Matthew 21 :: English Standard Version (ESV)

The Triumphal Entry

(Mar 11:1–10; Luk 19:28–40; Jhn 12:12–19 )

Mat 21:1Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples,

Mat 21:2

Mat 21:2saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me.

Mat 21:3

Mat 21:3If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.”

Mat 21:4

Mat 21:4This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying,

Mat 21:5

Mat 21:5“Say to the daughter of Zion,
‘Behold, your king is coming to you,
humble, and mounted on a donkey,
on a colt,[fn] the foal of a beast of burden.’”

Mat 21:6

Mat 21:6The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them.

Mat 21:7

Mat 21:7They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them.

Mat 21:8

Mat 21:8Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.

Mat 21:9

Mat 21:9And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”

Mat 21:10

Mat 21:10And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?”

Mat 21:11

Mat 21:11And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

(Mar 11:15–19; Luk 19:45–48; Jhn 2:13–22 )

Mat 21:12

Mat 21:12And Jesus entered the temple[fn] and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons.

Mat 21:13

Mat 21:13He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.”

Mat 21:14

Mat 21:14And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them.

Mat 21:15

Mat 21:15But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant,

Mat 21:16

Mat 21:16and they said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read,
“‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies
you have prepared praise’?”

Mat 21:17

Mat 21:17And leaving them, he went out of the city to Bethany and lodged there.

Jesus Curses the Fig Tree

(Mar 11:12–14 )

Mat 21:18

Mat 21:18In the morning, as he was returning to the city, he became hungry.

Mat 21:19

Mat 21:19And seeing a fig tree by the wayside, he went to it and found nothing on it but only leaves. And he said to it, “May no fruit ever come from you again!” And the fig tree withered at once.

(Mar 11:20–24 )

Mat 21:20

Mat 21:20When the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither at once?”

Mat 21:21

Mat 21:21And Jesus answered them, “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen.

Mat 21:22

Mat 21:22And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”

The Authority of Jesus Challenged

(Mar 11:27–33; Luk 20:1–8 )

Mat 21:23

Mat 21:23And when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?”

Mat 21:24

Mat 21:24Jesus answered them, “I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things.

Mat 21:25

Mat 21:25The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?” And they discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’

Mat 21:26

Mat 21:26But if we say, ‘From man,’ we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was a prophet.”

Mat 21:27

Mat 21:27So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

The Parable of the Two Sons

Mat 21:28

Mat 21:28“What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’

Mat 21:29

Mat 21:29And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he changed his mind and went.

Mat 21:30

Mat 21:30And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but did not go.

Mat 21:31

Mat 21:31Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you.

Mat 21:32

Mat 21:32For 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 even when you saw it, you did not afterward change your minds and believe him.

The Parable of the Tenants

(Mar 12:1–12; Luk 20:9–19 )

Mat 21:33

Mat 21:33“Hear another parable. There was 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 leased it to tenants, and went into another country.

Mat 21:34

Mat 21:34When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants[fn] to the tenants to get his fruit.

Mat 21:35

Mat 21:35And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another.

Mat 21:36

Mat 21:36Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them.

Mat 21:37

Mat 21:37Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’

Mat 21:38

Mat 21:38But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’

Mat 21:39

Mat 21:39And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

Mat 21:40

Mat 21:40When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”

Mat 21:41

Mat 21:41They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.”

Mat 21:42

Mat 21:42Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:
“‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;[fn]
this was the Lord’s doing,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’?

Mat 21:43

Mat 21:43Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits.

Mat 21:44

Mat 21:44And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”[fn]

Mat 21:45

Mat 21:45When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them.

Mat 21:46

Mat 21:46And although they were seeking to arrest him, they feared the crowds, because they held him to be a prophet.

See the ESV Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).

ESV Footnotes

(21:5)

Or donkey, and on a colt

(21:12)

Some manuscripts add of God

(21:34)

Or bondservants; also verses 35, 36

(21:42)

Greek the head of the corner

(21:44)

Some manuscripts omit verse 44

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For more information on this translation, see the ESV Preface.

Matthew Chapter 21 — Additional Translations:

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