Matthew 21:33-46

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Matthew 21:33 tn The term here refers to the owner and manager of a household.
2. Matthew 21:33 sn The vineyard is a figure for Israel in the OT (Isa 5:1-7). The nation and its leaders are the tenants, so the vineyard here may well refer to the promise that resides within the nation. The imagery is like that in Rom 11:11-24.
3. Matthew 21:33 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
4. Matthew 21:33 sn The leasing of land to tenant farmers was common in this period.
5. Matthew 21:34 tn See the note on the word “slave” in 8:9.sn These slaves represent the prophets God sent to the nation, who were mistreated and rejected.
6. Matthew 21:34 tn Grk “to collect his fruits.”
7. Matthew 21:35 sn The image of the tenants mistreating the owner’s slaves pictures the nation’s rejection of the prophets and their message.
8. Matthew 21:37 sn The owner’s decision to send his son represents God sending Jesus.
9. Matthew 21:39 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the tenants’ decision to kill the son in v. 38.
10. Matthew 21:39 tn Grk “seizing him.” The participle λαβόντες (labontes) has been translated as attendant circumstance.
11. Matthew 21:39 sn Throwing the heir out of the vineyard pictures Jesus’ death outside of Jerusalem.
12. Matthew 21:42 tn Or “capstone,” “keystone.” Although these meanings are lexically possible, the imagery in Eph 2:20-22 and 1 Cor 3:11 indicates that the term κεφαλὴ γωνίας (kephalē gōnias) refers to a cornerstone, not a capstone.sn The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. The use of Ps 118:22-23 and the “stone imagery” as a reference to Christ and his suffering and exaltation is common in the NT (see also Mark 12:10; Luke 20:17; Acts 4:11; 1 Pet 2:6-8; cf. also Eph 2:20). The irony in the use of Ps 118:22-23 here is that in the OT, Israel was the one rejected (or perhaps her king) by the Gentiles, but in the NT it is Jesus who is rejected by Israel.
13. Matthew 21:42 sn A quotation from Ps 118:22-23.
14. Matthew 21:43 tn Or “to a nation” (so KJV, NASB, NLT).
15. Matthew 21:44 tc A few witnesses, especially of the Western text (D 33 it sy^s Ir^lat Or Eus^syr), do not contain 21:44. However, the verse is found in א B C L W Z Δ (Θ) 0102 ƒ^{1, 13} 565 579 700 1241 1424 M lat sy^c,p,h co. The NA²⁷ and NA²⁸ put this verse in brackets, which normally indicates some doubt as to its authenticity, but Metzger’s Textual Commentary claims that the committee concluded that the verse was an “accretion,” including it not because of authenticity but because of its longstanding role in the textual tradition (TCGNT 47). Some scholars see the verse as scribally borrowed from the parallel in Luke 20:18, but both the wording and word order are different enough that such an imperfect assimilation cannot account for the great variety of witnesses that have a uniform reading here. In light of the lack of adequate explanation for the rise of this verse as it is written, the longer reading should be preferred.tn Grk “on whomever it falls, it will crush him.”sn This proverb basically means that the stone crushes, without regard to whether it falls on someone or someone falls on it. On the stone as a messianic image, see Isa 28:16 and Dan 2:44-45.
16. Matthew 21:45 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
17. Matthew 21:45 sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.
18. Matthew 21:46 tn Grk “they”; the referent (the crowds) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Both previous occurrences of “they” in this verse refer to the chief priests and the Pharisees.