Matthew 21:25-34
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 21
25The baptism of John was from what source: from heaven or from men?' And they began considering the implications among themselves, saying, 'If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say to us, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ 26But if we say, ‘From men,’ we fear the people; for they all regard John as a prophet.' 27And answering Jesus, they said, 'We do not know.' He also said to them, 'Neither am I telling you by what authority I do these things.
28But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘ Son, go work today in the vineyard.’
29But he replied, ‘I do not want to.’ Yet afterward he regretted it and went.
30And the man came to his second son and said the same thing; and he replied, ‘I will, sir’; and yet he did not go.
31Which of the two did the will of his father?' They *said, 'The first.' Jesus *said to them, 'Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you.
32For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even have second thoughts afterward so as to believe him.
33Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who PLANTED A VINEYARD AND PUT A FENCE AROUND IT, AND DUG A WINE PRESS IN IT, AND BUILT A TOWER, and he leased it to vine-growers and went on a journey.
34And when the harvest time approached, he sent his slaves to the vine-growers to receive his fruit.
King James Version
Chapter 21
25The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him? 26But if we shall say, Of men; we fear the people; for all hold John as a prophet. 27And they answered Jesus, and said, We cannot tell. And he said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.
28But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard.
29He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went.
30And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not.
31Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, 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.
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 had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him.
33Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country:
34And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it.
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 21
25Did John's baptism come from heaven, or was it of human origin? "They discussed it among themselves, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will say to us, 'Then why didn't you believe him? ' 26But if we say, 'Of human origin,' we're afraid of the crowd, because everyone considers John to be a prophet."
29"He answered, 'I don't want to,' but later he changed his mind and went.
30Then the man went to the other and said the same thing. 'I will, sir,' he answered, but he didn't go.
31Which of the two did his father's will? "They said, "The first."Jesus said to them, "Truly I tell you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you.
32For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you didn't believe him. Tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; but you, when you saw it, didn't even change your minds then and believe him.
New Living Translation
Chapter 21
25Did John’s authority to baptize come from heaven, or was it merely human?' They talked it over among themselves. 'If we say it was from heaven, he will ask us why we didn’t believe John. 26But if we say it was merely human, we’ll be mobbed because the people believe John was a prophet.'
28But what do you think about this? A man with two sons told the older boy, ‘Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.’
29The son answered, ‘No, I won’t go,’ but later he changed his mind and went anyway.
30Then the father told the other son, ‘You go,’ and he said, ‘Yes, sir, I will.’ But he didn’t go.
31Which of the two obeyed his father?' They replied, 'The first.' Then Jesus explained his meaning: 'I tell you the truth, corrupt tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the Kingdom of God before you do.
32For John the Baptist came and showed you the right way to live, but you didn’t believe him, while tax collectors and prostitutes did. And even when you saw this happening, you refused to believe him and repent of your sins.
33Now listen to another story. A certain landowner planted a vineyard, built a wall around it, dug a pit for pressing out the grape juice, and built a lookout tower. Then he leased the vineyard to tenant farmers and moved to another country.
34At the time of the grape harvest, he sent his servants to collect his share of the crop.
English Standard Version
Chapter 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?’ 26But if we say, ‘From man,’ we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was a prophet.” 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.
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.’
29And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he changed his mind and went.
30And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but did not go.
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.
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.
New International Version
Chapter 21
25John'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?' 26But if we say, 'Of human origin'--we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet.'
31Which of the two did what his father wanted?' 'The first,' they answered. Jesus said to them, 'Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you.
32For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.
33Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place.
34When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit.
New King James Version
Chapter 21
25The baptism of John—where was it from? From heaven or from men?” And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 26But if we say, ‘From men,’ we fear the multitude, for all count John as a prophet.”
28“But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go, work today in my vineyard.’
29He answered and said, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he regretted it and went.
30Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, ‘I go, sir,’ but he did not go.
31Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said to Him, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you.
32For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but tax collectors and harlots believed him; and when you saw it, you did not afterward relent and believe him.
33“Hear another parable: There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country.
34Now when vintage-time drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedressers, that they might receive its fruit.
