SAVE, PLEASE — and it is a cry for help, not a word of praise, though it has become one. The Greek transliterates Hebrew hoshi'a-na (hoshia, 'save,' + the particle of entreaty na), and it comes straight out of Psalm 118:25; the crowd's next line at Matthew 21:9, 'blessed is the one who comes in the name of Jehovah,' is verse 26 of the same psalm. ⚠ Note what else comes out of Psalm 118 in this chapter: the rejected stone that becomes the head of the corner (21:42) is verses 22-23, three verses earlier. In one chapter the crowd sings the psalm's end and Jesus quotes its middle against the authorities. The shelf divides on whether to translate the word or keep it — KJV/ASV/NIV transliterate, NWT renders 'save, we pray' — and both are defensible, since by Matthew's day it plainly functions as an acclamation and the crowd is not asking to be rescued from anything in particular. → first discussed at Matt 21:9