Matthew 21:37-46

21:37 Finally he sent his son to them, ¹  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 ²  they seized him, ³  threw him out of the vineyard, ⁴  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. ⁵ 

This is from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? ⁶ 

21:43 For this reason I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a people ⁷  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.” ⁸  21:45 When ⁹  the chief priests and the Pharisees ¹⁰  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 ¹¹  regarded him as a prophet.

¹ sn The owner’s decision to send his son represents God sending Jesus.

² 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.

³ tn Grk “seizing him.” The participle λαβόντες (labontes) has been translated as attendant circumstance.

⁴ sn Throwing the heir out of the vineyard pictures Jesus’ death outside of Jerusalem.

⁵ 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.

⁶ sn A quotation from Ps 118:22-23.

⁷ tn Or “to a nation” (so KJV, NASB, NLT).

⁸ 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.

⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

¹⁰ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

¹¹ 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.