New Living Translation
Matthew 21:3
3If anyone asks what you are doing, just say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will immediately let you take them.”
Matthew 21:3 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them.
- New International Version (NIV)If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, 'The Lord needs them,' and he will send them at once."
- New King James Version (NKJV)And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.”
Context of Matthew 21:3
1As Jesus and the disciples approached Jerusalem, they came to the town of Bethphage on the Mount of Olives. Jesus sent two of them on ahead. 2“Go into the village over there,” he said. “As soon as you enter it, you will see a donkey tied there, with its colt beside it. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone asks what you are doing, just say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will immediately let you take them.” 4This took place to fulfill the prophecy that said, 5“Tell the people of Jerusalem, ‘Look, your King is coming to you. He is humble, riding on a donkey— riding on a donkey’s colt.’”
Read all of Matthew 21Matthew 21:3 word by word
καὶ ἐάν τις ὑμῖν εἴπῃ τι, ἐρεῖτε ὅτι ὁ κύριος αὐτῶν χρείαν ἔχει, εὐθὺς δὲ ἀποστελεῖ αὐτούς.¶Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Andκαίkai · andG2532
- ifἐάνean · ifG1437
- anyτιςtis · oneG5100
- sayλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
- unto youσύsu · youG4771
- ye shall sayἐρῶereō · to sayG2046
- ·ὅτιhoti · that/since: thatG3754
- The Lordὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- The Lordκύριοςkurios · lord: GodG2962
- hathἔχωechō · to have/beG2192
- needχρείαchreia · needG5532
- of themαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
- andδέde · thenG1161
- straightwayεὐθέωςeutheōs · immediatelyG2112
- he will sendἀποστέλλωapostellō · to sendG649
Cross-references for Matthew 21:3
- 1 Chronicles 29:14But who am I, and who are my people, that we could give anything to you? Everything we have has come from you, and we give you only what you first gave us!
- Psalms 24:1The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him.
- Psalms 50:10For all the animals of the forest are mine, and I own the cattle on a thousand hills.
- Haggai 2:8The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
- John 3:35The Father loves his Son and has put everything into his hands.
- John 17:2For you have given him authority over everyone. He gives eternal life to each one you have given him.
- Acts 17:25and human hands can’t serve his needs—for he has no needs. He himself gives life and breath to everything, and he satisfies every need.
- 2 Corinthians 8:9You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich.
- 1 Samuel 10:26When Saul returned to his home at Gibeah, a group of men whose hearts God had touched went with him.
- 1 Kings 17:9“Go and live in the village of Zarephath, near the city of Sidon. I have instructed a widow there to feed you.”
- Ezra 1:1In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, the Lord fulfilled the prophecy he had given through Jeremiah. He stirred the heart of Cyrus to put this proclamation in writing and to send it throughout his kingdom:
- Ezra 7:27Praise the Lord, the God of our ancestors, who made the king want to beautify the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem!
- 2 Corinthians 8:1Now I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, what God in his kindness has done through the churches in Macedonia.
- James 1:17Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.
Commentaries on Matthew 21:3
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3The Lord (the proprietor of all things) hath need of them - Jesus is continually humbling himself, to show us how odious pride is in the sight of God: but in his humility he is ever giving proofs of his almighty power, that the belief of his divinity may be established.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3The Lord hath need of them - This means no more than the “master” has need of them. The word “Lord” often means no more than “master” as opposed to servant, Matthew 10:24; Ephesians 6:5; 1 Peter 3:5-6. The word is sometimes used in the Bible as applied to God, or as a translation of the name Yahweh. Its common use is a mere title of respect given by an inferior to a superior, by a servant to a master, by a disciple to a teacher. As a title of “high…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3Jesus was revealing himself as the Lord who, as king of Israel, goes up to Mount Zion on a donkey (Matthew 21:5; see Zechariah 9:9).Read the comment
Topics related to Matthew 21:3
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Matthew 21
- 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
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