Matthew 21:33
New International Version
“Listen 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.

New Living Translation
“Now 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.

English Standard Version
“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.

Berean Standard Bible
Listen 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 tower. Then he rented it out to some tenants and went away on a journey.

Berean Literal Bible
Hear another parable: There was a man, a master of a house, who planted a vineyard, and placed around it a fence, and dug a winepress in it, and built a tower; and he rented it out to farmers and traveled abroad.

King James Bible
Hear 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:

New King James Version
“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.

New American Standard Bible
“Listen 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.

NASB 1995
“Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who PLANTED A VINEYARD AND PUT A WALL AROUND IT AND DUG A WINE PRESS IN IT, AND BUILT A TOWER, and rented it out to vine-growers and went on a journey.

NASB 1977
“Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who PLANTED A VINEYARD AND PUT A WALL AROUND IT AND DUG A WINE PRESS IN IT, AND BUILT A TOWER, and rented it out to vine-growers, and went on a journey.

Legacy Standard Bible
“Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who PLANTED A VINEYARD AND PUT A WALL AROUND IT AND DUG A WINE PRESS IN IT, AND BUILT A TOWER, and rented it out to vine-growers and went on a journey.

Amplified Bible
“Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who PLANTED A VINEYARD AND PUT A WALL AROUND IT AND DUG A WINE PRESS IN IT, AND BUILT A TOWER, and rented it out to tenant farmers and went on a journey [to another country].

Christian Standard Bible
“Listen to another parable: There was a landowner, who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a watchtower. He leased it to tenant farmers and went away.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
“Listen to another parable: There was a man, a landowner, who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a watchtower. He leased it to tenant farmers and went away.

American Standard Version
Hear 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.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
“Hear another parable: there was a certain man, a landowner, and he had planted a vineyard enclosed by a fence and he had dug a wine press and had built a tower in it, and had given its care to laborers, and he went abroad.”

Contemporary English Version
Jesus told the chief priests and leaders to listen to this story: A land owner once planted a vineyard. He built a wall around it and dug a pit to crush the grapes in. He also built a lookout tower. Then he rented out his vineyard and left the country.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Hear ye another parable. There was a man an householder, who planted a vineyard, and made a hedge round about it, and dug in it a press, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen; and went into a strange country.

English Revised Version
Hear another parable: There was a man that was a householder, which 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.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
"Listen to another illustration. A landowner planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, made a winepress, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to vineyard workers and went on a trip.

Good News Translation
"Listen to another parable," Jesus said. "There was once a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a hole for the wine press, and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to tenants and left home on a trip.

International Standard Version
"Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a wall around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenant farmers and went abroad.

Literal Standard Version
Hear another allegory: There was a certain man, a householder, who planted a vineyard, and put a hedge around it, and dug in it a winepress, and built a tower, and gave it out to farmers, and went abroad.

Majority Standard Bible
Listen 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 tower. Then he rented it out to some tenants and went away on a journey.

New American Bible
“Hear another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a tower. Then he leased it to tenants and went on a journey.

NET Bible
"Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a fence around it, dug a pit for its winepress, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenant farmers and went on a journey.

New Revised Standard Version
“Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country.

New Heart English Bible
"Hear another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, set a hedge about it, dug a winepress in it, built a tower, leased it out to tenant farmers, and went on a journey.

Webster's Bible Translation
Hear another parable; There was a certain householder, who planted a vineyard, and hedged it around, and digged a wine-press in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a remote country:

Weymouth New Testament
"Listen to another parable. There was a householder who planted a vineyard, made a fence round it, dug a wine-tank in it, and built a strong lodge; then let the place to vine-dressers, and went abroad.

World English Bible
“Hear another parable. There was a man who was a master of a household who planted a vineyard, set a hedge about it, dug a wine press in it, built a tower, leased it out to farmers, and went into another country.

Young's Literal Translation
'Hear ye another simile: There was a certain man, a householder, who planted a vineyard, and did put a hedge round it, and digged in it a wine-press, and built a tower, and gave it out to husbandmen, and went abroad.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Parable of the Wicked Tenants
32For John came to you in a righteous way and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and 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 tower. Then he rented it out to some tenants and went away on a journey. 34When the harvest time drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his share of the fruit.…

Cross References
Song of Solomon 8:11
Solomon had a vineyard in Baal-hamon. He leased it to the tenants. For its fruit, each was to bring a thousand shekels of silver.

Isaiah 5:1
I will sing for my beloved a song of his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill.

Isaiah 5:2
He dug it up and cleared the stones and planted the finest vines. He built a watchtower in the middle and dug out a winepress as well. He waited for the vineyard to yield good grapes, but the fruit it produced was sour!

Matthew 20:1
"For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard.

Matthew 21:28
But what do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first one and said, 'Son, go and work today in the vineyard.'

Matthew 25:14
For it is just like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted them with his possessions.

Matthew 25:15
To one he gave five talents, to another two talents, and to another one talent--each according to his own ability. And he went on his journey.


Treasury of Scripture

Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and dig a wine press in it, and built a tower, and let it out to farmers, and went into a far country:

Hear.

Matthew 13:18
Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.

1 Kings 22:19
And he said, Hear thou therefore the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left.

Isaiah 1:10
Hear the word of the LORD, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah.

There.

Psalm 80:8-16
Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt: thou hast cast out the heathen, and planted it…

Song of Solomon 8:11,12
Solomon had a vineyard at Baalhamon; he let out the vineyard unto keepers; every one for the fruit thereof was to bring a thousand pieces of silver…

Isaiah 5:1-4
Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill: …

husbandmen.

Matthew 23:2
Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat:

Deuteronomy 1:15-17
So I took the chief of your tribes, wise men, and known, and made them heads over you, captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, and captains over fifties, and captains over tens, and officers among your tribes…

Deuteronomy 16:18
Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which the LORD thy God giveth thee, throughout thy tribes: and they shall judge the people with just judgment.

went.

Matthew 25:14,15
For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods…

Mark 13:34
For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch.

Luke 19:12
He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return.

Jump to Previous
Abroad Built Country Digged Dug Far Farmers Fence Hear Hedge Hedged Household Householder Husbandmen Leased Master Parable Planted Remote Rented Round Strong Tenants Tower Vine-Dressers Vine-Growers Vineyard Watchtower Winepress Wine-Press Wine-Tank
Jump to Next
Abroad Built Country Digged Dug Far Farmers Fence Hear Hedge Hedged Household Householder Husbandmen Leased Master Parable Planted Remote Rented Round Strong Tenants Tower Vine-Dressers Vine-Growers Vineyard Watchtower Winepress Wine-Press Wine-Tank
Matthew 21
1. Jesus rides into Jerusalem upon a donkey
12. drives the buyers and sellers out of the temple;
17. curses the fig tree;
23. puts to silence the priests and elders,
28. and rebukes them by the parable of the two sons,
33. and the husbandmen who slew such as were sent to them.














(33) Which planted a vineyard.--The frequent recurrence of this imagery at this period of our Lord's ministry is significant. (Comp. Matthew 20:1; Matthew 21:28; Luke 13:6.) The parable that now meets us points in the very form of its opening to the great example of the use of that image in Isaiah 5:1. Taking the thought there suggested as the key to the parable, the vineyard is "the house of Israel;" the "fence" finds its counterpart in the institutions which made Israel a separate and peculiar people; the "wine-press" (better, wine-vat--i.e., the reservoir underneath the press), in the Temple, as that into which the "wine" of devotion, and thanksgiving, and charity was to flow; the "tower" (used in vineyards as a place of observation and defence against the attacks of plunderers; comp. Isaiah 1:8), in Jerusalem and the outward polity connected with it. So, in like manner, the letting out to husbandmen and the going "into a far country" answers historically to the conquest by which the Israelites became possessors of Canaan, and were left, as it were, to themselves to make what use they chose of their opportunities.

Verses 33-46. - Parable of the vineyard let out to husbandmen. (Mark 12:1-12; Luke 20:9-19.) Verse 33. - Hear another parable. The domineering and lately imperious party are reduced to the position of pupils; they have to listen to teaching, not to give it; to answer, not to put questions. This parable sets forth, under the guise of history, the Pharisaical party in its official character, and as the representative of the nation. It also denounces the punishment that surely awaited these rejecters of the offered salvation; thus exemplifying the teaching of the withered fig tree (vers. 17-20). As applicable to the Jewish nation generally, it represents the long suffering of God and the various means which, in the course of their history, he had used to urge them to do their duty as his servants; and it ends with a prophecy of the coming events, and the terrible issue of impenitence. We must take the parable as partly retrospective, and partly predictive. There was a certain householder; a man (ἄνθρωπος) that was an householder. Christ in his parables often, as here, introduces God in his dealings with mankind as a man. His house is the house of Israel in particular, and in general the whole human family. A vineyard. God's kingdom upon earth, and particularly the Jewish Church. The figure is common throughout Scripture (see on Matthew 20:1). It was planted when God gave Israel a law, and put them in possession of the promised land. The parable itself is founded on Isaiah 5:1-7, where, however, the vineyard is tended by the Lord himself, not by husbandmen, and it bears wild grapes, not good grapes. By these differences different developments of declension are indicated. In the earlier times it was the nation that apostatized, fell into idolatry and rebellion against God, the theocratical Head of their race and polity. In later days it is the teachers, rabbis, priests, false prophets, who neglect the paths of righteousness, and lead people astray. In the parable these last come into painful prominence as criminally guilty of opposing God's messengers. Hedged it round; put a hedge around it. The fence would be a stone wall - a necessary defence against the incursions of wild animals. This fence has been regarded in two senses - first, as referring to the physical peculiarities of the position of the Holy Land, separated from alien nations by deserts, seas, rivers, and so isolated from evil contagion; second, as intimating the peculiar laws and minute restrictions of the Jewish polity, which differentiated Judaism from all other systems of religion, and tended to preserve purity and incorruption. Probably the "hedge" is meant to adumbrate both senses. Many, however, see in it the protection of angels, or the righteousness of saints, which seem hardly to be sufficiently precise for the context. Digged a winepress. The phrase refers, not to the ordinary wooden troughs or vats which were used for the purpose of expressing and receiving the juice of the grapes, but to such as were cut in the rock, and were common in all parts of the country. Remains of these receptacles meet the traveller everywhere on the hill slopes of Judaea, and notably in the valleys of Carmel. The winepress is taken to signify the prophetic spirit, the temple services, or all things that typified the sacrifice and death of Christ. A tower; for the purpose of watching and guarding the vineyard. This may represent the temple itself, or the civil power. Whatever interpretation may be put upon the various details, which, indeed, should not be unduly pressed, the general notion is that every care was taken of the Lord's inheritance, nothing was wanting for its convenience and security. Let it out to husbandmen. This is a new feature introduced into Isaiah's parable. Instead of paying an annual sum of money to the proprietor, these vine dressers payed in kind, furnishing a stipulated amount of fruit or wine as the hire of the vineyard. We have a lease on the former terms in Song of Solomon 8:11, where the keepers have "to bring a thousand pieces of silver for the fruit." The husbandmen are the children of Israel, who had to do their part in the Church, and show fruits of piety and devotion. Went into a far country; ἀπεδήμησεν: went abroad. In the parabolic sense, God withdrew for a time the sensible tokens of his presence, no longer manifested himself as at Sinai, and in the cloud and pillar of fire. "Innuitur tempus divinae taciturnitatis, ubi homines agunt pro arbitrio" (Bengel). God's long suffering gives time of probation.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Greek
Listen to
ἀκούσατε (akousate)
Verb - Aorist Imperative Active - 2nd Person Plural
Strong's 191: To hear, listen, comprehend by hearing; pass: is heard, reported. A primary verb; to hear.

another
Ἄλλην (Allēn)
Adjective - Accusative Feminine Singular
Strong's 243: Other, another (of more than two), different. A primary word; 'else, ' i.e. Different.

parable:
παραβολὴν (parabolēn)
Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular
Strong's 3850: From paraballo; a similitude, i.e. fictitious narrative, apothegm or adage.

There was
ἦν (ēn)
Verb - Imperfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 1510: I am, exist. The first person singular present indicative; a prolonged form of a primary and defective verb; I exist.

a landowner
Ἄνθρωπος (Anthrōpos)
Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 444: A man, one of the human race. From aner and ops; man-faced, i.e. A human being.

who
ὅστις (hostis)
Personal / Relative Pronoun - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3748: Whosoever, whichsoever, whatsoever.

planted
ἐφύτευσεν (ephyteusen)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 5452: To plant, set. From a derivative of phuo; to set out in the earth, i.e. Implant; figuratively, to instil doctrine.

a vineyard.
ἀμπελῶνα (ampelōna)
Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular
Strong's 290: A vineyard. From ampelos; a vineyard.

He put
περιέθηκεν (periethēken)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 4060: To place or put around, clothe; fig: I bestow, confer. From peri and tithemi; to place around; by implication, to present.

a wall
φραγμὸν (phragmon)
Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular
Strong's 5418: A hedge, fence, partition. From phrasso; a fence, or inclosing barrier.

around it,
αὐτῷ (autō)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Dative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 846: He, she, it, they, them, same. From the particle au; the reflexive pronoun self, used of the third person, and of the other persons.

dug
ὤρυξεν (ōryxen)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 3736: To dig, dig out, excavate. Apparently a primary verb; to 'burrow' in the ground, i.e. Dig.

a winepress
ληνὸν (lēnon)
Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular
Strong's 3025: A trough, vat, winepress. Apparently a primary word; a trough, i.e. Wine-vat.

in
ἐν (en)
Preposition
Strong's 1722: In, on, among. A primary preposition denoting position, and instrumentality, i.e. A relation of rest; 'in, ' at, on, by, etc.

it,
αὐτῷ (autō)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Dative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 846: He, she, it, they, them, same. From the particle au; the reflexive pronoun self, used of the third person, and of the other persons.

and
καὶ (kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

built
ᾠκοδόμησεν (ōkodomēsen)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 3618: From the same as oikodome; to be a house-builder, i.e. Construct or confirm.

a tower.
πύργον (pyrgon)
Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular
Strong's 4444: A tower, fortified structure. Apparently a primary word; a tower or castle.

Then
καὶ (kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

he rented it out
ἐξέδετο (exedeto)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 1554: To give out, let; middle: I let out for my own advantage. From ek and didomi; to give forth, i.e. to lease.

to [some] tenants
γεωργοῖς (geōrgois)
Noun - Dative Masculine Plural
Strong's 1092: From ge and the base of ergon; a land-worker, i.e. Farmer.

and
καὶ (kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

went away on a journey.
ἀπεδήμησεν (apedēmēsen)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 589: To be away from home, go into another country, be away, be abroad. From apodemos; to go abroad, i.e. Visit a foreign land.


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Matthew 21:32
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