Matthew 21:33

The Parable of the Tenants

21:33 “Listen to another parable: There was a landowner ¹  who planted a vineyard. ²  He put a fence around it, dug a pit for its winepress, and built a watchtower. Then ³  he leased it to tenant farmers ⁴  and went on a journey.

Matthew 21:39

21:39 So ⁵  they seized him, ⁶  threw him out of the vineyard, ⁷  and killed him.

[21:33]  ¹ tn The term here refers to the owner and manager of a household.

[21:33]  ² sn The vineyard is a figure for Israel in the OT (Isa 5:1-7). The nation and its leaders are the tenants, so the vineyard here may well refer to the promise that resides within the nation. The imagery is like that in Rom 11:11-24.

[21:33]  ³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[21:33]  ⁴ sn The leasing of land to tenant farmers was common in this period.

[21:39]  ⁵ 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.

[21:39]  ⁶ tn Grk “seizing him.” The participle λαβόντες (labontes) has been translated as attendant circumstance.

[21:39]  ⁷ sn Throwing the heir out of the vineyard pictures Jesus’ death outside of Jerusalem.