1
Καὶ ὅτε ἤγγισαν εἰς Ἱεροσόλυμα καὶ ἦλθον εἰς Βηθφαγὴ ⸀εἰς τὸ Ὄρος τῶν Ἐλαιῶν, τότε ⸀Ἰησοῦς ἀπέστειλεν δύο μαθητὰς
And when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples,
Two disciples — they are not named here or at 26:17.
first here Bethphage Βηθφαγή Bēthphagē
first here Jesus Ἰησοῦς Iēsous
pronoun they = Jesus and the disciples
2
λέγων αὐτοῖς· ⸀Πορεύεσθε εἰς τὴν κώμην τὴν ⸀κατέναντι ὑμῶν, καὶ ⸀εὐθέως εὑρήσετε ὄνον δεδεμένην καὶ πῶλον μετ’ αὐτῆς· λύσαντες ⸀ἀγάγετέ μοι.
saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me.
A donkey … and a colt — this book has two animals; Mark 11:2, Luke 19:30 and John 12:14 have one. The difference is real and is left as it stands.
pronoun them = the two disciples — “Untie them and bring them” is the animals
pronoun you = the two disciples
pronoun her = the donkey
pronoun me = Jesus
3
καὶ ἐάν τις ὑμῖν εἴπῃ τι, ἐρεῖτε ὅτι Ὁ κύριος αὐτῶν χρείαν ἔχει· ⸀εὐθὺς δὲ ⸀ἀποστελεῖ αὐτούς.
And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,' and he will send them at once.”
He will send them at once — the Greek may also be read “the Lord sends them”, and it is left open.
pronoun you = the two disciples
pronoun them = the animals — both times
pronoun he = the owner, or the Lord — the text does not settle it
4
Τοῦτο ⸀δὲ γέγονεν ἵνα πληρωθῇ τὸ ῥηθὲν διὰ τοῦ προφήτου λέγοντος·
This happened so that what was spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying:
The formula of 1:22 explains why the animals are two.
pronoun This = the sending for the animals
5
Εἴπατε τῇ θυγατρὶ Σιών· Ἰδοὺ ὁ βασιλεύς σου ἔρχεταί σοι πραῢς καὶ ἐπιβεβηκὼς ἐπὶ ὄνον καὶ ⸀ἐπὶ πῶλον υἱὸν ὑποζυγίου.
“Say to the daughter of Zion: Behold, your king comes to you, gentle, and mounted on a donkey and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.”
On a donkey and on a colt — the quotation joins Zechariah 9:9 to Isaiah 62:11, and its Hebrew names one animal in two ways. Gentle is the word of 5:5.
first here Zion Σιών Siōn
pronoun your = the daughter of Zion
pronoun you = the daughter of Zion
6
πορευθέντες δὲ οἱ μαθηταὶ καὶ ποιήσαντες καθὼς ⸀συνέταξεν αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς
And the disciples went and did as Jesus directed them,
Did as Jesus directed them — the errand is not told twice, as it is in Mark 11:4.
pronoun them = the two disciples
7
ἤγαγον τὴν ὄνον καὶ τὸν πῶλον, καὶ ἐπέθηκαν ⸀ἐπ’ αὐτῶν τὰ ⸀ἱμάτια, καὶ ἐπεκάθισεν ἐπάνω αὐτῶν.
and they brought the donkey and the colt, and put the garments on them, and he sat upon them.
He sat upon them — the Greek plural may mean the garments or the animals, and it is not settled.
pronoun they = the two disciples
pronoun them = the animals — the second “them” may be the garments
pronoun he = Jesus
Why this rendering
Matt.21.7 Observation
Syntactic observation
The number of animals divides across the four books. Mark 11:2-7 has one πῶλος, a colt, and only that, four times. Luke 19:30-35 likewise has one πῶλος. John 12:14 has one ὀνάριον, a little donkey. Three have one; Matthew alone has two. Matthew 21:2, 5, 7 sets two side by side all three times — ὄνος, a donkey, feminine, and πῶλος, a colt, masculine. The quotation follows suit: Matthew 21:5 has ἐπὶ ὄνον καὶ ἐπὶ πῶλον υἱὸν ὑποζυγίου, on a donkey and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden, repeating the preposition, while John 12:15 reads ἐπὶ πῶλον ὄνου, on a donkey's colt, as one. The same prophecy is rendered by Matthew as two and by John as one. The pronoun at the end of v.7 is plural too — ἐπάνω αὐτῶν, upon them. That αὐτῶν is masculine plural genitive, and the τὰ ἱμάτια just before it, garments, is neuter plural and does not easily take it; reading it as a mixed plural covering ὄνος (feminine) and πῶλος (masculine) fits the gender. ὑποζύγιον, beast of burden, is unique in the four Gospels.
Rendering options · 2
Adopted “brought the donkey and the colt … and he sat upon them” — two, and the plural kept
Basis Matthew writes two all three times and the pronoun is plural; the number is not adjusted for smoothness. That the three books read one prophecy differently is the datum.
Read “sat on the garments”, leaving one animal
Basis Takes αὐτῶν as the garments, removing the oddity of two animals.
Rejected The garments are neuter plural and αὐτῶν masculine; and even so read, the two of vv.2 and 5 remain — the oddity would be erased at one verse only.
Lost in translation
the gender of ὄνος Matthew writes ὄνος as feminine (τὴν ὄνον), setting it apart in gender from the masculine colt, which is why the masculine plural pronoun at v.7 can cover both. English does not mark this, so what the pronoun takes is invisible in translation.
Survives in · this edition — 5 of the nine carry it (not this language)
8
ὁ δὲ πλεῖστος ὄχλος ἔστρωσαν ἑαυτῶν τὰ ἱμάτια ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ, ἄλλοι δὲ ἔκοπτον κλάδους ἀπὸ τῶν δένδρων καὶ ἐστρώννυον ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ.
And a very great crowd spread their own garments on the road, while others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them on the road.
Branches — this book does not say palms; John 12:13 does.
pronoun their own = the crowd
pronoun them = the branches
9
οἱ δὲ ὄχλοι οἱ προάγοντες ⸀αὐτὸν καὶ οἱ ἀκολουθοῦντες ἔκραζον λέγοντες· Ὡσαννὰ τῷ υἱῷ Δαυίδ· Εὐλογημένος ὁ ἐρχόμενος ἐν ὀνόματι κυρίου· Ὡσαννὰ ἐν τοῖς ὑψίστοις.
And the crowds going ahead of him and those following were crying out, saying, “Hosanna to the son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”
Hosanna is Hebrew, kept as sound; it is a plea — “save now” — not a word of praise. To the son of David — only this book adds it.
first here daughter Δαυίδ Dauid
pronoun him = Jesus
Why this rendering
Matt.21.9 Observation
Syntactic observation
The middle line of the cry is identical word for word in Matthew, Mark and John — εὐλογημένος ὁ ἐρχόμενος ἐν ὀνόματι κυρίου, blessed is the one coming in the name of the Lord. Luke 19:38 touches the line itself — εὐλογημένος ὁ ἐρχόμενος βασιλεὺς ἐν ὀνόματι κυρίου, inserting king inside it. In the three, what differs is what is attached before and after. Matthew has ὡσαννά τῷ υἱῷ Δαυίδ, Hosanna to the son of David; Mark 11:10 εὐλογημένη ἡ ἐρχομένη βασιλεία τοῦ πατρὸς ἡμῶν Δαυίδ, blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David; John 12:13 καὶ ὁ βασιλεὺς τοῦ Ἰσραήλ, and the king of Israel. All three name David or kingship, and no two coincide. ὡσαννά is a transliterated Semitic word occurring six times in the four Gospels (Matt 21:9 twice, 21:15; Mark 11:9, 10; John 12:13) and never in Luke; none of the three books that have it translates it — Luke 19:38 puts in its place ἐν οὐρανῷ εἰρήνη καὶ δόξα ἐν ὑψίστοις, peace in heaven and glory in the highest — in contrast with Mark, who renders ταλιθα κουμ, εφφαθα, αββα and ελωι each time. Only John names palm branches (τὰ βαΐα τῶν φοινίκων); Matthew has them cutting κλάδοι, branches.
Rendering options · 2
Adopted “Hosanna” transliterated; “to the son of David”
Basis What the authors left untranslated the translation does not translate for them (fixed at Mark 11:9). The dative τῷ υἱῷ is kept as to, distinguishing it from Mark's and John's additions.
Render by sense, “save now”
Basis Lets the reader know what is being said.
Rejected All three authors left only the transliteration; rendering by sense erases that shared choice, and with it the contrast that Mark translates his other Semitic words but not this one.
10
καὶ εἰσελθόντος αὐτοῦ εἰς Ἱεροσόλυμα ἐσείσθη πᾶσα ἡ πόλις λέγουσα· Τίς ἐστιν οὗτος;
And when he entered Jerusalem the whole city quaked, saying, “Who is this?”
Was shaken renders σείω (seiō), the earthquake-verb of 27:51 and 28:4.
pronoun he = Jesus
pronoun this = Jesus
11
οἱ δὲ ὄχλοι ἔλεγον· Οὗτός ἐστιν ⸂ὁ προφήτης Ἰησοῦς⸃ ὁ ἀπὸ Ναζαρὲθ τῆς Γαλιλαίας.
And the crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”
The prophet Jesus — the crowd's answer is smaller than its shout.
first here Nazareth Ναζαρέθ Nazareth
first here Galileans Γαλιλαία Galilaia
pronoun This = Jesus
12
Καὶ εἰσῆλθεν ⸀Ἰησοῦς εἰς τὸ ⸀ἱερόν, καὶ ἐξέβαλεν πάντας τοὺς πωλοῦντας καὶ ἀγοράζοντας ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ καὶ τὰς τραπέζας τῶν κολλυβιστῶν κατέστρεψεν καὶ τὰς καθέδρας τῶν πωλούντων τὰς περιστεράς,
And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who were selling and buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those selling doves.
Drove out is the demon-verb of 8:16 and 9:33.
pronoun he = Jesus
13
καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς· Γέγραπται· Ὁ οἶκός μου οἶκος προσευχῆς κληθήσεται, ὑμεῖς δὲ αὐτὸν ⸀ποιεῖτε σπήλαιον λῃστῶν.
And he says to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,' but you are making it a den of robbers.”
A den of robbers — Mark 11:17 keeps “for all the nations” in the quotation; this book does not.
pronoun he = Jesus
pronoun them = those in the temple
pronoun My = the one speaking in the quotation
pronoun you = those in the temple
pronoun it = my house
14
Καὶ προσῆλθον αὐτῷ ⸂τυφλοὶ καὶ χωλοὶ⸃ ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ, καὶ ἐθεράπευσεν αὐτούς.
And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them.
The blind and the lame in the temple — only this book records healings there.
pronoun him = Jesus
pronoun he = Jesus
pronoun them = the blind and the lame
15
ἰδόντες δὲ οἱ ἀρχιερεῖς καὶ οἱ γραμματεῖς τὰ θαυμάσια ἃ ἐποίησεν καὶ τοὺς παῖδας ⸀τοὺς κράζοντας ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ καὶ λέγοντας· Ὡσαννὰ τῷ υἱῷ Δαυίδ ἠγανάκτησαν
But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the marvels that he did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, “Hosanna to the son of David,” they were indignant
The children crying out — only this book has them.
pronoun he = Jesus
pronoun they = the chief priests and scribes
16
καὶ εἶπαν αὐτῷ· Ἀκούεις τί οὗτοι λέγουσιν; ὁ δὲ Ἰησοῦς λέγει αὐτοῖς· Ναί. οὐδέποτε ἀνέγνωτε ὅτι Ἐκ στόματος νηπίων καὶ θηλαζόντων κατηρτίσω αἶνον;
and said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” And Jesus says to them, “Yes. Have you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing children you have prepared praise'?”
Infants and nursing children — the quotation is Psalm 8:2.
pronoun him = Jesus
pronoun you = Jesus — “you have prepared praise” is the one addressed in the quotation
pronoun these = the children
pronoun them = the chief priests and scribes
17
καὶ καταλιπὼν αὐτοὺς ἐξῆλθεν ἔξω τῆς πόλεως εἰς Βηθανίαν, καὶ ηὐλίσθη ἐκεῖ.
And leaving them he went out of the city to Bethany, and lodged there.
Lodged (αὐλίζομαι, aulizomai) is to spend the night out of doors or in a courtyard.
first here Bethany Βηθανία Bēthania
pronoun them = the chief priests and scribes
pronoun he = Jesus
18
⸀Πρωῒ δὲ ⸀ἐπανάγων εἰς τὴν πόλιν ἐπείνασεν.
Early in the morning, returning to the city, he was hungry.
He was hungry — the hunger is given as the reason for the tree.
pronoun he = Jesus
19
καὶ ἰδὼν συκῆν μίαν ἐπὶ τῆς ὁδοῦ ἦλθεν ἐπ’ αὐτήν, καὶ οὐδὲν εὗρεν ἐν αὐτῇ εἰ μὴ φύλλα μόνον, καὶ λέγει αὐτῇ· ⸀Μηκέτι ἐκ σοῦ καρπὸς γένηται εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα· καὶ ἐξηράνθη παραχρῆμα ἡ συκῆ.
And seeing one fig tree by the road he came to it and found nothing on it but leaves only, and he says to it, “May there never again be fruit from you, to the age.” And at once the fig tree withered.
At once the fig tree withered — this book has the withering happen immediately; Mark 11:20 has it seen the next morning. The two are left as they stand.
pronoun he = Jesus — both times
pronoun it = the fig tree — every “it” here is the fig tree
pronoun you = the fig tree
Why this rendering
Matt.21.19 Observation
Syntactic observation
In Mark the episode spans two days: the curse at 11:12-14, the going out of the city in the evening at 11:19, and at 11:20, πρωΐ, in the morning, they pass by and see the tree withered. In Matthew it is one moment — καὶ ἐξηράνθη παραχρῆμα, and at once the fig tree withered — and at v.20 the disciples ask how it withered παραχρῆμα, at once. παραχρῆμα stands at these two places in Matthew and never in Mark or John, but ten times in Luke — the word is Luke's, and Matthew borrows it twice. The contrast cuts against the word counts: εὐθύς/εὐθέως, straightway, runs forty-two times in Mark against nineteen in Matthew and nine in Luke. Yet where the timing is compressed it is Matthew who uses a word Mark never has. Mark 11:13 also carries a clause Matthew lacks — ὁ γὰρ καιρὸς οὐκ ἦν σύκων, for it was not the season for figs. Only Mark records that circumstance.
Rendering options · 2
Adopted “at once it withered” — a different rendering from Mark's εὐθύς
Basis The words differ, so the renderings must, or it will not show that Matthew uses this word only here. The difference in timing is not smoothed over.
Read it as the next day, following Mark
Basis One event, so the timing is harmonized.
Rejected Matthew's text has παραχρῆμα twice, and the disciples' question at v.20 rests on that immediacy; harmonizing makes the question incoherent.
20
καὶ ἰδόντες οἱ μαθηταὶ ἐθαύμασαν λέγοντες· Πῶς παραχρῆμα ἐξηράνθη ἡ συκῆ;
And seeing it the disciples marvelled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither at once?”
How did the fig tree wither at once — the disciples ask about the speed.
pronoun it = the withering
21
ἀποκριθεὶς δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· Ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, ἐὰν ἔχητε πίστιν καὶ μὴ διακριθῆτε, οὐ μόνον τὸ τῆς συκῆς ποιήσετε, ἀλλὰ κἂν τῷ ὄρει τούτῳ εἴπητε· Ἄρθητι καὶ βλήθητι εἰς τὴν θάλασσαν, γενήσεται·
And answering, Jesus said to them, “Amen I say to you, if you have faith and do not waver, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,' it will happen.
Waver (διακρίνομαι, diakrinomai) is to be divided in oneself.
pronoun them = the disciples
pronoun I = Jesus
pronoun you = the disciples — every “you” here is the disciples
pronoun it = the moving of the mountain
22
καὶ πάντα ὅσα ⸀ἂν αἰτήσητε ἐν τῇ προσευχῇ πιστεύοντες λήμψεσθε.
And whatever you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”
Believing — the condition is put in one participle.
pronoun you = the disciples — both times
23
Καὶ ⸂ἐλθόντος αὐτοῦ⸃ εἰς τὸ ἱερὸν προσῆλθον αὐτῷ διδάσκοντι οἱ ἀρχιερεῖς καὶ οἱ πρεσβύτεροι τοῦ λαοῦ λέγοντες· Ἐν ποίᾳ ἐξουσίᾳ ταῦτα ποιεῖς; καὶ τίς σοι ἔδωκεν τὴν ἐξουσίαν ταύτην;
And when he came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching and said, “By what authority do you do these things? And who gave you this authority?”
By what authority — the same question as Mark 11:28, put in the temple.
pronoun he = Jesus
pronoun him = Jesus
pronoun you = Jesus — both times
pronoun these things = what he did in the temple
24
ἀποκριθεὶς δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· Ἐρωτήσω ὑμᾶς κἀγὼ λόγον ἕνα, ὃν ἐὰν εἴπητέ μοι κἀγὼ ὑμῖν ἐρῶ ἐν ποίᾳ ἐξουσίᾳ ταῦτα ποιῶ·
And answering, Jesus said to them, “I also will ask you one word, which if you tell me, I also will tell you by what authority I do these things.
One word — the Greek says “one word”, meaning one question.
pronoun them = the chief priests and elders
pronoun I = Jesus — every “I” here is Jesus
pronoun you = the chief priests and elders — both times
pronoun me = Jesus
25
τὸ βάπτισμα ⸀τὸ Ἰωάννου πόθεν ἦν; ἐξ οὐρανοῦ ἢ ἐξ ἀνθρώπων; οἱ δὲ διελογίζοντο ⸀ἐν ἑαυτοῖς λέγοντες· Ἐὰν εἴπωμεν· Ἐξ οὐρανοῦ, ἐρεῖ ἡμῖν· Διὰ τί οὖν οὐκ ἐπιστεύσατε αὐτῷ;
The baptism of John — where was it from? From heaven or from men?” And they were arguing among themselves, saying, “If we say ‘From heaven,' he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?'
The writer lets the reader hear them work it out, as at Mark 11:31.
first here John Ἰωάννης Iōannēs
pronoun it = the baptism of John
pronoun they = the chief priests and elders
pronoun themselves = the same
pronoun we = the same
pronoun he = Jesus
pronoun us = the chief priests and elders
pronoun you = the same
pronoun him = John
26
ἐὰν δὲ εἴπωμεν· Ἐξ ἀνθρώπων, φοβούμεθα τὸν ὄχλον, πάντες γὰρ ⸂ὡς προφήτην ἔχουσιν τὸν Ἰωάννην⸃.
But if we say ‘From men,' we fear the crowd, for they all hold John to be a prophet.”
We fear the crowd — this book has them say the fear aloud; Mark 11:32 leaves the sentence broken off.
pronoun we = the chief priests and elders — both times
pronoun they = the crowd
27
καὶ ἀποκριθέντες τῷ Ἰησοῦ εἶπαν· Οὐκ οἴδαμεν. ἔφη αὐτοῖς καὶ αὐτός· Οὐδὲ ἐγὼ λέγω ὑμῖν ἐν ποίᾳ ἐξουσίᾳ ταῦτα ποιῶ.
And answering Jesus they said, “We do not know.” And he in turn said to them, “Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things.
We do not know — the answer refuses the question, and so does his.
pronoun they = the chief priests and elders
pronoun We = the same
pronoun he = Jesus
pronoun them = the chief priests and elders
pronoun I = Jesus — both times
pronoun you = the same
28
Τί δὲ ὑμῖν δοκεῖ; ἄνθρωπος εἶχεν τέκνα δύο. ⸀προσελθὼν τῷ πρώτῳ εἶπεν· Τέκνον, ὕπαγε σήμερον ἐργάζου ἐν τῷ ⸀ἀμπελῶνι.
But what do you think? A man had two children. Going to the first he said, ‘Child, go work today in the vineyard.'
This parable stands only in this book. Children (τέκνα, tekna) — not “sons”.
pronoun he = the man
29
ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν· ⸂Οὐ θέλω· ὕστερον δὲ μεταμεληθεὶς⸃ ἀπῆλθεν.
And answering he said, ‘I will not'; but afterward, regretting it, he went.
Regretting it renders μεταμέλομαι (metamelomai), a change of feeling — this edition keeps it apart from the repent-word of 4:17.
pronoun he = the first child
pronoun it = his refusal
30
⸂προσελθὼν δὲ⸃ τῷ ⸀δευτέρῳ εἶπεν ὡσαύτως· ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν· ⸂Ἐγώ, κύριε· καὶ οὐκ⸃ ἀπῆλθεν.
And going to the second he said likewise. And answering he said, ‘I will, sir'; and he did not go.
I will, sir — the manuscripts differ over which child answers which way, and this edition follows its base text.
pronoun he = the man — the later “he” is the second child
pronoun I = the second child
31
τίς ἐκ τῶν δύο ἐποίησεν τὸ θέλημα τοῦ πατρός; ⸀λέγουσιν· Ὁ ⸀πρῶτος. λέγει αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς· Ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι οἱ τελῶναι καὶ αἱ πόρναι προάγουσιν ὑμᾶς εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ θεοῦ.
Which of the two did the will of the father?” They say, “The first.” Jesus says to them, “Amen I say to you that the tax collectors and the prostitutes go ahead of you into the kingdom of God.
Prostitutes (πόρναι, pornai) — named beside tax collectors, and only in this book.
pronoun They = the chief priests and elders
pronoun them = the chief priests and elders
pronoun I = Jesus
pronoun you = the chief priests and elders — both times
Why this rendering
Matt.21.31 Observation
Syntactic observation
πόρνη, prostitute, occurs three times in the four Gospels: Matthew's two are here (21:31, 32) and the third is Luke 15:30, in the elder brother's words. It is absent from Mark and John. μεταμέλομαι, to change one's mind or regret, is likewise Matthew's alone, at three places (21:29, 32, 27:3), two of them inside this parable and the third at Judas. So the paragraph is built from two words only Matthew uses. τελώνης runs eight times in Matthew against three in Mark — Matthew speaks of tax collectors far more often, including at 9:9 where Matthew himself is called one. The two sons in the parable have word and deed at odds: the first says I will not and, regretting it, goes; the second says I will, sir, and does not. The place is a famous one for manuscript division, and SBLGNT marks the answer (⸂⸃). What the base text prints is ὁ πρῶτος, the first, which agrees with the narrative before it. προάγω, to go ahead, is the word used at v.9 of the crowds going ahead.
Rendering options · 2
Adopted The answer as “the first” — as the base text prints
Basis Follows the base text and agrees with the narrative before it; the division is recorded in the variants.
Follow the manuscripts that reverse the two sons
Basis Some manuscripts reverse the order so the second is the son who regrets.
Rejected By our base-text decision we follow SBLGNT. Either order yields a coherent story, so the division is a textual matter rather than one of sense, and it is recorded as such.
32
ἦλθεν γὰρ ⸂Ἰωάννης πρὸς ὑμᾶς⸃ ἐν ὁδῷ δικαιοσύνης, καὶ οὐκ ἐπιστεύσατε αὐτῷ· οἱ δὲ τελῶναι καὶ αἱ πόρναι ἐπίστευσαν αὐτῷ· ὑμεῖς δὲ ἰδόντες ⸀οὐδὲ μετεμελήθητε ὕστερον τοῦ πιστεῦσαι αὐτῷ.
For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him; and you, seeing it, did not even regret it afterward and believe him.
Did not even regret it afterward — the word of verse 29 is turned on the hearers.
pronoun you = the chief priests and elders — every “you” here is the same
pronoun him = John — every “him” here is John
pronoun it = what the tax collectors and prostitutes did
33
Ἄλλην παραβολὴν ἀκούσατε. ⸀Ἄνθρωπος ἦν οἰκοδεσπότης ὅστις ἐφύτευσεν ἀμπελῶνα καὶ φραγμὸν αὐτῷ περιέθηκεν καὶ ὤρυξεν ἐν αὐτῷ ληνὸν καὶ ᾠκοδόμησεν πύργον, καὶ ἐξέδετο αὐτὸν γεωργοῖς, καὶ ἀπεδήμησεν.
Hear another parable. There was a man, a master of a house, who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower, and let it out to farmers, and went abroad.
A winepress — Mark 12:1 says a vat beneath the press. The opening lines take up Isaiah 5:1–2.
pronoun who = a man, a master of a house
pronoun it = the vineyard — both times
34
ὅτε δὲ ἤγγισεν ὁ καιρὸς τῶν καρπῶν, ἀπέστειλεν τοὺς δούλους αὐτοῦ πρὸς τοὺς γεωργοὺς λαβεῖν τοὺς καρποὺς αὐτοῦ.
And when the season of the fruits drew near he sent his slaves to the farmers to receive his fruits.
His slaves — plural from the first; Mark 12:2 sends them one at a time.
pronoun he = the master
pronoun his = the master
35
καὶ λαβόντες οἱ γεωργοὶ τοὺς δούλους αὐτοῦ ὃν μὲν ἔδειραν, ὃν δὲ ἀπέκτειναν, ὃν δὲ ἐλιθοβόλησαν.
And the farmers took his slaves; one they beat, one they killed, one they stoned.
One they beat, one they killed, one they stoned — the killing comes at once, where Mark 12:5 builds to it.
pronoun his = the master
pronoun they = the farmers — every “they” here is the farmers
36
πάλιν ἀπέστειλεν ἄλλους δούλους πλείονας τῶν πρώτων, καὶ ἐποίησαν αὐτοῖς ὡσαύτως.
Again he sent other slaves, more than the first, and they did likewise to them.
More than the first — the sending grows.
pronoun he = the master
pronoun they = the farmers
pronoun them = the other slaves
37
ὕστερον δὲ ἀπέστειλεν πρὸς αὐτοὺς τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ λέγων· Ἐντραπήσονται τὸν υἱόν μου.
And last of all he sent to them his son, saying, ‘They will respect my son.'
Last of all — the son is sent after the slaves, not among them.
pronoun he = the master
pronoun them = the farmers
pronoun his = the master
pronoun They = the farmers
pronoun my = the master
38
οἱ δὲ γεωργοὶ ἰδόντες τὸν υἱὸν εἶπον ἐν ἑαυτοῖς· Οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ κληρονόμος· δεῦτε ἀποκτείνωμεν αὐτὸν καὶ ⸀σχῶμεν τὴν κληρονομίαν αὐτοῦ·
But the farmers, seeing the son, said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.'
This is the heir — the farmers name the son by his claim.
pronoun themselves = the farmers
pronoun This = the son
pronoun us = the farmers
pronoun him = the son
pronoun his = the son
39
καὶ λαβόντες αὐτὸν ἐξέβαλον ἔξω τοῦ ἀμπελῶνος καὶ ἀπέκτειναν.
And taking him they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.
Threw him out … and killed him — this book throws out first and kills after; Mark 12:8 does the reverse.
pronoun him = the son — both times
40
ὅταν οὖν ἔλθῃ ὁ κύριος τοῦ ἀμπελῶνος, τί ποιήσει τοῖς γεωργοῖς ἐκείνοις;
When therefore the lord of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those farmers?”
What will he do — the question is put to the hearers, and they answer it.
pronoun he = the lord of the vineyard
41
λέγουσιν αὐτῷ· Κακοὺς κακῶς ἀπολέσει αὐτούς, καὶ τὸν ἀμπελῶνα ἐκδώσεται ἄλλοις γεωργοῖς, οἵτινες ἀποδώσουσιν αὐτῷ τοὺς καρποὺς ἐν τοῖς καιροῖς αὐτῶν.
They say to him, “He will destroy those evil men evilly, and will let out the vineyard to other farmers who will render him the fruits in their seasons.”
Destroy those evil men evilly keeps a Greek play on one root — only this book has the hearers pass the sentence on themselves.
pronoun They = the chief priests and elders
pronoun him = Jesus — “render him the fruits” is the lord of the vineyard
pronoun He = the lord of the vineyard
pronoun who = other farmers
pronoun their = the fruits
42
Λέγει αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς· Οὐδέποτε ἀνέγνωτε ἐν ταῖς γραφαῖς· Λίθον ὃν ἀπεδοκίμασαν οἱ οἰκοδομοῦντες οὗτος ἐγενήθη εἰς κεφαλὴν γωνίας· παρὰ κυρίου ἐγένετο αὕτη, καὶ ἔστιν θαυμαστὴ ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς ἡμῶν;
Jesus says to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone that the builders rejected, this has become the head of the corner; this came from the Lord, and it is marvellous in our eyes'?
Head of the corner — whether that is a cornerstone or a capstone is not settled. The quotation is Psalm 118.
pronoun them = the chief priests and elders
pronoun you = the same
pronoun this = the stone — the second “this” is what happened
pronoun it = what happened
pronoun our = those speaking in the quotation
43
διὰ τοῦτο λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι ἀρθήσεται ἀφ’ ὑμῶν ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ δοθήσεται ἔθνει ποιοῦντι τοὺς καρποὺς αὐτῆς.
Therefore I say to you that the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation producing its fruits.
A nation producing its fruits — this verse stands only in this book.
pronoun I = Jesus
pronoun you = the chief priests and elders — both times
pronoun its = the kingdom of God
Why this rendering
Matt.21.43 Observation
Syntactic observation
Two of Matthew's four kingdom of God places (12:28, 19:24, 21:31, 43) fall in this chapter. At 21:31 the tax collectors and prostitutes go into the kingdom of God ahead of you; at 21:43 the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation producing its fruits. Laid side by side the four have a shape: 12:28 casting out demons, 19:24 the rich man's difficulty, and these two a transfer away from one party to another. Among the thirty-two kingdom of the heavens there is no such place. The ἔθνος of v.43 is singular. Of Matthew's fifteen places only three are singular, and the other two are the idiom of 24:7, nation against nation — so this is the only singular naming one particular body, the remaining twelve all being the plural τὰ ἔθνη, the nations. Verse 44 closes with λικμάω, to winnow or crush, which stands at two places in the four Gospels — the other Luke 20:18, the same point of the same parable of the stone, and SBLGNT prints the verse in the text.
Rendering options · 2
Adopted “the kingdom of God” and “to a nation” — the singular kept
Basis Keeps the two phrases apart as fixed at 19:24 and renders ἔθνος as the singular it is, so the four places stay countable and this verse stays distinct from the plural nations.
Render as “a people”, narrowing who is meant
Basis Lets the reader see who is meant.
Rejected The text has ἔθνος, not λαός; changing the word cuts this verse off from Matthew's other ἔθνη places.
44
⸂Καὶ ὁ πεσὼν ἐπὶ τὸν λίθον τοῦτον συνθλασθήσεται· ἐφ’ ὃν δ’ ἂν πέσῃ λικμήσει αὐτόν.⸃
And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and on whomever it falls, it will winnow him away.”
Winnow him away renders λικμάω (likmaō), to scatter chaff on the wind — a farming word. The manuscripts differ over whether this verse stands here.
pronoun it = this stone
pronoun him = whomever it falls on
45
Καὶ ἀκούσαντες οἱ ἀρχιερεῖς καὶ οἱ Φαρισαῖοι τὰς παραβολὰς αὐτοῦ ἔγνωσαν ὅτι περὶ αὐτῶν λέγει·
And hearing his parables the chief priests and the Pharisees knew that he was speaking about them.
Knew that he was speaking about them — the writer says the hearing landed.
first here Pharisee Φαρισαῖος Pharisaios
pronoun his = Jesus
pronoun he = Jesus
pronoun them = the chief priests and Pharisees
46
καὶ ζητοῦντες αὐτὸν κρατῆσαι ἐφοβήθησαν τοὺς ὄχλους, ⸂ἐπεὶ εἰς⸃ προφήτην αὐτὸν εἶχον.
And seeking to seize him, they feared the crowds, since they held him to be a prophet.
They held him to be a prophet — the crowd's word from verse 11 protects him.
pronoun him = Jesus — both times
pronoun they = the chief priests and Pharisees