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Matthew 21
Revised Geneva Translation
Matthew 21
Revised Geneva Translation
21 And when they drew near to Jerusalem, and had come to Bethphage, to the mount of the Olives. Then Jesus sent two disciples,
2 saying to them, “Go into the town in front of you, and soon you shall find a donkey bound, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to Me.
3 “And if anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord has need of them. And immediately he will let them go.”
4 All this was done that what was spoken by the Prophet might be fulfilled, which says,
5 “Tell the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your King comes to you, meek and sitting upon a donkey; and upon a colt, the foal of a beast of burden’.”
6 So the disciples went and did as Jesus had commanded them;
7 and brought the donkey and the colt, and put their garments on them, and set Him upon it.
8 And a great multitude spread their garments in the way. And others cut down branches from the trees and strew them in the way.
9 Moreover, the people who went before, as well as those who followed, cried, saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He Who comes in the Name of the Lord! Hosanna, in the highest!”
10 And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?”
11 And the people said, “This is Jesus, that Prophet of Nazareth in Galilee.”
12 And Jesus went into the Temple of God, and cast out all those who sold and bought in the Temple; and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of those who sold doves;
13 and said to them, “It is written! My house shall be called the House of Prayer! But you have made it a den of thieves!”
14 Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the Temple. And He healed them.
15 But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonders that He did, and the children crying in the Temple, and saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David”, they were angry,
16 and said to Him, “Do You hear what they say?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes. Have you never read, ‘By the mouth of children and infants You have made perfect the praise’?”
17 So He left them and went out of the city, to Bethany, and lodged there.
18 And in the morning, as He returned into the city, He was hungry.
19 And seeing a fig tree on the way, He came to it. And finding nothing on it but leaves, He said to it, “May fruit never grow on you again.” And immediately the fig tree withered.
20 And when His disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How quickly that fig tree withered!”
21 And Jesus answered and said to them, “Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you shall not only do this to the fig tree, but it shall also be done if you say to this mountain, ‘Take yourself away, and cast yourself into the sea’.
22 “And whatever you shall ask in prayer - if you believe - you shall receive it.”
23 And when He had come 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?”
24 Then Jesus answered, and said to them, “I will also ask of you a certain thing which, if you tell me, I will likewise tell you by what authority I do these things.
25 “The baptism of John. From where did it come - from Heaven or from man?” Then they reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we shall say, ‘From Heaven’, He will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’
26 “And if we say, ‘From man’, we fear the multitude.” For all held John as a Prophet.
27 Then they answered Jesus, and said, “We cannot tell.” And He said to them, “Nor will I tell you by what authority I do these things.
28 “But what do you think? A man had two sons, and came to the elder, and said, ‘Son, go and work today in my vineyard.’
29 “But he answered, and said, ‘I will not.’ But later he changed his mind and went.
30 “Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered, and said, ‘I will, sir.’ But he did not go.
31 “Which of the two did the will of the father?” They said to Him, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and the prostitutes go before you into the Kingdom of God.
32 “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, though you saw it, were not moved with repentance afterward, so that you might believe him.
33 “Hear another parable. There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and fenced it in. And he made a winepress therein, and built a tower, and let it out to tenant farmers, and went away to a strange country.
34 “And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the farmers to receive the fruits thereof.
35 “And the farmers took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another.
36 “Again, he sent other servants (more than the first) and they did likewise to them.
37 “But last of all he sent his own son to them, saying, ‘They will revere my son’.
38 “But when the farmers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him. And let us take his inheritance.’
39 “So they took him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him.
40 “Therefore, when the Lord of the vineyard shall come, what will he do to those farmers?”
41 They said to Him, “He will cruelly destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard to other farmers who shall deliver the fruits to him in their seasons.”
42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures, ‘The stone which the builders refused, the same is made the Cornerstone. This was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?
43 “Therefore I say to you the Kingdom of God shall be taken from you and shall be given to a nation which shall bring forth the fruits thereof.
44 “And the one who shall fall on this stone, shall be broken. But on whomever it shall fall, it will grind to powder.
45 And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard His parables, they perceived that He spoke of them.
46 And they, seeking to lay hands on Him, feared the people. Because they took Him as a Prophet.
Matthew 21
New International Version
Matthew 21
New International Version
Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King(A)(B)
21 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives,(C) Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”
4 This took place to fulfill(D) what was spoken through the prophet:
5 “Say to Daughter Zion,
‘See, your king comes to you,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”[a](E)
6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. 8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks(F) on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,
10 When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”
11 The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet(J) from Nazareth in Galilee.”
Jesus at the Temple(K)
12 Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying(L) and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers(M) and the benches of those selling doves.(N) 13 “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’[e](O) but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’[f]”(P)
14 The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them.(Q) 15 But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David,”(R) they were indignant.(S)
16 “Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him.
“Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read,
17 And he left them and went out of the city to Bethany,(U) where he spent the night.
Jesus Curses a Fig Tree(V)
18 Early in the morning, as Jesus was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. 19 Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered.(W)
20 When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?” they asked.
21 Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt,(X) not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. 22 If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for(Y) in prayer.”
The Authority of Jesus Questioned(Z)
23 Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. “By what authority(AA) are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you this authority?”
24 Jesus replied, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. 25 John’s baptism—where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or of human origin?”
They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘Of human origin’—we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet.”(AB)
27 So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”
Then he said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.
The Parable of the Two Sons
28 “What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’(AC)
29 “‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.
30 “Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go.
31 “Which of the two did what his father wanted?”
“The first,” they answered.
Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors(AD) and the prostitutes(AE) are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32 For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness,(AF) and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors(AG) and the prostitutes(AH) did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent(AI) and believe him.
The Parable of the Tenants(AJ)
33 “Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted(AK) a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower.(AL) Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place.(AM) 34 When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants(AN) to the tenants to collect his fruit.
35 “The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third.(AO) 36 Then he sent other servants(AP) to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. 37 Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.
38 “But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir.(AQ) Come, let’s kill him(AR) and take his inheritance.’(AS) 39 So 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 tenants?”
41 “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,”(AT) they replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants,(AU) who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.”
42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:
“‘The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
the Lord has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’[h]?(AV)
43 “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you(AW) and given to a people who will produce its fruit. 44 Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.”[i](AX)
45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them. 46 They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.(AY)
Footnotes
- Matthew 21:5 Zech. 9:9
- Matthew 21:9 A Hebrew expression meaning “Save!” which became an exclamation of praise; also in verse 15
- Matthew 21:9 Psalm 118:25,26
- Matthew 21:9 A Hebrew expression meaning “Save!” which became an exclamation of praise; also in verse 15
- Matthew 21:13 Isaiah 56:7
- Matthew 21:13 Jer. 7:11
- Matthew 21:16 Psalm 8:2 (see Septuagint)
- Matthew 21:42 Psalm 118:22,23
- Matthew 21:44 Some manuscripts do not have verse 44.
Revised Geneva Translation (RGT)
© 2019 by Five Talents Audio
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.