Matthew 21
1 As [we] approached Jerusalem, we came near Bethphage [village], near Olive [Tree] Hill. Jesus said to two [of his] disciples, “Go to the village just ahead of us. As soon as you enter [it], you will see a donkey and her foal that are {someone has} tied [up]. Untie them and bring them [here] to me.
Καὶ ὅτε ἤγγισαν εἰς Ἱεροσόλυμα καὶ ἦλθον εἰς Βηθφαγὴ εἰς τὸ ὄρος τῶν Ἐλαιῶν, τότε Ἰησοῦς ἀπέστειλεν δύο μαθητὰς
λέγων αὐτοῖς Πορεύεσθε εἰς τὴν κώμην τὴν κατέναντι ὑμῶν, καὶ εὐθὺς εὑρήσετε ὄνον δεδεμένην καὶ πῶλον μετ’ αὐτῆς· λύσαντες ἀγάγετέ μοι.
3 If anyone says anything to you [about your doing that], tell [him], ‘The Lord needs them.’ He will [then allow you to] lead them away.”
καὶ ἐάν τις ὑμῖν εἴπῃ τι, ἐρεῖτε ὅτι Ὁ Κύριος αὐτῶν χρείαν ἔχει· εὐθὺς δὲ ἀποστελεῖ αὐτούς.
4 When all this happened, what was written by a prophet {what a prophet wrote about} was fulfilled {happened}. The prophet wrote, “Tell the people who live in Jerusalem [SYN], ‘Look! Your king is coming to you! He will come humbly. He [will show that he is humble, because he will be] riding on a colt, the offspring of a donkey.’”
Τοῦτο δὲ γέγονεν ἵνα πληρωθῇ τὸ ῥηθὲν διὰ τοῦ προφήτου λέγοντος
Εἴπατε τῇ θυγατρὶ Σιών Ἰδοὺ ὁ Βασιλεύς σου ἔρχεταί σοι πραῢς καὶ ἐπιβεβηκὼς ἐπὶ ὄνον καὶ ἐπὶ πῶλον υἱὸν ὑποζυγίου.
6 So the [two] disciples went and did what Jesus told them to do.
πορευθέντες δὲ οἱ μαθηταὶ καὶ ποιήσαντες καθὼς συνέταξεν αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς
7 They brought the donkey and its colt [to Jesus]. They placed their cloaks on them [to make something for him to sit on]. Then Jesus [mounted the colt] and sat on the cloaks.
ἤγαγον τὴν ὄνον καὶ τὸν πῶλον, καὶ ἐπέθηκαν ἐπ’ αὐτῶν τὰ ἱμάτια, καὶ ἐπεκάθισεν ἐπάνω αὐτῶν.
8 Then a large crowd spread [some of] their clothing on the road, and other [people] cut off branches from [palm] trees and spread them on the road. [They did those things to decorate the road in order to honor Jesus].
ὁ δὲ πλεῖστος ὄχλος ἔστρωσαν ἑαυτῶν τὰ ἱμάτια ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ, ἄλλοι δὲ ἔκοπτον κλάδους ἀπὸ τῶν δένδρων καὶ ἐστρώννυον ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ.
9 The crowds that walked in front of him and those who walked behind him were shouting things like, “Praise the [Messiah], the descendant of [King] David!” “May the Lord [God] bless [this one] who comes as [God’s] representative and with [God’s] authority [MTY].” “Praise God, who is in the highest [heaven]!”
οἱ δὲ ὄχλοι οἱ προάγοντες αὐτὸν καὶ οἱ ἀκολουθοῦντες ἔκραζον λέγοντες Ὡσαννὰ τῷ υἱῷ Δαυείδ· Εὐλογημένος ὁ ἐρχόμενος ἐν ὀνόματι Κυρίου· Ὡσαννὰ ἐν τοῖς ὑψίστοις.
10 As Jesus entered Jerusalem, a crowd of people [MTY] from all [over the city] became excited and were saying, “Why [are they honoring] this man [like that]?”
καὶ εἰσελθόντος αὐτοῦ εἰς Ἱεροσόλυμα ἐσείσθη πᾶσα ἡ πόλις λέγουσα Τίς ἐστιν οὗτος;
11 The crowd [that was already following him] said, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee!”
οἱ δὲ ὄχλοι ἔλεγον Οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ προφήτης Ἰησοῦς ὁ ἀπὸ Ναζαρὲθ τῆς Γαλιλαίας.
12 Then Jesus went into the Temple [courtyard] and chased out all of those who were buying and selling things there. He also overturned the tables of those who were giving [Temple tax money in exchange for Roman] coins, and he overturned the seats of those who were selling pigeons [for sacrifices].
Καὶ εἰσῆλθεν Ἰησοῦς εἰς τὸ ἱερόν καὶ ἐξέβαλεν πάντας τοὺς πωλοῦντας καὶ ἀγοράζοντας ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ καὶ τὰς τραπέζας τῶν κολλυβιστῶν κατέστρεψεν καὶ τὰς καθέδρας τῶν πωλούντων τὰς περιστεράς,
13 Then he said to them, “It is {([Jeremiah/A prophet]) has} written [in the Scriptures that God said], ‘[I want] my house to be called a place where [people] pray’, but you bandits have made it [MET] your hideout!”
καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς Γέγραπται Ὁ οἶκός μου οἶκος προσευχῆς κληθήσεται, ὑμεῖς δὲ αὐτὸν ποιεῖτε σπήλαιον λῃστῶν.
14 After that, [many] blind [people] and lame [people] came to Jesus in the temple [in order that he would heal them], and he healed them.
Καὶ προσῆλθον αὐτῷ τυφλοὶ καὶ χωλοὶ ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ, καὶ ἐθεράπευσεν αὐτούς.
15 The high priests and the men who taught the people the [Jewish] laws saw the wonderful deeds that Jesus did. [They also saw and] heard the children shouting in the Temple, “We praise the [Messiah], the descendant of [King] David!” The religious leaders were indignant [because they did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah].
ἰδόντες δὲ οἱ ἀρχιερεῖς καὶ οἱ γραμματεῖς τὰ θαυμάσια ἃ ἐποίησεν καὶ τοὺς παῖδας τοὺς κράζοντας ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ καὶ λέγοντας Ὡσαννὰ τῷ υἱῷ Δαυείδ, ἠγανάκτησαν,
16 [They thought that Jesus should not be allowing the children to say that], so they asked him, “[How can you tolerate] this [RHQ]? Do you hear what these [children] are shouting?” Then Jesus said to them, “Yes, I [hear them, but] if you [remembered what] you have read [in the Scriptures about children praising me, you would know that God is pleased] [RHQ] [with them]. [The psalmist] wrote, [saying to God], ‘You have taught infants and other children to praise you perfectly.’”
καὶ εἶπαν αὐτῷ Ἀκούεις τί οὗτοι λέγουσιν; ὁ δὲ Ἰησοῦς λέγει αὐτοῖς Ναί· οὐδέποτε ἀνέγνωτε ὅτι Ἐκ στόματος νηπίων καὶ θηλαζόντων κατηρτίσω αἶνον;
17 Then Jesus left the city. We [disciples] went [with him] to Bethany [town], and we slept there [that night].
Καὶ καταλιπὼν αὐτοὺς ἐξῆλθεν ἔξω τῆς πόλεως εἰς Βηθανίαν, καὶ ηὐλίσθη ἐκεῖ.
18 Early [the next morning], when we were returning to the city, [Jesus] was hungry.
Πρωῒ δὲ ἐπαναγαγὼν εἰς τὴν πόλιν ἐπείνασεν.
19 He saw a fig tree near the road. [So he went over to it to pick some figs to eat]. But when he got close, he saw that there were no [figs on the tree]. There were only leaves on it. So [to illustrate how God would punish the nation of Israel], he said to the fig tree, “May you never again produce figs!” As a result, the fig tree withered that night. (aiōn g165)
καὶ ἰδὼν συκῆν μίαν ἐπὶ τῆς ὁδοῦ ἦλθεν ἐπ’ αὐτήν, καὶ οὐδὲν εὗρεν ἐν αὐτῇ εἰ μὴ φύλλα μόνον, καὶ λέγει αὐτῇ Οὐ μηκέτι ἐκ σοῦ καρπὸς γένηται εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα. καὶ ἐξηράνθη παραχρῆμα ἡ συκῆ. (aiōn g165)
20 [The next day] when we disciples saw [what had happened to the tree], we marveled, and we said [to Jesus], “(It is astonishing that the fig tree withered so quickly!/How is it that the fig tree dried up so quickly?)” [RHQ]
καὶ ἰδόντες οἱ μαθηταὶ ἐθαύμασαν λέγοντες Πῶς παραχρῆμα ἐξηράνθη ἡ συκῆ;
21 Jesus said to us, “Think about this: If you believe [that God has power to do what you ask him to] and you do not doubt [that], you will be able to do [things like what I have] done to this fig tree. You will even be able to do [marvelous deeds like] saying to a nearby hill, ‘Uproot yourself and throw yourself into the sea’, and it will happen!
ἀποκριθεὶς δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς Ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, ἐὰν ἔχητε πίστιν καὶ μὴ διακριθῆτε, οὐ μόνον τὸ τῆς συκῆς ποιήσετε, ἀλλὰ κἂν τῷ ὄρει τούτῳ εἴπητε Ἄρθητι καὶ βλήθητι εἰς τὴν θάλασσαν, γενήσεται·
22 In addition [to that], whenever you ask [God for something] when you pray [to him, if you] believe [that he will give it to you], you will receive [it from him].”
καὶ πάντα ὅσα ἂν αἰτήσητε ἐν τῇ προσευχῇ πιστεύοντες λήμψεσθε.
23 After that, Jesus went into the Temple [courtyard]. While he was teaching [the people], the chief priests and the elders of the Jewish Council approached him. They asked, “By what authority are you doing these things? Who authorized you to do what you did [here yesterday] [DOU]?”
Καὶ ἐλθόντος αὐτοῦ εἰς τὸ ἱερὸν προσῆλθον αὐτῷ διδάσκοντι οἱ ἀρχιερεῖς καὶ οἱ πρεσβύτεροι τοῦ λαοῦ λέγοντες Ἐν ποίᾳ ἐξουσίᾳ ταῦτα ποιεῖς; καὶ τίς σοι ἔδωκεν τὴν ἐξουσίαν ταύτην;
24 Jesus said to them, “I also will ask you a question, and if you answer me, I will tell you who authorized me to do these things.
ἀποκριθεὶς δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς Ἐρωτήσω ὑμᾶς κἀγὼ λόγον ἕνα, ὃν ἐὰν εἴπητέ μοι, κἀγὼ ὑμῖν ἐρῶ ἐν ποίᾳ ἐξουσίᾳ ταῦτα ποιῶ·
25 Where did John [the Baptizer] get [his authority to] baptize [those who came to him]? [Did he get it] from God or from people? [MTY/EUP]” The chief priests and elders debated among themselves [about what they should answer]. [They said to each other], “If we say, ‘[It was] [MTY/EUP] from God’, he will say to us, ‘Then (you should have believed his [message]!/why did you not believe [John’s message]?) [RHQ]’
τὸ βάπτισμα τὸ Ἰωάνου πόθεν ἦν; ἐξ οὐρανοῦ ἢ ἐξ ἀνθρώπων; οἱ δὲ διελογίζοντο ἐν ἑαυτοῖς λέγοντες· Ἐὰν εἴπωμεν Ἐξ οὐρανοῦ, ἐρεῖ ἡμῖν Διὰ τί οὖν οὐκ ἐπιστεύσατε αὐτῷ;
26 If we say, ‘It was from people’, we are afraid that the crowd [will react violently], because all [the people] believe that John was a prophet [sent by God].”
ἐὰν δὲ εἴπωμεν Ἐξ ἀνθρώπων, φοβούμεθα τὸν ὄχλον· πάντες γὰρ ὡς προφήτην ἔχουσιν τὸν Ἰωάνην.
27 So they answered Jesus, “We do not know [where John got his authority].” Then he said to them, “[Because you did not answer my question], I will not tell you who authorized me to do the things I did [here yesterday].”
καὶ ἀποκριθέντες τῷ Ἰησοῦ εἶπαν Οὐκ οἴδαμεν. ἔφη αὐτοῖς καὶ αὐτός Οὐδὲ ἐγὼ λέγω ὑμῖν ἐν ποίᾳ ἐξουσίᾳ ταῦτα ποιῶ.
28 [Then Jesus said to the chief priests and elders], “Tell me [RHQ] what you think [about what I am about to tell you]. There was a man who had two sons. He went to his older son and said, ‘My son, go and work in my vineyard today!’
Τί δὲ ὑμῖν δοκεῖ; ἄνθρωπος εἶχεν τέκνα δύο· προσελθὼν τῷ πρώτῳ εἶπεν Τέκνον, ὕπαγε σήμερον ἐργάζου ἐν τῷ ἀμπελῶνι.
29 But the son said [to his father], ‘I do not want to [go and work in your vineyard today]!’ But later he changed his mind, and he went to the vineyard [and worked].
ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν Ἐγὼ κύριε, καὶ οὐκ ἀπῆλθεν.
30 Then the father approached his younger son and said what he had said to his older son. That son said, ‘Sir, I will [go and work in the vineyard today.’] But he did not go there.
προσελθὼν δὲ τῷ δευτέρῳ εἶπεν ὡσαύτως. ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν Οὐ θέλω, ὕστερον μεταμεληθεὶς ἀπῆλθεν.
31 So which of the man’s two sons did what their father desired?” They answered, “The older son.” Jesus [explained to them what that parable meant] by saying, “Think about this: [It is more likely that other people, including] tax collectors and prostitutes, [whom you think are very sinful], will enter where God rules, than it is that you [Jewish leaders] will enter.
τίς ἐκ τῶν δύο ἐποίησεν τὸ θέλημα τοῦ πατρός; λέγουσιν Ὁ ὕστερος. λέγει αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς Ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι οἱ τελῶναι καὶ αἱ πόρναι προάγουσιν ὑμᾶς εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ Θεοῦ.
32 I [say this to you] because, even though John [the Baptizer] explained to you how to live righteously, you did not believe his message. But tax collectors and prostitutes believed his [message, and they turned away from their sinful behavior]. In contrast, you, even though you saw what they did, refused to turn away from your sinful behavior, and you did not believe [John’s message].”
ἦλθεν γὰρ Ἰωάνης πρὸς ὑμᾶς ἐν ὁδῷ δικαιοσύνης, καὶ οὐκ ἐπιστεύσατε αὐτῷ· οἱ δὲ τελῶναι καὶ αἱ πόρναι ἐπίστευσαν αὐτῷ· ὑμεῖς δὲ ἰδόντες οὐδὲ μετεμελήθητε ὕστερον τοῦ πιστεῦσαι αὐτῷ.
33 “Listen to another parable [that I will tell you]. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He built a fence around it. He dug a hole in the ground [inside the fence]. He placed [in the hole] a stone tank to [collect the juice that would be] pressed out of the grapes. He also built a tower [inside that fence that someone would sit in to guard that vineyard]. He arranged for some men [to care for] the vineyard [and to give him some of the grapes in return]. Then he went away to another country.
Ἄλλην παραβολὴν ἀκούσατε. Ἄνθρωπος ἦν οἰκοδεσπότης ὅστις ἐφύτευσεν ἀμπελῶνα, καὶ φραγμὸν αὐτῷ περιέθηκεν καὶ ὤρυξεν ἐν αὐτῷ ληνὸν καὶ ᾠκοδόμησεν πύργον, καὶ ἐξέδετο αὐτὸν γεωργοῖς, καὶ ἀπεδήμησεν.
34 When it was time to harvest the grapes, the landowner sent some of his servants to the men who were taking care of the vineyard to get his share of the grapes [that the vineyard had produced].
ὅτε δὲ ἤγγισεν ὁ καιρὸς τῶν καρπῶν, ἀπέστειλεν τοὺς δούλους αὐτοῦ πρὸς τοὺς γεωργοὺς λαβεῖν τοὺς καρποὺς αὐτοῦ.
35 But the renters seized the servants. They beat one of them, they killed another one, and [killed] another one of them [by throwing] stones at him.
καὶ λαβόντες οἱ γεωργοὶ τοὺς δούλους αὐτοῦ ὃν μὲν ἔδειραν, ὃν δὲ ἀπέκτειναν, ὃν δὲ ἐλιθοβόλησαν.
36 [So the landowner] sent more servants than [he had sent] the first [time]. The renters treated those servants the same way that [they had treated the other servants].
πάλιν ἀπέστειλεν ἄλλους δούλους πλείονας τῶν πρώτων, καὶ ἐποίησαν αὐτοῖς ὡσαύτως.
37 Later, [knowing this], [the landowner] sent his son to [the renters to get his share of the grapes]. When he sent him, he said [to himself], ‘They will certainly respect my son [and give him some of the grapes].’
ὕστερον δὲ ἀπέστειλεν πρὸς αὐτοὺς τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ λέγων Ἐντραπήσονται τὸν υἱόν μου.
38 But when the renters saw his son [arriving], they said to each other, ‘This is the man who will inherit [this vineyard]! Let’s kill him and divide the property [among ourselves].’
οἱ δὲ γεωργοὶ ἰδόντες τὸν υἱὸν εἶπον ἐν ἑαυτοῖς Οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ κληρονόμος· δεῦτε ἀποκτείνωμεν αὐτὸν καὶ σχῶμεν τὴν κληρονομίαν αὐτοῦ·
39 So they grabbed him, dragged him outside the vineyard, and killed him.
καὶ λαβόντες αὐτὸν ἐξέβαλον ἔξω τοῦ ἀμπελῶνος καὶ ἀπέκτειναν.
40 [Now I ask you], when the landowner returns to his vineyard, what [do you think] he will do to those renters?”
ὅταν οὖν ἔλθῃ ὁ κύριος τοῦ ἀμπελῶνος, τί ποιήσει τοῖς γεωργοῖς ἐκείνοις;
41 [The chief priests and elders] replied, “He will thoroughly destroy those wicked [renters]! Then he will rent the vineyard to others. They will give him [his share of] the grapes when they are ripe.”
λέγουσιν αὐτῷ Κακοὺς κακῶς ἀπολέσει αὐτούς, καὶ τὸν ἀμπελῶνα ἐκδώσεται ἄλλοις γεωργοῖς, οἵτινες ἀποδώσουσιν αὐτῷ τοὺς καρποὺς ἐν τοῖς καιροῖς αὐτῶν.
42 Jesus said to them, “[That is right, so you need to think carefully about these words which] you have read [RHQ] in the Scriptures: The builders rejected a certain stone. [But others put] that same stone [in its proper place, and it] has become the most important stone [of the] building [MET]. The Lord has done this, and we marvel as we look at it.
Λέγει αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς Οὐδέποτε ἀνέγνωτε ἐν ταῖς γραφαῖς Λίθον ὃν ἀπεδοκίμασαν οἱ οἰκοδομοῦντες, οὗτος ἐγενήθη εἰς κεφαλὴν γωνίας· παρὰ Κυρίου ἐγένετο αὕτη, καὶ ἔστιν θαυμαστὴ ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς ἡμῶν;
43 So, [because you reject me], I am going to tell you this: God will no longer let you [Jews] be the people over whom he rules. Instead, he will let [non-Jews] be the people over whom he rules, and they will do [IDM] what he asks them to do.
διὰ τοῦτο λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι ἀρθήσεται ἀφ’ ὑμῶν ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ δοθήσεται ἔθνει ποιοῦντι τοὺς καρποὺς αὐτῆς.
44 [The important stone in the building represents me, the Messiah, and those who reject me are like people who fall on this stone]. Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken into pieces {This cornerstone will break into pieces anyone who falls on it}, and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.”
καὶ ὁ πεσὼν ἐπὶ τὸν λίθον τοῦτον συνθλασθήσεται· ἐφ’ ὃν δ’ ἂν πέσῃ, λικμήσει αὐτόν.
45 When the chief priests and the [elders who were] Pharisees heard this parable, they realized that he was accusing them [because they did not believe that he was the Messiah].
Καὶ ἀκούσαντες οἱ ἀρχιερεῖς καὶ οἱ Φαρισαῖοι τὰς παραβολὰς αὐτοῦ ἔγνωσαν ὅτι περὶ αὐτῶν λέγει·
46 They wanted to seize him, but [they did not do so] because they were afraid of what the crowds [would do if they did that], because [the crowds] considered that Jesus was a prophet.
καὶ ζητοῦντες αὐτὸν κρατῆσαι ἐφοβήθησαν τοὺς ὄχλους, ἐπεὶ εἰς προφήτην αὐτὸν εἶχον.
