Matthew 21

When they came near Jerusalem and reached the village of Bethphage, on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples ahead.

1And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples,

NoteBethphage was a village on the Mount of Olives, the ridge immediately east of Jerusalem and separated from it by the Kidron valley. The road up from Jericho crossed this ridge, so it was the last stage of the pilgrim route, and from its western slope the temple stood in full view.

2He told them, "Go into the village in front of you. Right away you will find a donkey tied up, with her colt beside her. Untie them and bring them to me.

2Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me.

NoteThe King James "ass" simply means donkey; in 1611 the word carried no insult. A donkey was an ordinary mount for a person of standing traveling in peace, as distinct from a warhorse.

3If anyone says anything to you, tell him, 'The Lord needs them,' and he will send them at once."

3And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them.

Note"If any man say ought unto you" means if anyone says anything to you. "Ought" here is an old spelling of "aught", meaning anything at all.

4All this happened so that what God said through the prophet would come true:

4All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying,

5"Say to the daughter of Zion: Look, your King is coming to you. He is gentle, and he is riding on a donkey, on a colt, the young of a donkey."

5Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.

NoteThe quotation runs together a line from Isaiah 62:11 with Zechariah 9:9. "Daughter of Zion" is a standard Hebrew way of addressing a city as though speaking to a woman; Zion was originally the fortified hill of Jerusalem and came to stand for the city and its people. "Meek" in 1611 English meant gentle or unassuming, without the modern suggestion of weakness.

6The disciples went and did what Jesus had told them to do.

6And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them,

7They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their coats on them, and Jesus sat on them.

7And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon.

NoteThe clothes are the outer cloaks people wore over their tunics, used here as a makeshift saddle. In the Greek, "set him thereon" and "sat on them" are ambiguous: "them" may refer to the cloaks rather than to both animals. The awkwardness comes from the quoted prophecy, where Hebrew poetry names the same animal twice in parallel lines.

8A very large crowd spread their coats on the road. Others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.

8And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way.

NoteSpreading cloaks in the road was a recognized way of greeting a king; compare 2 Kings 9:13, where officers throw their garments under Jehu at his acclamation. The crowd is large because Jerusalem was filling with pilgrims for Passover. "Strawed" is the old past tense of "strew", meaning scattered or spread out.

9The crowds walking ahead of him and the crowds following him shouted, "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!"

9And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.

Note"Hosanna" is a Hebrew cry meaning "save now" or "save, please", taken from Psalm 118:25; by this period it functioned largely as a shout of welcome rather than a request. The next line is Psalm 118:26, words used to greet pilgrims arriving at the temple. "Son of David" was a title for the promised king descended from David. "In the highest" means in the highest heaven, that is, let the cry be taken up there too.

10When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, and people asked, "Who is this?"

10And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this?

NoteThe Greek verb behind "was moved" is the one used for the shaking of an earthquake. The city was not merely curious but agitated.

11The crowds said, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee."

11And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.

NoteNazareth was a small and obscure village, and Galilee was the northern region, well away from Jerusalem. "Prophet" is a more modest identification than the royal title the crowds had just been shouting.

12Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out everyone who was selling and buying there. He turned over the tables of the men who exchanged money and the seats of those selling doves.

12And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves,

NoteThe "temple" here is not the sanctuary building but the large outer courtyard open to all comers, where this trade took place. Temple dues and offerings had to be paid in a particular silver coinage, so pilgrims arriving with Roman or Greek money exchanged it, for a fee, with the money changers. Doves were the offering the law permitted to those who could not afford a lamb (Leviticus 5:7; 12:8), so the dove sellers served the poorest worshipers.

13He said to them, "It is written, 'My house will be called a house of prayer,' but you have turned it into a hideout for robbers."

13And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.

NoteThe two quoted lines come from Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11. The Greek word behind "thieves" means a bandit or brigand, someone violent, rather than a petty thief. A den is where robbers retreat to be safe between raids, not the place where the robbery happens.

14Blind people and people who could not walk came to him at the temple, and he healed them.

14And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them.

15The chief priests and the scribes, the men who studied and taught the law, saw the wonderful things he did. They also heard the children shouting in the temple, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" This made them very angry.

15And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the son of David; they were sore displeased,

NoteThe chief priests were the senior priestly families who ran the temple and its treasury, including the serving high priest and men who had held the office. The scribes were professional experts in the written law, qualified to copy, interpret and teach it. "Sore displeased" means deeply indignant; "sore" in the King James means severely.

16They said to him, "Do you hear what these children are saying?" Jesus answered, "Yes. Have you never read this: 'From the mouths of little children and nursing babies you have brought forth perfect praise'?"

16And said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?

NoteThe quotation is Psalm 8:2, cited in its Greek form, which reads "praise" where the Hebrew reads "strength". "Sucklings" are infants still nursing.

17Then he left them, went out of the city to the village of Bethany, and spent the night there.

17And he left them, and went out of the city into Bethany; and he lodged there.

NoteBethany was a village on the far side of the Mount of Olives, roughly two miles from Jerusalem, an ordinary place for pilgrims to lodge when the city itself was full.

18In the morning, as he was going back into the city, he was hungry.

18Now in the morning as he returned into the city, he hungered.

19He saw a fig tree beside the road, went up to it, and found nothing on it but leaves. He said to it, "May fruit never grow on you again." Immediately the fig tree dried up.

19And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away.

NoteFig trees in this region put out their leaves at about the same time as an early crop of small fruit, so a tree in full leaf was in effect advertising fruit. "Presently" in the King James means immediately, on the spot, which was its ordinary sense in 1611, not the modern "in a little while".

20When the disciples saw it, they were amazed and said, "How did the fig tree dry up so fast?"

20And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away!

21Jesus answered them, "I tell you the truth: if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree. You will also be able to say to this mountain, 'Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,' and it will happen.

21Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.

Note"Verily I say unto you" translates "Amen, I say to you", a formula introducing a solemn assertion. Talk of moving or uprooting a mountain was a familiar figure of speech among teachers of the time for doing what looks impossible.

22And whatever you ask for in prayer, if you believe, you will receive it."

22And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.

23Jesus came into the temple, and while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. They asked, "What right do you have to do these things? And who gave you this right?"

23And when he was come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching, and said, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority?

NoteThe chief priests and the elders, the heads of leading lay families, sat with the scribes on the council that governed Jewish internal affairs. Their question is about license rather than ability: the temple courts were their jurisdiction, and they are demanding to know who authorized the previous day's action there.

24Jesus answered them, "I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you what right I have to do these things.

24And Jesus answered and said unto them, I also will ask you one thing, which if ye tell me, I in like wise will tell you by what authority I do these things.

25Where did John's baptism come from? Was it from heaven, or from people?" They talked it over among themselves and said, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will ask us, 'Then why did you not believe him?'

25The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him?

NoteJohn is John the Baptist, who had immersed crowds in the Jordan as a sign of repentance and had been imprisoned and executed by Herod Antipas. "From heaven" is a reverent way of saying "from God", a common Jewish substitute that avoided saying the divine name directly.

26But if we say, 'From people,' we are afraid of the crowd, because everyone thinks John was a prophet."

26But if we shall say, Of men; we fear the people; for all hold John as a prophet.

27So they answered Jesus, "We do not know." And he said to them, "Then I will not tell you what right I have to do these things.

27And they answered Jesus, and said, We cannot tell. And he said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.

28But what do you think? A man had two sons. He went to the first one and said, 'Son, go work in my vineyard today.'

28But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard.

29The son answered, 'I will not.' But later he changed his mind and went.

29He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went.

NoteThe manuscripts of this parable differ: some reverse the two sons, so that the one who promises and fails comes first, and a few have the questioners approve the second son. The point of the story is the same in every version, but the numbering of the sons is not fixed in the ancient copies.

30The man went to the second son and said the same thing. That son answered, 'I will go, sir,' but he did not go.

30And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not.

31Which of the two did what his father wanted?" They said, "The first one." Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth: the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you.

31Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.

Note"Publicans" were Jews who contracted to collect taxes and tolls for Rome or for Herod. They handled Gentile money, worked for the occupying power, and were widely assumed to take more than was owed, so "publicans and harlots" was a stock pairing for people outside respectable society. "The kingdom of God" means God's reign, his exercise of rule as king, rather than a territory; Matthew usually writes "kingdom of heaven" for the same thing.

32For John came to you living a right and honest life, and you did not believe him. But the tax collectors and the prostitutes did believe him. Even after you saw that, you did not change your minds and believe him.

32For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him.

Note"In the way of righteousness" is ambiguous in the Greek and can mean either that John came living a righteous life or that he came showing the right way to live. Both senses were available to the first hearers, and the text does not settle between them.

33Listen to another story. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a watchtower. Then he rented it to some farmers and went away to another country.

33Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country:

NoteEvery detail here echoes the song of the vineyard in Isaiah 5:1-2, which the audience would recognize. The winepress is "digged" because it was cut into rock: an upper basin where grapes were trodden, draining into a lower one. The tower housed a watchman guarding the crop against thieves and animals. Renting land to tenant farmers for a share of the crop, with the owner living elsewhere, was an ordinary and often resented arrangement in Galilee.

34When harvest time came near, he sent his servants to the farmers to collect his share of the fruit.

34And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it.

NoteThe servants are not coming for cash but for the owner's agreed portion of the harvest itself, which was how rent on such land was usually paid.

35But the farmers grabbed his servants. They beat one, killed another, and stoned another.

35And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another.

36So he sent other servants, more than the first time, and the farmers treated them the same way.

36Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them likewise.

37Last of all, he sent his son to them. He said, "They will respect my son."

37But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son.

38But when the farmers saw the son, they said to each other, 'This is the heir. Come on, let's kill him and take what he was going to inherit.'

38But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance.

NoteUnder property customs of the period, land whose owner had died leaving no claimant could in some circumstances be claimed by those already occupying it. The arrival of the son alone, rather than more servants, may be what prompts the tenants' reasoning.

39So they grabbed him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.

39And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him.

40So when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those farmers?"

40When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen?

41They said to him, "He will put those evil men to a terrible death, and he will rent the vineyard to other farmers who will give him his share of the fruit at harvest time."

41They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons.

NoteThe Greek has a pointed wordplay that "miserably destroy those wicked men" preserves: roughly "he will badly destroy the bad men", the same root used twice.

42Jesus said to them, "Have you never read this in the Scriptures: 'The stone the builders threw away has become the cornerstone, the most important stone of all. The Lord did this, and it is wonderful to see'?

42Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?

NoteThe quotation is Psalm 118:22-23, from the same psalm the crowds had sung on the road. "The head of the corner" translates a phrase that can mean either the great stone set at a corner to tie and align two walls, or the stone crowning the top of the structure; both Hebrew and Greek leave it open.

43So I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.

43Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.

Note"Nation" translates a Greek word meaning a people or a group of people, not a political state with borders.

44Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, and anyone it falls on will be crushed to dust."

44And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.

NoteThis verse is missing from several of the earliest manuscripts and closely matches Luke 20:18, so many editors think it was copied in from there; modern editions often print it in brackets. Its imagery draws on Isaiah 8:14-15, a stone that people stumble over, and Daniel 2:34-35, a stone that smashes what it lands on.

45When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his stories, they understood that he was talking about them.

45And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them.

NoteThe Pharisees were a party known for strict observance of the law, including oral traditions built up around the written text. They had wide influence among ordinary people but did not control the temple, which is why they appear here alongside the chief priests rather than among them.

46They wanted to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowds, because the people thought he was a prophet.

46But when they sought to lay hands on him, they feared the multitude, because they took him for a prophet.