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Matthew 21:28-44
English Standard Version
Matthew 21:28-44
English Standard Version
The Parable of the Two Sons
28 (A)“What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in (B)the vineyard today.’ 29 And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he (C)changed his mind and went. 30 And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but did not go. 31 Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, (D)the tax collectors and (E)the prostitutes go into (F)the kingdom of God before you. 32 For John came to you (G)in the way of righteousness, and (H)you did not believe him, but (I)the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward (J)change your minds and believe him.
The Parable of the Tenants
33 (K)“Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted (L)a vineyard (M)and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and (N)leased it to tenants, and (O)went into another country. 34 When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants[a] to the tenants (P)to get his fruit. 35 (Q)And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and (R)stoned another. 36 (S)Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them. 37 Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, (T)‘This is the heir. Come, (U)let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ 39 And they took him and (V)threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40 (W)When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” 41 They said to him, (X)“He will put those wretches to a miserable death and (Y)let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.”
42 Jesus said to them, (Z)“Have you never read in the Scriptures:
(AA)“‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;[b]
this was the Lord's doing,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’?
43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God (AB)will be taken away from you and given to a people (AC)producing its fruits. 44 And (AD)the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and (AE)when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”[c]
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Matthew 21:34 Or bondservants; also verses 35, 36
- Matthew 21:42 Greek the head of the corner
- Matthew 21:44 Some manuscripts omit verse 44
Matthew 21:28-44
New International Version
Matthew 21:28-44
New International Version
The Parable of the Two Sons
28 “What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’(A)
29 “‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.
30 “Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go.
31 “Which of the two did what his father wanted?”
“The first,” they answered.
Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors(B) and the prostitutes(C) are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32 For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness,(D) and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors(E) and the prostitutes(F) did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent(G) and believe him.
The Parable of the Tenants(H)
33 “Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted(I) a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower.(J) Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place.(K) 34 When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants(L) to the tenants to collect his fruit.
35 “The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third.(M) 36 Then he sent other servants(N) to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. 37 Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.
38 “But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir.(O) Come, let’s kill him(P) and take his inheritance.’(Q) 39 So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.
40 “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”
41 “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,”(R) they replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants,(S) who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.”
42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:
“‘The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
the Lord has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’[a]?(T)
43 “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you(U) and given to a people who will produce its fruit. 44 Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.”[b](V)
Footnotes
- Matthew 21:42 Psalm 118:22,23
- Matthew 21:44 Some manuscripts do not have verse 44.
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.