Matthew 21 NIV NLT Parallel

◄ Matthew 21 ►

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1As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples,

1As Jesus and the disciples approached Jerusalem, they came to the town of Bethphage on the Mount of Olives. Jesus sent two of them on ahead.

2saying to them, "Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me.

2 “Go into the village over there,” he said. “As soon as you enter it, you will see a donkey tied there, with its colt beside it. Untie them and bring them to me.

3If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away."

3 If anyone asks what you are doing, just say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will immediately let you take them.”

4This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

4This took place to fulfill the prophecy that said,

5"Say to Daughter Zion, 'See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.'"

5“Tell the people of Jerusalem, ‘Look, your King is coming to you. He is humble, riding on a donkey— riding on a donkey’s colt.’”

6The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them.

6The two disciples did as Jesus commanded.

7They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on.

7They brought the donkey and the colt to him and threw their garments over the colt, and he sat on it.

8A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.

8Most of the crowd spread their garments on the road ahead of him, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.

9The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Hosanna in the highest heaven!"

9Jesus was in the center of the procession, and the people all around him were shouting, “Praise God for the Son of David! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the LORD! Praise God in highest heaven!”

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

10The entire city of Jerusalem was in an uproar as he entered. “Who is this?” they asked.

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

11And the crowds replied, “It’s Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.” Jesus Clears the Temple

12Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves.

12Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out all the people buying and selling animals for sacrifice. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves.

13"It is written," he said to them, "'My house will be called a house of prayer,' but you are making it 'a den of robbers.'"

13He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves!”

14The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them.

14The blind and the lame came to him in the Temple, and he healed them.

15But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, "Hosanna to the Son of David," they were indignant.

15The leading priests and the teachers of religious law saw these wonderful miracles and heard even the children in the Temple shouting, “Praise God for the Son of David.” But the leaders were indignant.

16"Do you hear what these children are saying?" they asked him. "Yes," replied Jesus, "have you never read, "'From the lips of children and infants you, Lord, have called forth your praise'?"

16They asked Jesus, “Do you hear what these children are saying?” “Yes,” Jesus replied. “Haven’t you ever read the Scriptures? For they say, ‘You have taught children and infants to give you praise.’ ”

17And he left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where he spent the night.

17Then he returned to Bethany, where he stayed overnight. Jesus Curses the Fig Tree

18Early in the morning, as Jesus was on his way back to the city, he was hungry.

18In the morning, as Jesus was returning to Jerusalem, he was hungry,

19Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, "May you never bear fruit again!" Immediately the tree withered.

19and he noticed a fig tree beside the road. He went over to see if there were any figs, but there were only leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” And immediately the fig tree withered up.

20When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. "How did the fig tree wither so quickly?" they asked.

20The disciples were amazed when they saw this and asked, “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?”

21Jesus replied, "Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and it will be done.

21Then Jesus told them, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and don’t doubt, you can do things like this and much more. You can even say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen.

22If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."

22 You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it.” The Authority of Jesus Challenged

23Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. "By what authority are you doing these things?" they asked. "And who gave you this authority?"

23When Jesus returned to the Temple and began teaching, the leading priests and elders came up to him. They demanded, “By what authority are you doing all these things? Who gave you the right?”

24Jesus replied, "I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

24 “I’ll tell you by what authority I do these things if you answer one question,” Jesus replied.

25John's baptism--where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or of human origin?" They discussed it among themselves and said, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will ask, 'Then why didn't you believe him?'

25 “Did John’s authority to baptize come from heaven, or was it merely human?” They talked it over among themselves. “If we say it was from heaven, he will ask us why we didn’t believe John.

26But if we say, 'Of human origin'--we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet."

26But if we say it was merely human, we’ll be mobbed because the people believe John was a prophet.”

27So they answered Jesus, "We don't know." Then he said, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

27So they finally replied, “We don’t know.” And Jesus responded, “Then I won’t tell you by what authority I do these things. Parable of the Two Sons

28"What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work today in the vineyard.'

28 “But what do you think about this? A man with two sons told the older boy, ‘Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.’

29"'I will not,' he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.

29 The son answered, ‘No, I won’t go,’ but later he changed his mind and went anyway.

30"Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, 'I will, sir,' but he did not go.

30 Then the father told the other son, ‘You go,’ and he said, ‘Yes, sir, I will.’ But he didn’t go.

31"Which of the two did what his father wanted?" "The first," they answered. Jesus said to them, "Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you.

31 “Which of the two obeyed his father?” They replied, “The first.” Then Jesus explained his meaning: “I tell you the truth, corrupt tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the Kingdom of God before you do.

32For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.

32 For John the Baptist came and showed you the right way to live, but you didn’t believe him, while tax collectors and prostitutes did. And even when you saw this happening, you refused to believe him and repent of your sins. Parable of the Evil Farmers

33"Listen to another parable: 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 the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place.

33 “Now listen to another story. A certain landowner planted a vineyard, built a wall around it, dug a pit for pressing out the grape juice, and built a lookout tower. Then he leased the vineyard to tenant farmers and moved to another country.

34When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit.

34 At the time of the grape harvest, he sent his servants to collect his share of the crop.

35"The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third.

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

36Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way.

36 So the landowner sent a larger group of his servants to collect for him, but the results were the same.

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

37 “Finally, the owner sent his son, thinking, ‘Surely they will respect my son.’

38"But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, 'This is the heir. Come, let's kill him and take his inheritance.'

38 “But when the tenant farmers saw his son coming, they said to one another, ‘Here comes the heir to this estate. Come on, let’s kill him and get the estate for ourselves!’

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

39 So they grabbed him, dragged him out of the vineyard, and murdered him.

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

40 “When the owner of the vineyard returns,” Jesus asked, “what do you think he will do to those farmers?”

41"He will bring those wretches to a wretched end," they replied, "and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time."

41The religious leaders replied, “He will put the wicked men to a horrible death and lease the vineyard to others who will give him his share of the crop after each harvest.”

42Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures: "'The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes'?

42Then Jesus asked them, “Didn’t you ever read this in the Scriptures? ‘The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone. This is the LORD ’s doing, and it is wonderful to see.’

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

43 I tell you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation that will produce the proper fruit.

44Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed."

44 Anyone who stumbles over that stone will be broken to pieces, and it will crush anyone it falls on. ”

45When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus' parables, they knew he was talking about them.

45When the leading priests and Pharisees heard this parable, they realized he was telling the story against them—they were the wicked farmers.

46They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.

46They wanted to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowds, who considered Jesus to be a prophet.

New International Version (NIV)

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