Matthew 21:33-46

Parable of the Landowner

33 "Listen to another parable. ¹There was a landowner who ²PLANTED A ³VINEYARD AND PUT A WALL AROUND IT AND DUG A WINE PRESS IN IT, AND BUILT A TOWER, and rented it out to vine-growers and ⁴went on a journey.

34 "When the harvest time approached, he ⁵sent his slaves to the vine-growers to receive his produce.

35 "The vine-growers took his slaves and beat one, and killed another *, and stoned a third.

36 "Again he ⁶sent another group of slaves larger than the first; and they did the same thing to them.

37 "But afterward he sent his son to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.'

38 "But when the vine-growers saw the son, they said among themselves, 'This is the heir; come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.'

39 "They took him, and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

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

41 They said to Him, "He will bring those wretches to a wretched end, and ⁷will rent out the vineyard to other vine-growers who will pay him the proceeds at the proper seasons."

42 Jesus said to them, "Did you never read in the Scriptures, '⁸THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone; THIS CAME ABOUT FROM THE LORD, AND IT IS MARVELOUS IN OUR EYES '?

43 "Therefore * I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people, producing the fruit of it.

44 "And ⁹he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever * it falls, it will scatter him like dust."

45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they understood that He was speaking about them.

46 When they sought to seize Him, they ¹⁰feared the people, because they considered Him to be a ¹¹prophet.

Cross References

• 1. Matthew 21:33-46: {Mark 12:1-12; Luke 20:9-19}
• 2. Isaiah 5:1, 2
• 3. Matthew 20:1; Matthew 21:28
• 4. Matthew 25:14
• 5. Matthew 22:3
• 6. Matthew 22:4
• 7. Matthew 8:11; Acts 13:46; Acts 18:6; Acts 28:28
• 8. Psalms 118:22; Acts 4:11; Romans 9:33; 1 Peter 2:7
• 9. Isaiah 8:14, 15
• 10. Matthew 21:26
• 11. Matthew 21:11

Footnotes

• [a] Lit "a man, head of a household"
• [b] Or "tenant farmers," also vv 34, 35, 38, 40
• [c] Lit "the fruit season"
• [d] Lit "lord"
• [e] Lit "nation"
• [f] Lit "crowds"