their first acquaintance with the things of God. The right understanding of spiritual nature of Christ's kingdom, prevents our misapplying the Scriptures which speak of it.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-50In this part of John’s Gospel, two stories move forward at the same time. First, more and more people begin to praise Jesus. Their excitement reaches a high point when crowds welcome him into Jerusalem with shouts of joy (12:12–13). Second, the religious authorities become more determined to arrest Jesus and put him to death. As public support grows, their opposition grows as well. John's Gospel describes three events that happened only days before…Read the comment
Topics related to John 12:15
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on John 12
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Catena Aurea
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- John Lightfoot Commentary
- Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- The People’s New Testament
- Robertson’s Word Pictures
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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