Matthew 21:35-46

21:35 But the tenants seized his slaves, beat one, ¹  killed another, and stoned another. 21:36 Again he sent other slaves, more than the first, and they treated them the same way. 21:37 Finally he sent his son to them, ²  saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 21:38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and get his inheritance!’ 21:39 So ³  they seized him, ⁴  threw him out of the vineyard, ⁵  and killed him. 21:40 Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” 21:41 They said to him, “He will utterly destroy those evil men! Then he will lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him his portion at the harvest.”

21:42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the scriptures:

‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. ⁶ 

This is from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? ⁷ 

21:43 For this reason I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a people ⁸  who will produce its fruit. 21:44 The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, and the one on whom it falls will be crushed.” ⁹  21:45 When ¹⁰  the chief priests and the Pharisees ¹¹  heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them. 21:46 They wanted to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowds, because the crowds ¹²  regarded him as a prophet.

¹ sn The image of the tenants mistreating the owner’s slaves pictures the nation’s rejection of the prophets and their message.

² sn The owner’s decision to send his son represents God sending Jesus.

³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the tenants’ decision to kill the son in v. 38.

⁴ tn Grk “seizing him.” The participle λαβόντες (labontes) has been translated as attendant circumstance.

⁵ sn Throwing the heir out of the vineyard pictures Jesus’ death outside of Jerusalem.

⁶ tn Or “capstone,” “keystone.” Although these meanings are lexically possible, the imagery in Eph 2:20-22 and 1 Cor 3:11 indicates that the term κεφαλὴ γωνίας (kefalh gwnia") refers to a cornerstone, not a capstone.

⁷ sn A quotation from Ps 118:22-23.

⁸ tn Or “to a nation” (so KJV, NASB, NLT).

⁹ tc A few witnesses, especially of the Western text (D 33 it sy^s Or Eus^syr), do not contain 21:44. However, the verse is found in א B C L W Z (Θ) 0102 Ë^1,13 Ï lat sy^c,p,h co and should be included as authentic.

¹⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

¹¹ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

¹² tn Grk “they”; the referent (the crowds) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Both previous occurrences of “they” in this verse refer to the chief priests and the Pharisees.