Devine Scripture

Matthew 21:39

What does Matthew 21:39 mean?

A plain-English look at Matthew 21:39 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.

What Matthew 21:39 means

The tenants carried out their wicked plan, seizing the son, casting him out of the vineyard, and killing him. This tragic act vividly prefigures the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. He was "cast forth out of the vineyard" (Jerusalem/Israel) to suffer outside the city walls, and He was brutally killed by those He came to save. This underscores the ultimate rejection of God's Son by the very people He came to redeem.

Parallel translations

WEB

World English Bible · 2000

And they took him, and cast him forth out of the vineyard, and killed him.

KJV

King James Version · 1611

And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him.

ASV

American Standard Version · 1901

And they took him, and cast him forth out of the vineyard, and killed him.

BBE

Bible in Basic English · 1949

And they took him and, driving him out of the vine-garden, put him to death.

YLT

Young's Literal Translation · 1862

and having taken him, they cast <FI>him<Fi> out of the vineyard, and killed him;

DRA

Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752

And taking him, they cast him forth out of the vineyard and killed him.

DBY

Darby Bible · 1890

And they took him, and cast him forth out of the vineyard, and killed him.

Context

This verse depicts the tragic execution of the householder's son, immediately following the tenants' murderous conspiracy. This climactic act of violence directly precedes Jesus' question about the householder's future judgment. It powerfully foreshadows Jesus' own crucifixion outside Jerusalem, bringing the parable's narrative to its somber peak.

v.38But the husbandmen, when they saw the son, said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and take his inheritance.

v.39This passage

v.40When therefore the lord of the vineyard shall come, what will he do unto those husbandmen?

Cross references

Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

  • Acts 2:23

    him, being delivered up by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye by the hand of lawless men did crucify and slay:

  • Luke 22:52

    And Jesus said unto the chief priests, and captains of the temple, and elders, that were come against him, Are ye come out, as against a robber, with swords and staves?

  • Acts 4:25

    who by the Holy Spirit, by the mouth of our father David thy servant, didst say, Why did the Gentiles rage, And the peoples imagine vain things?

  • John 18:24

    Annas therefore sent him bound unto Caiaphas the high priest.

  • Acts 4:10

    be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even in him doth this man stand here before you whole.

  • Acts 5:30

    The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew, hanging him on a tree.

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