New Living Translation

New American Standard Bible 1995

1As Jesus and the disciples approached Jerusalem, they came to the town of Bethphage on the Mount of Olives. Jesus sent two of them on ahead.

1When they had approached Jerusalem and had come to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples,

2 “Go into the village over there,” he said. “As soon as you enter it, you will see a donkey tied there, with its colt beside it. Untie them and bring them to me.

2saying to them, "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied there and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to Me.

3 If anyone asks what you are doing, just say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will immediately let you take them.”

3"If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, 'The Lord has need of them,' and immediately he will send them."

4This took place to fulfill the prophecy that said,

4This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

5“Tell the people of Jerusalem, ‘Look, your King is coming to you. He is humble, riding on a donkey— riding on a donkey’s colt.’”

5"SAY TO THE DAUGHTER OF ZION, 'BEHOLD YOUR KING IS COMING TO YOU, GENTLE, AND MOUNTED ON A DONKEY, EVEN ON A COLT, THE FOAL OF A BEAST OF BURDEN.'"

6The two disciples did as Jesus commanded.

6The disciples went and did just as Jesus had instructed them,

7They brought the donkey and the colt to him and threw their garments over the colt, and he sat on it.

7and brought the donkey and the colt, and laid their coats on them; and He sat on the coats.

8Most of the crowd spread their garments on the road ahead of him, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.

8Most of the crowd spread their coats in the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them in the road.

9Jesus was in the center of the procession, and the people all around him were shouting, “Praise God for the Son of David! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the LORD! Praise God in highest heaven!”

9The crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David; BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD; Hosanna in the highest!"

10The entire city of Jerusalem was in an uproar as he entered. “Who is this?” they asked.

10When He had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, "Who is this?"

11And the crowds replied, “It’s Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.” Jesus Clears the Temple

11And the crowds were saying, "This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee."

12Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out all the people buying and selling animals for sacrifice. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves.

12And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves.

13He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves!”

13And He said to them, "It is written, 'MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER'; but you are making it a ROBBERS' DEN."

14The blind and the lame came to him in the Temple, and he healed them.

14And the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them.

15The leading priests and the teachers of religious law saw these wonderful miracles and heard even the children in the Temple shouting, “Praise God for the Son of David.” But the leaders were indignant.

15But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that He had done, and the children who were shouting in the temple, "Hosanna to the Son of David," they became indignant

16They asked Jesus, “Do you hear what these children are saying?” “Yes,” Jesus replied. “Haven’t you ever read the Scriptures? For they say, ‘You have taught children and infants to give you praise.’ ”

16and said to Him, "Do You hear what these children are saying?" And Jesus said to them, "Yes; have you never read, 'OUT OF THE MOUTH OF INFANTS AND NURSING BABIES YOU HAVE PREPARED PRAISE FOR YOURSELF'?"

17Then he returned to Bethany, where he stayed overnight. Jesus Curses the Fig Tree

17And He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and spent the night there.

18In the morning, as Jesus was returning to Jerusalem, he was hungry,

18Now in the morning, when He was returning to the city, He became hungry.

19and he noticed a fig tree beside the road. He went over to see if there were any figs, but there were only leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” And immediately the fig tree withered up.

19Seeing a lone fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it except leaves only; and He said to it, "No longer shall there ever be any fruit from you." And at once the fig tree withered.

20The disciples were amazed when they saw this and asked, “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?”

20Seeing this, the disciples were amazed and asked, "How did the fig tree wither all at once?"

21Then Jesus told them, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and don’t doubt, you can do things like this and much more. You can even say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen.

21And Jesus answered and said to them, "Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, 'Be taken up and cast into the sea,' it will happen.

22 You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it.” The Authority of Jesus Challenged

22"And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive."

23When Jesus returned to the Temple and began teaching, the leading priests and elders came up to him. They demanded, “By what authority are you doing all these things? Who gave you the right?”

23When He entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to Him while He was teaching, and said, "By what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?"

24 “I’ll tell you by what authority I do these things if you answer one question,” Jesus replied.

24Jesus said to them, "I will also ask you one thing, which if you tell Me, I will also tell you by what authority I do these things.

25 “Did 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.

25"The baptism of John was from what source, from heaven or from men?" And they began reasoning among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say to us, 'Then why did you not believe him?'

26But if we say it was merely human, we’ll be mobbed because the people believe John was a prophet.”

26"But if we say, 'From men,' we fear the people; for they all regard John as a prophet."

27So they finally replied, “We don’t know.” And Jesus responded, “Then I won’t tell you by what authority I do these things. Parable of the Two Sons

27And answering Jesus, they said, "We do not know." He also said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

28 “But what do you think about this? A man with two sons told the older boy, ‘Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.’

28"But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, 'Son, go work today in the vineyard.'

29 The son answered, ‘No, I won’t go,’ but later he changed his mind and went anyway.

29"And he answered, 'I will not'; but afterward he regretted it and went.

30 Then the father told the other son, ‘You go,’ and he said, ‘Yes, sir, I will.’ But he didn’t go.

30"The man came to the second and said the same thing; and he answered, 'I will, sir'; but he did not go.

31 “Which 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.

31"Which 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.

32 For 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. Parable of the Evil Farmers

32"For 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 feel remorse afterward so as to believe him.

33 “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.

33"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.

34 At the time of the grape harvest, he sent his servants to collect his share of the crop.

34"When the harvest time approached, he sent his slaves to the vine-growers to receive his produce.

35 But the farmers grabbed his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another.

35"The vine-growers took his slaves and beat one, and killed another, and stoned a third.

36 So the landowner sent a larger group of his servants to collect for him, but the results were the same.

36"Again he sent another group of slaves larger than the first; and they did the same thing to them.

37 “Finally, the owner sent his son, thinking, ‘Surely they will respect my son.’

37"But afterward he sent his son to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.'

38 “But when the tenant farmers saw his son coming, they said to one another, ‘Here comes the heir to this estate. Come on, let’s kill him and get the estate for ourselves!’

38"But when the vine-growers saw the son, they said among themselves, 'This is the heir; come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.'

39 So they grabbed him, dragged him out of the vineyard, and murdered him.

39"They took him, and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

40 “When the owner of the vineyard returns,” Jesus asked, “what do you think he will do to those farmers?”

40"Therefore when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vine-growers?"

41The religious leaders replied, “He will put the wicked men to a horrible death and lease the vineyard to others who will give him his share of the crop after each harvest.”

41They said to Him, "He will bring those wretches to a wretched end, and will rent out the vineyard to other vine-growers who will pay him the proceeds at the proper seasons."

42Then Jesus asked them, “Didn’t you ever read this in the Scriptures? ‘The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone. This is the LORD ’s doing, and it is wonderful to see.’

42Jesus said to them, "Did you never read in the Scriptures, 'THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone; THIS CAME ABOUT FROM THE LORD, AND IT IS MARVELOUS IN OUR EYES '?

43 I tell you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation that will produce the proper fruit.

43"Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people, producing the fruit of it.

44 Anyone who stumbles over that stone will be broken to pieces, and it will crush anyone it falls on. ”

44"And he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust."

45When the leading priests and Pharisees heard this parable, they realized he was telling the story against them—they were the wicked farmers.

45When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they understood that He was speaking about them.

46They wanted to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowds, who considered Jesus to be a prophet.

46When they sought to seize Him, they feared the people, because they considered Him to be a prophet.

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org