Matthew 21

1And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and came unto Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples,

1When they got close to Jerusalem and reached Bethphage at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples on ahead.

2saying unto them, Go into the village that is over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me.

2He told them, 'Go into the village ahead of you. Right away you will find a donkey tied there with her colt. Unfasten them and bring them to me.'

3And if any one say aught unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them.

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

4Now this is come to pass, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophet, saying,

4This happened to fulfill what the prophet had said:

5Tell ye the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, Meek, and riding upon an ass, And upon a colt the foal of an ass.

5'Tell the people of Zion, Look, your King is coming to you. He is humble, riding on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.'

6And the disciples went, and did even as Jesus appointed them,

6The disciples went and did exactly what Jesus had told them to do.

7and brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their garments; and he sat thereon.

7They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their coats on them, and Jesus sat on the coats.

8And the most part of the multitude spread their garments in the way; and others cut branches from the trees, and spread them in the way.

8Most of the crowd spread their coats on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.

9And the multitudes that went before him, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.

9The crowds walking in front of him and those following behind shouted, 'Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!'

10And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, Who is this?

10When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in an uproar, asking, 'Who is this?'

11And the multitudes said, This is the prophet, Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.

11The crowds replied, 'This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.'

12And Jesus entered into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money-changers, and the seats of them that sold the doves;

12Jesus entered the temple area and drove out everyone who was buying and selling there. He knocked over the tables of the money-changers and the benches of those selling doves.

13and he saith unto them, It is written, My house shall be called a house of prayer: but ye make it a den of robbers.

13He said to them, 'The Scriptures say, "My house will be called a house of prayer," but you are turning it into a hideout for crooks.'

14And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them.

14Blind and disabled people came to him in the temple, and he healed them.

15But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children that were crying in the temple and saying, Hosanna to the son of David; they were moved with indignation,

15But when the leading priests and the religious scholars saw the wonderful things he did, and heard the children shouting in the temple, 'Hosanna to the Son of David,' they were very angry.

16and said unto him, Hearest thou what these are saying? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea: did ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?

16They asked him, 'Do you hear what these children are saying?' 'Yes,' Jesus replied. 'Haven't you ever read the Scripture, "You have taught children and infants to give perfect praise"?'

17And he left them, and went forth out of the city to Bethany, and lodged there.

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

18Now in the morning as he returned to the city, he hungered.

18Early the next morning, as Jesus was returning to the city, he was hungry.

19And seeing a fig tree by the way side, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only; and he saith unto it, Let there be no fruit from thee henceforward for ever. And immediately the fig tree withered away.

19He saw a fig tree by the side of the road and went over to it, but found nothing on it except leaves. He said to the tree, 'May you never bear fruit again!' At once, the fig tree withered up.

20And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How did the fig tree immediately wither away?

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

21And Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do what is done to the fig tree, but even if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou taken up and cast into the sea, it shall be done.

21Jesus answered, 'I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to this tree, but you can even say to this mountain, "Be lifted up and thrown into the sea," and it will happen.'

22And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.

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

23And when he was come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching, and said, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority?

23Jesus entered the temple, and while he was teaching, the leading priests and the elders of the people came to him. They asked, 'By what authority are you doing these things? Who gave you this power?'

24And Jesus answered and said unto them, I also will ask you one question, which if ye tell me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things.

24Jesus replied, 'I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, then I will tell you by what authority I do these things.'

25The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven or from men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say unto us, Why then did ye not believe him?

25'Where did John’s authority to baptize come from? Was it from heaven or was it merely human?' They argued among themselves, saying, 'If we say "from heaven," he will ask, "Then why didn't you believe him?"'

26But if we shall say, From men; we fear the multitude; for all hold John as a prophet.

26'But if we say "merely human," we are afraid of the crowd, because everyone considers John to be a prophet.'

27And they answered Jesus, and said, We know not. He also said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.

27So they answered Jesus, 'We don't know.' Jesus said to them, 'Then I won't tell you by what authority I do these things either.'

28But what think ye? A man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to-day in the vineyard.

28'What do you think about this? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said, "Son, go and work in the vineyard today."'

29And he answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented himself, and went.

29'The son answered, "I won't go," but later he changed his mind and went.'

30And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not.

30'Then the father went to the second son and said the same thing. This son answered, "I'll go, sir," but he did not go.'

31Which of the two did the will of his father? They say, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, that the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.

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

32For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not; but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye saw it, did not even repent yourselves afterward, that ye might believe him.

32'For John came to show you the right way to live, and you didn't believe him. But the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him. Even after you saw this, you didn't change your minds and believe him.'

33Hear another parable: There was a man that was a householder, who planted a vineyard, and set a hedge about it, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into another country.

33'Listen to another story: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a fence around it, dug a pit for pressing grapes, and built a lookout tower. Then he rented the farm to some tenant farmers and moved to another country.'

34And when the season of the fruits drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, to receive his fruits.

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

35And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another.

35'But the tenants grabbed his servants. They beat one, killed another, and stoned a third.'

36Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them in like manner.

36'Then the landowner sent a larger group of servants than the first time, but the tenants treated them the same way.'

37But afterward he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son.

37'Finally, he sent his own son to them, thinking, "They will respect my son."'

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

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

39And they took him, and cast him forth out of the vineyard, and killed him.

39'So they grabbed him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.'

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

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

41They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those miserable men, and will let out the vineyard unto other husbandmen, who shall render him the fruits in their seasons.

41They replied, 'He will put those wicked men to a horrible death. Then he will rent the vineyard to other tenants who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.'

42Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, The same was made the head of the corner; This was from the Lord, And it is marvellous in our eyes?

42Jesus said to them, 'Have you never read in the Scriptures: "The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. The Lord has done this, and it is amazing to us"?'

43Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken away from you, and shall be given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.

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.'

44And he that falleth on this stone shall be broken to pieces: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will scatter him as dust.

44'Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, and anyone the stone falls on will be crushed to dust.'

45And when the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them.

45When the leading priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they realized he was talking about them.

46And when they sought to lay hold on him, they feared the multitudes, because they took him for a prophet.

46They wanted to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowds because the people believed Jesus was a prophet.