Matthew 21:33-46
Lexham English Bible
The Parable of the Tenant Farmers in the Vineyard
33 “Listen to another parable: There was a man—a master of a house—who planted a vineyard, and put a fence around it, and dug a winepress in it, and built a watchtower, and leased it to tenant farmers, and went on a journey. 34 And when the season of fruit drew near, he sent his slaves to the tenant farmers to collect his fruit. 35 And the tenant farmers seized his slaves, one of whom they beat, and one of whom they killed, and one of whom they stoned. 36 Again, he sent other slaves, more than the first ones, and they did the same thing to them. 37 So finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38 But when[a] the tenant farmers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance!’ 39 And they seized him and[b] threw him[c] out of the vineyard and killed him.[d] 40 Now when the master of the vineyard arrives, what will he do to those tenant farmers?” 41 They said to him, “He will destroy those evil men completely and lease the vineyard to other tenant farmers who will give him the fruits in their season.” 42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the scriptures,
‘The stone which the builders rejected,
this has become the cornerstone.[e]
This came about from the Lord,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’?[f]
43 For this reason, I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and will be given to a people[g] who produce its fruits. 44 And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, and the one on whom it falls—it will crush him!” 45 And when[h] the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they knew that he was speaking about them, 46 and although they[i] wanted to arrest him, they were afraid of the crowds, because they looked upon him as a prophet.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Matthew 21:38 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“saw”) which is understood as temporal
- Matthew 21:39 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“seized”) has been translated as a finite verb
- Matthew 21:39 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Matthew 21:39 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Matthew 21:42 Literally “the head of the corner”
- Matthew 21:42 A quotation from Ps 118:22–23
- Matthew 21:43 Or “nation”
- Matthew 21:45 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“heard”) which is understood as temporal
- Matthew 21:46 Here “although” is supplied as a component of the participle (“wanted”) which is understood as concessive
Matthew 21:33-46
Christian Standard Bible
The Parable of the Vineyard Owner
33 “Listen(A) to another parable:(B) There was a landowner, who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a watchtower.(C) He leased it to tenant farmers and went away.(D) 34 When the time came to harvest fruit, he sent his servants to the farmers to collect his fruit. 35 The farmers took his servants, beat one, killed another, and stoned a third.(E) 36 Again, he sent other servants, more than the first group, and they did the same to them. 37 Finally, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.
38 “But when the tenant farmers saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’(F) 39 So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. 40 Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those farmers?”
41 “He will completely destroy those terrible men,” they told him, “and lease his vineyard to other farmers who will give him his fruit at the harvest.”(G)
42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.[a]
This is what the Lord has done
and it is wonderful in our eyes?[b](H)
43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruit. 44 Whoever falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; (I) but on whomever it falls, it will shatter him.”[c]
45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables,(J) they knew he was speaking about them. 46 Although they were looking for a way to arrest him, they feared the crowds, because the people regarded him as a prophet.(K)
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