Paragraph 19:35–36

19:35a–b

Then: This verse begins with a Greek conjunction that is often translated as “and.” Some English versions, such as the English Standard Version, translate it that way. The Berean Standard Bible and some other versions (Contemporary English Version, NET Bible, New Revised Standard Version) translate it as Then in order to show that it introduces what the disciples did next. The New Century Version and Revised English Bible say “So” to indicate that they did this as a result of the permission they received. Some other versions, such as the New International Version and God’s Word, do not translate this conjunction. Connect 19:35a to 19:34 in a way that is natural in your language.

they led the colt to Jesus, threw their cloaks over it: The words they and their refer to the two disciples who went to find the colt. The Greek says literally “they brought it…and throwing…on the colt.” The pronoun it refers to the colt. In some languages it may be clearer to refer to say the colt in the first clause and to use the pronoun in the second clause, as the Berean Standard Bible does. For example:

They brought the colt to Jesus, threw their cloaks on it

threw their cloaks over it: Here the word threw indicates that they “placed” or “arranged” their cloaks on the young donkey’s back. Here is another way to translate this:

They put some of their clothes on its back (Contemporary English Version)

cloaks: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as cloaks describes the robe-like garment worn by Jewish men. It was worn over their other clothing. The men could remove it and still be fully clothed. The disciples put the cloaks on the donkey’s back so that it would be more comfortable for Jesus to sit on.

If men in your culture do not wear a second outer garment, you can translate this in a general way. For example:

outer clothing
-or-
garments
-or-
coats

See how you translated this word in 6:29 and 8:44. Be careful that your translation does not imply that the men were naked after they put their cloaks on the donkey.

19:35c

and put Jesus on it: The phrase put Jesus on it indicates that the disciples caused or helped Jesus to get onto the donkey. The phrase probably does not indicate that the disciples lifted Jesus and put him on the donkey. They probably helped Jesus to get onto the donkey as a way of honoring him. They may also have wanted to help control the donkey, since no one had ridden it before. Here is another way to translate this:

and helped Jesus get on (Good News Translation)

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