The Parable of the Wicked Tenants
Matthew 21:33-46
Matt.21.33 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- Αλλην: ADJ,acc,sg,f
- παραβολην: NOUN,acc,sg,f
- ακουσατε: VERB,aor,act,imp,2,pl
- Ανθρωπος: NOUN,nom,sg,m
- ην: VERB,impf,act,ind,3,sg
- οικοδεσποτης: NOUN,nom,sg,m
- οστις: PRON,nom,sg,m
- εφυτευσεν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,sg
- αμπελωνα: NOUN,acc,sg,m
- και: CONJ
- φραγμον: NOUN,acc,sg,m
- αυτω: PRON,dat,sg,m
- περιεθηκεν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,sg
- και: CONJ
- ωρυξεν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,sg
- εν: PREP
- αυτω: PRON,dat,sg,m
- ληνον: NOUN,acc,sg,m
- και: CONJ
- ωκοδομησεν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,sg
- πυργον: NOUN,acc,sg,m
- και: CONJ
- εξεδετο: VERB,aor,mid,ind,3,sg
- αυτον: PRON,acc,sg,m,3
- γεωργοις: NOUN,dat,pl,m
- και: CONJ
- απεδημησεν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,sg
Parallels
- Mark 12:1-12 (verbal): Parallel account of the Parable of the Wicked Tenants with nearly the same wording and sequence (vineyard planted, hedged, winepress, tower, tenants abusing the owner's servants and son).
- Luke 20:9-19 (verbal): Another parallel version of the parable in Luke, preserving the vineyard imagery and the theme of tenants rejecting the owner's messengers and son.
- Isaiah 5:1-7 (allusion): The 'song of the vineyard' provides the Old Testament background: God as planter who tended a vineyard that produced wild grapes, using similar motifs (planting, hedging, tower) and interpreting Israel's failure.
- Psalm 118:22-23 (quotation): Though cited later in Matthew's narration (Matt 21:42), this psalm's image of the rejected stone becoming the cornerstone echoes the parable's theme of the owner's son being rejected and ultimate vindication.
Alternative generated candidates
- Hear another parable: there was a landowner who planted a vineyard, fenced it, dug a winepress, and built a watchtower; then he leased it to tenants and went away.
- Hear another parable: there was a landowner who planted a vineyard, set a hedge around it, dug a winepress, built a tower, and leased it to tenants, and went away.
Matt.21.34 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- οτε: CONJ
- δε: CONJ
- ηγγισεν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,sg
- ο: ART,nom,sg,m
- καιρος: NOUN,nom,sg,m
- των: ART,gen,pl,m
- καρπων: NOUN,gen,pl,m
- απεστειλεν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,sg
- τους: ART,acc,pl,m
- δουλους: NOUN,acc,pl,m
- αυτου: PRON,gen,sg,3,m
- προς: PREP
- τους: ART,acc,pl,m
- γεωργους: NOUN,acc,pl,m
- λαβειν: VERB,aor,act,inf
- τους: ART,acc,pl,m
- καρπους: NOUN,acc,pl,m
- αυτου: PRON,gen,sg,3,m
Parallels
- Mark 12:2 (verbal): Direct synoptic parallel — Mark records the same parable detail: the owner sends a servant to the tenants to collect some of the vineyard's produce.
- Luke 20:10 (verbal): Direct synoptic parallel in Luke's account of the parable of the tenants, closely matching the Matthean wording about sending servants for the fruit.
- Isaiah 5:1-7 (allusion): The 'Song of the Vineyard' provides the prophetic background: an owner plants a vineyard and expects grapes but receives bad fruit — a thematic source for Jesus' vineyard/tenant imagery and indictment of Israel's leaders.
- John 15:2-6 (thematic): Vine and branches imagery emphasizing expectation of fruit and judgment for unfruitfulness parallels the theme of the owner expecting produce from his tenants and holding them accountable.
- Psalm 80:8-16 (thematic): Uses vineyard imagery of God planting and tending Israel, lamenting its deterioration — thematically related to the vineyard-owner motif and expectation of fruit in the parable.
Alternative generated candidates
- When the season of the fruit came, he sent his servants to the tenants to receive the fruits.
- When the season drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit.
Matt.21.35 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- και: CONJ
- λαβοντες: VERB,aor,act,part,nom,pl,m
- οι: ART,nom,pl,m
- γεωργοι: NOUN,nom,pl,m
- τους: ART,acc,pl,m
- δουλους: NOUN,acc,pl,m
- αυτου: PRON,gen,sg,3,m
- ον: PRON,acc,sg,m
- μεν: PART
- εδειραν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,pl
- ον: PRON,acc,sg,m
- δε: CONJ
- απεκτειναν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,pl
- ον: PRON,acc,sg,m
- δε: CONJ
- ελιθοβολησαν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,pl
Parallels
- Mark 12:4-5 (verbal): Close verbal parallel in Mark's version of the Parable of the Tenants—servants are struck, killed, and some stoned, matching Matthew's list of abuses.
- Luke 20:12 (verbal): Luke's account of the same parable records the tenants beating one servant, killing another, and stoning a third—verbal and narrative correspondence with Matthew 21:35.
- Isaiah 5:1-7 (structural): The 'vineyard' (song) provides the prophetic background for the parable: God as vineyard owner expecting fruit from Israel and pronouncing judgment for failure—structural and thematic foundation for the parable's setting and point.
- Matthew 23:34 (allusion): Jesus declares he sends prophets, wise men and scribes, 'some of whom you will kill and crucify'—an explicit echo of the motif of God's messengers being attacked that parallels the tenants' treatment of the servants.
- Acts 7:52 (thematic): Stephen's indictment that the fathers persecuted and killed the prophets reflects the recurring theme behind the parable: Israel's historical mistreatment of God's messengers.
Alternative generated candidates
- But the tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third.
- And the tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third.
Matt.21.36 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- παλιν: ADV
- απεστειλεν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,sg
- αλλους: ADJ,acc,pl,m
- δουλους: NOUN,acc,pl,m
- πλειονας: ADJ,acc,pl,m
- των: ART,gen,pl,m
- πρωτων: ADJ,gen,pl,m
- και: CONJ
- εποιησαν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,pl
- αυτοις: PRON,dat,pl,m
- ωσαυτως: ADV
Parallels
- Mark 12:5 (verbal): Mark's parallel to the parable uses almost the same wording: the landowner sends other servants and the tenants treat them in the same way — a near-verbal synoptic parallel.
- Luke 20:12 (verbal): Luke records the same sequence in the parable: the owner sends servants who are beat and treated alike, matching Matthew's description of repeated mistreatment of the servants.
- Isaiah 5:2-7 (allusion): The vineyard motif and the theme of the owner’s expectations frustrated by unfaithful tenants echo Isaiah’s 'song of the vineyard,' where God’s care and the vineyard’s failure are depicted and prophets (messengers) are implicitly rejected.
- Matthew 21:35 (structural): The immediately preceding verse in Matthew repeats the sending of additional servants and their mistreatment, showing the parable’s iterative structure (multiple messengers sent and abused).
Alternative generated candidates
- Again he sent other servants, more than the first; and they did the same to them.
- Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they treated them in the same way.
Matt.21.37 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- υστερον: ADV
- δε: CONJ
- απεστειλεν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,sg
- προς: PREP
- αυτους: PRON,acc,pl,m
- τον: ART,acc,sg,m
- υιον: NOUN,acc,sg,m
- αυτου: PRON,gen,sg,3,m
- λεγων·Εντραπησονται: PART,ptc,pres,act,nom,sg,m+VERB,fut,pass,ind,3,pl
- τον: ART,acc,sg,m
- υιον: NOUN,acc,sg,m
- μου: PRON,gen,sg,1
Parallels
- Mark 12:6 (verbal): A near-verbatim synoptic parallel: the landowner sends his son to the tenants with the same expectation that they will respect his son.
- Luke 20:13 (verbal): Another synoptic parallel recounting the same line — the owner sends his son, expecting respect — forming part of the same parable of the tenants.
- Isaiah 5:1-7 (structural): The 'Song of the Vineyard' provides an Old Testament template: a landowner plants a vineyard, cares for it, and sends servants (prophetic spokesmen) who are mistreated — the parable echoes this structure and theme of rejected stewardship and judgment.
- Psalm 118:22 (allusion): Later in Matthew's account (21:42) Jesus cites this verse about the rejected stone; the sending and rejection of the son in the parable is linked thematically to the motif of a rejected yet vindicated agent.
- 2 Chronicles 24:20-21 (thematic): The murder of Zechariah son of Jehoiada by the people who rejected God's messenger provides an Old Testament example of a prophet/son figure being killed by those he was sent to — thematically parallels the parable's warning.
Alternative generated candidates
- Finally he sent his son to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.'
- Finally he sent his son to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.'
Matt.21.38 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- οι: ART,nom,pl,m
- δε: CONJ
- γεωργοι: NOUN,nom,pl,m
- ιδοντες: VERB,aor,act,ptc,nom,pl,m
- τον: ART,acc,sg,m
- υιον: NOUN,acc,sg,m
- ειπον: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,pl
- εν: PREP
- εαυτοις·Ουτος: PRON,dat,pl,m,ref+DEM,nom,sg,m
- εστιν: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,sg
- ο: ART,nom,sg,m
- κληρονομος·δευτε: NOUN,nom,sg,m+VERB,imp,act,2,pl
- αποκτεινωμεν: VERB,aor,act,subj,1,pl
- αυτον: PRON,acc,sg,m,3
- και: CONJ
- σχωμεν: VERB,aor,act,subj,1,pl
- την: ART,acc,sg,f
- κληρονομιαν: NOUN,acc,sg,f
- αυτου·: PRON,gen,sg,m
Parallels
- Mark 12:7 (verbal): Mark's version of the parable uses essentially the same wording — the tenants see the owner's son and decide to kill him and seize his inheritance (near-verbal parallel to Matthew's line).
- Luke 20:13 (verbal): Luke's account of the parable contains the same declaration by the tenants: 'This is the heir; come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance,' making it a direct Synoptic parallel.
- Isaiah 5:1-7 (thematic): The 'Song of the Vineyard' provides the prophetic background for vineyard imagery and Israel's failure — God as owner, Israel as vineyard/tenants, and impending judgment for unfruitfulness and wrongdoing (thematic parallel to the parable's critique of Israel's leaders).
- Psalm 118:22 (quotation): Though quoted later by Jesus in Matthew 21:42, this psalm about the rejected stone becoming the cornerstone resonates with the tenants' rejection and killing of the heir — linking the son's rejection to the messianic vindication motif.
Alternative generated candidates
- But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another, 'This is the heir; come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.'
- But the tenants, seeing the son, said to one another, 'This is the heir; come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.'
Matt.21.39 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- και: CONJ
- λαβοντες: VERB,aor,act,part,nom,pl,m
- αυτον: PRON,acc,sg,m,3
- εξεβαλον: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,pl
- εξω: ADV
- του: ART,gen,sg,n
- αμπελωνος: NOUN,gen,sg,m
- και: CONJ
- απεκτειναν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,pl
Parallels
- Mark 12:8 (verbal): Synoptic parallel with nearly identical wording — the tenants seize the son, throw him out of the vineyard, and kill him (direct verbal parallel to Matthew's line).
- Luke 20:15 (verbal): Lukan version of the same parable: reports that they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him (another close verbal parallel in the Synoptic tradition).
- Isaiah 5:1-7 (thematic): The 'Song of the Vineyard' provides the prophetic vineyard motif (Israel as a vineyard that fails to produce and faces judgment), which underlies Jesus' parable of the wicked tenants.
- Jeremiah 12:10 (thematic): Jeremiah portrays 'many shepherds' who have destroyed my vineyard — an image of leaders destroying God's people that resonates with the tenants' violence against the owner's servants/son.
- Psalm 118:22 (allusion): 'The stone the builders rejected' is applied later in Matthew's interpretation of the parable (21:42); it ties the tenants' rejection and killing of the son to the theme of rejecting God's appointed cornerstone.
Alternative generated candidates
- So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.
- So they took him, cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him.
Matt.21.40 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- οταν: CONJ,sub
- ουν: CONJ
- ελθη: VERB,aor,act,sub,3,sg
- ο: ART,nom,sg,m
- κυριος: NOUN,nom,sg,m
- του: ART,gen,sg,n
- αμπελωνος: NOUN,gen,sg,m
- τι: ADV
- ποιησει: VERB,fut,act,ind,3,sg
- τοις: ART,dat,pl,m
- γεωργοις: NOUN,dat,pl,m
- εκεινοις: PRON,dat,pl,m
Parallels
- Mark 12:9 (verbal): Near-verbatim synoptic parallel; the same question about what the vineyard owner will do to the wicked tenants.
- Luke 20:15 (verbal): Synoptic parallel in Luke's account of the tenants parable, posing the identical question about the owner's judgment on the tenants.
- Isaiah 5:1-7 (allusion): The 'Song of the Vineyard' supplies the Old Testament vineyard imagery and theme—God as owner who expects fruit from Israel and pronounces judgment when it fails to produce.
- Jeremiah 12:10-11 (thematic): Uses vineyard/tenant imagery to depict a vineyard laid waste and occupied by foreigners—echoes the fate threatened to the unfaithful tenants.
- Luke 13:6-9 (thematic): Parable of the barren fig tree: an owner expects fruit and threatens to cut down a nonproductive tree—the same motif of owner’s expectation and punitive response to unfruitfulness.
Alternative generated candidates
- When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?
- When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?
Matt.21.41 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- λεγουσιν: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,pl
- αυτω·Κακους: PRON,dat,sg,m
- κακως: ADV
- απολεσει: VERB,fut,act,ind,3,sg
- αυτους: PRON,acc,pl,m
- και: CONJ
- τον: ART,acc,sg,m
- αμπελωνα: NOUN,acc,sg,m
- εκδωσεται: VERB,fut,mid/pass,ind,3,sg
- αλλοις: ADJ,dat,pl,m
- γεωργοις: NOUN,dat,pl,m
- οιτινες: PRON,nom,pl,m
- αποδωσουσιν: VERB,fut,act,ind,3,pl
- αυτω: PRON,dat,sg,m
- τους: ART,acc,pl,m
- καρπους: NOUN,acc,pl,m
- εν: PREP
- τοις: ART,dat,pl,m
- καιροις: NOUN,dat,pl,m
- αυτων: PRON,gen,pl,3
Parallels
- Mark 12:9-12 (quotation): Direct Synoptic parallel: Mark records the same parable of the wicked tenants and Jesus' verdict that the owner will destroy the tenants and let the vineyard to others who will give him the fruits.
- Luke 20:15 (quotation): Luke's version of the parable parallels Matthew's statement that the vineyard will be given to other tenants who will produce the owner's fruit.
- Isaiah 5:1-7 (allusion): Background prophetic 'song of the vineyard' — God as vineyard owner who expects good fruit, judges unfruitfulness, and pronounces removal/judgment; provides the theological and literary matrix for Jesus' parable.
- John 15:1-8 (thematic): Uses vineyard/vine imagery and the theme of fruit-bearing and removal/judgment of unfruitful branches; thematically echoes the parable's emphasis on responsibility to produce fruit and consequences for failure.
Alternative generated candidates
- They said to him, 'He will miserably destroy those men and will lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.'
- They said to him, 'He will bring those wretches to a miserly end and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruit at the proper seasons.'
Matt.21.42 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- Λεγει: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,sg
- αυτοις: PRON,dat,pl,m
- ο: ART,nom,sg,m
- Ιησους·Ουδεποτε: PROPN,nom,sg,m
- ανεγνωτε: VERB,perf,act,ind,2,pl
- εν: PREP
- ταις: ART,dat,pl,f
- γραφαις·Λιθον: NOUN,dat,pl,f
- ον: PRON,acc,sg,m
- απεδοκιμασαν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,pl
- οι: ART,nom,pl,m
- οικοδομουντες: VERB,pres,act,part,nom,pl,m
- ουτος: PRO,nom,sg,m
- εγενηθη: VERB,aor,pass,ind,3,sg
- εις: PREP
- κεφαλην: NOUN,acc,sg,f
- γωνιας·παρα: NOUN,gen,sg,f
- κυριου: NOUN,gen,sg,m
- εγενετο: VERB,aor,mid,ind,3,sg
- αυτη: PRON,dat,sg,f
- και: CONJ
- εστιν: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,sg
- θαυμαστη: ADJ,nom,sg,f
- εν: PREP
- οφθαλμοις: NOUN,dat,pl,m
- ημων: PRON,gen,pl,1
Parallels
- Psalm 118:22-23 (quotation): The original OT saying: 'The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,' which Matthew directly cites as fulfilled in Jesus.
- Mark 12:10-11 (quotation): Synoptic parallel — Mark records the same citation/parable context with nearly identical wording applied to Jesus.
- Luke 20:17 (quotation): Another synoptic parallel — Luke preserves the same saying within Jesus' parable, quoting the rejected stone becoming the cornerstone.
- Acts 4:11 (quotation): Peter quotes Psalm 118 in his speech before the council, applying the rejected stone becoming the cornerstone explicitly to Jesus.
- 1 Peter 2:7-8 (quotation): Peter's epistolary use of the image: he calls Christ the precious cornerstone and cites the rejected stone as a stone of stumbling for unbelievers.
Alternative generated candidates
- Jesus said to them, 'Have you never read in the Scriptures: "The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was from the Lord and is marvelous in our eyes"?'
- Jesus said to them, 'Have you never read in the Scriptures: “The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes”?'
Matt.21.43 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- δια: PREP
- τουτο: PRON,acc,sg,n
- λεγω: VERB,pres,act,ind,1,sg
- υμιν: PRON,dat,pl,m
- οτι: CONJ
- αρθησεται: VERB,fut,pass,ind,3,sg
- αφ᾽υμων: PREP,gen,pl,2
- η: ART,nom,sg,f
- βασιλεια: NOUN,nom,sg,f
- του: ART,gen,sg,n
- θεου: NOUN,gen,sg,m
- και: CONJ
- δοθησεται: VERB,fut,pass,ind,3,sg
- εθνει: NOUN,dat,sg,n
- ποιουντι: PART,pres,act,dat,sg,n
- τους: ART,acc,pl,m
- καρπους: NOUN,acc,pl,m
- αυτης: PRON,gen,sg,f
Parallels
- Mark 12:9 (verbal): Closely parallel wording in Mark’s account of the parable: the vineyard owner will come, destroy the tenants, and give the vineyard to others (near-verbatim parallel to Matt 21:43).
- Luke 20:16 (verbal): Luke’s version of the parable likewise states that the owner will take the vineyard away from the wicked tenants and give it to others—another synoptic verbal parallel.
- Isaiah 5:1-7 (thematic): The Song of the Vineyard portrays Israel as God’s vineyard that fails to produce good fruit and so receives judgment—background imagery and theme behind Jesus’ declaration.
- Romans 11:17-21 (thematic): Paul’s olive-tree metaphor describes branches broken off for unbelief and Gentile branches grafted in, reflecting the theological theme of transfer/redirection of covenant privileges to a people who bear fruit.
Alternative generated candidates
- Truly I tell you, therefore, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruits.
- Truly I tell you, therefore, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.
Matt.21.44 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- Και: CONJ
- ο: ART,nom,sg,m
- πεσων: VERB,aor,act,part,nom,sg,m
- επι: PREP
- τον: ART,acc,sg,m
- λιθον: NOUN,acc,sg,m
- τουτον: PRON,acc,sg,m
- συνθλασθησεται·εφ᾽ον: VERB,fut,pass,ind,3,sg
- δ᾽αν: PART
- πεση: VERB,aor,act,subj,3,sg
- λικμησει: VERB,pres,act,subj,3,sg
- αυτον: PRON,acc,sg,m,3
Parallels
- Luke 20:18 (verbal): Synoptic parallel with nearly identical wording: whoever falls on the stone will be broken, and it will crush whoever it falls on (direct verbal/structural match).
- Isaiah 8:14-15 (allusion): Original prophetic image of a ‘stone’ that is a snare and causes people to stumble and be broken—background source for NT language of a stumbling stone/rock of offense.
- Psalm 118:22 (quotation): The rejected stone becoming the cornerstone is cited earlier in Matthew (21:42); this psalm provides the cornerstone motif underlying the warning about falling on the stone.
- Romans 9:33 (quotation): Paul quotes Isaiah (and Psalm motifs) calling Christ a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, linking the same image of judgment on those who stumble.
- 1 Peter 2:7-8 (quotation): Peter applies the ‘living stone’/stumbling-stone motifs (quoting Psalm/Isaiah traditions) to Jesus, noting that the stone is honored by believers but a stumbling block to unbelievers who are broken.
Alternative generated candidates
- Everyone who falls on this stone will be broken; and on whomever it falls, it will crush him.
- And whoever falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; and on whomever it falls, it will crush him.
Matt.21.45 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- Και: CONJ
- ακουσαντες: VERB,aor,act,part,nom,pl,m
- οι: ART,nom,pl,m
- αρχιερεις: NOUN,nom,pl,m
- και: CONJ
- οι: ART,nom,pl,m
- Φαρισαιοι: NOUN,nom,pl,m
- τας: ART,acc,pl,f
- παραβολας: NOUN,acc,pl,f
- αυτου: PRON,gen,sg,3,m
- εγνωσαν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,pl
- οτι: CONJ
- περι: PREP
- αυτων: PRON,gen,pl,3
- λεγει·: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,sg
Parallels
- Mark 12:12 (verbal): Close synoptic parallel to Matthew 21:45 — the chief priests and Pharisees (scribes) perceive that Jesus spoke the parable against them and seek to arrest him.
- Luke 20:19 (verbal): Luke’s parallel reporting the religious leaders’ realization that Jesus’ vineyard parable was directed at them and their subsequent hostile response.
- Isaiah 5:1-7 (allusion): The parable of the wicked tenants echoes the 'Song of the Vineyard' (Israel as God's vineyard), providing the prophetic background that makes the leaders' recognition intelligible.
- Matt.21:46 (structural): Immediate narrative continuation in Matthew: the leaders' reaction (they perceived and feared the crowd), showing the practical outcome of their recognition of the parable’s target.
Alternative generated candidates
- When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them.
- When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them.
Matt.21.46 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- και: CONJ
- ζητουντες: VERB,pres,act,part,nom,pl,m
- αυτον: PRON,acc,sg,m,3
- κρατησαι: VERB,aor,act,inf
- εφοβηθησαν: VERB,aor,pass,ind,3,pl
- τους: ART,acc,pl,m
- οχλους: NOUN,acc,pl,m
- επει: CONJ
- εις: PREP
- προφητην: NOUN,acc,sg,masc
- αυτον: PRON,acc,sg,m,3
- ειχον: VERB,impf,act,ind,3,pl
Parallels
- Mark 12:12 (verbal): After the parable of the tenants Mark records the leaders seeking to seize Jesus but fearing the crowd—language and situation parallel Matthew’s note that they would have arrested him but feared the multitudes.
- Mark 11:18 (thematic): Mark recounts the religious leaders’ desire to destroy Jesus yet their reluctance because the people were astonished at his teaching; same motif of hostile leaders restrained by popular opinion.
- Luke 19:47-48 (verbal): Luke describes chief priests and scribes seeking to destroy Jesus but being unable to because the people were attentive to him—closely parallels Matthew’s claim that they feared the crowds who regarded him as a prophet.
- Luke 20:19-20 (structural): Luke records the leaders watching Jesus and sending spies to trap him in words—parallels Matthew’s immediate context where hostile leaders plot against Jesus yet are constrained (here by the need to entrap him rather than open arrest).
Alternative generated candidates
- They sought to seize him, but they feared the crowds, because the crowds regarded him as a prophet.
- But when they sought to arrest him, they were afraid of the crowds, for they regarded him as a prophet.
Hear another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, enclosed it with a hedge, dug a winepress, built a watchtower, leased it to tenants, and went abroad.
When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his produce. And the tenants took his servants; one they beat, another they killed, and a third they stoned.
Again he sent other servants, more than the first; and they treated them in the same way.
Finally he sent his son to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.' But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another, 'This is the heir; come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.' So they seized him, cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him.
Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?
They said to him, 'He will put those wretches to a miserable end and will let the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruit in its season.'
Jesus said to them, 'Have you never read in the Scriptures: "The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes"?'
Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.
Whoever falls on this stone will be broken; and whoever it falls upon will be crushed.
When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them.
They sought to arrest him, but they feared the crowds, for they held him to be a prophet.