When ^athey approached Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at ^bthe Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples ahead, Mark 11:1-10; Luke 19:29-38; John 12:12-15 2 saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and at once you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to Me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, you should say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and without delay the owner will send them with you.” 4 ^aThis happened so that what was spoken by the prophet would be fulfilled, saying:

6 Then the disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them, 7 and they brought the donkey and ¹the colt, and ²placed their coats on them; and Jesus sat on the coats. 8 Most of the crowd ^aspread their coats on the road as before a king, while others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them on the road. 9 The crowds that went ahead of Him, and those that followed Him, were shouting in praise and adoration,“¹Hosanna to the ^aSon of David (Messiah) ;^bBLESSED praised, glorified IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD;Hosanna ^cin the highest heaven!” Ps 118:26 10 When He entered Jerusalem, all the city was trembling with excitement, saying, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds were saying, “This is ^athe prophet Jesus, from ^bNazareth in Galilee.”

12 ^aAnd Jesus entered the temple grounds and drove out with force all who were buying and selling birds and animals for sacrifice in the temple area, and He turned over the tables of the ^bmoneychangers who made a profit exchanging foreign money for temple coinage and the chairs of those who were selling ^cdoves for sacrifice. Mark 11:15-18; Luke 19:45-47; John 2:14-16 13 Jesus said to them, “It is written in Scripture, ‘^aMY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER’; but you are making it a ^bROBBERS’ DEN.” Is 56:7; Jer 7:11

14 And the blind and the lame came to Him in the porticoes and courts of the temple area, and ^aHe healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful and miraculous things that Jesus had done, and heard the ¹boys who were shouting in the porticoes and courts of the temple in praise and adoration, “Hosanna to the ^aSon of David (the Messiah) ,” they became indignant 16 and they said to Him, “Do You hear what these children are saying?” And Jesus replied to them, “Yes; have you never read in the Scripture, ‘^aOUT OF THE MOUTHS OF INFANTS AND NURSING BABIES YOU HAVE PREPARED and PROVIDED PRAISE FOR YOURSELF’?” Ps 8:2 17 Then He left them and went out of the city to ^aBethany, and spent the night there.

18 ^aNow early in the morning, as Jesus was coming back to the city, He was hungry. Mark 11:12-14, 20-24 19 Seeing ^aa lone fig tree at the roadside, He went to it and found nothing but leaves on it; and He said to it, “Never again will fruit come from you.” And at once the fig tree withered.

20 When the disciples saw it, they were astonished and asked, “How is it that the fig tree has withered away all at once?” 21 Jesus replied to them, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, ^aif you have faith personal trust and confidence in Me and do not doubt or allow yourself to be drawn in two directions, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen if God wills it. 1+@John 5:14 22 And ^awhatever you ask for in prayer, believing, you will receive.”

23 ^aWhen He entered the temple area, the ¹chief priests and elders of the people came to Him ^bas He was teaching and said, “By what kind of authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority to exercise this power?” Mark 11:27-33; Luke 20:1-8 24 Jesus replied to them, “I will also ask you a question, and if you tell Me the answer, then I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 25 The baptism of John—from where did it come? From heaven that is, ordained by God or from men?” And they began debating among themselves considering the implications of their answer, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say to us, ‘Then why did you not believe John?’ 26 But if we say, ‘From men,’ we are afraid of the response of the crowd; for they all regard John as ^aa prophet.” 27 So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And He said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what kind of authority I do these things.”

28 “What do you think? There was a man who had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the ^avineyard today.’ 29 And he answered, ‘I will not’; but afterward he regretted it and changed his mind and went. 30 Then the man came to the second son and said the same thing; and he replied, ‘I will, sir’; but he did not go. 31 Which of the two did the will of the father?” The chief priests and elders replied, “The first one.” Jesus said to them, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you that ^athe tax collectors and the prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you. 32 For John came to you walking in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but ^athe tax collectors and the prostitutes did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even change your mind afterward and believe him accepting what he proclaimed to you.

33 “Listen to another parable. ^aThere was a landowner who ^bPLANTED A ^cVINEYARD 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 ^dwent on a journey to another country. Is 5:1-7; Mark 12:1-12; Luke 20:9-19 34 When the harvest time approached, he ^asent his servants to the tenants to get his share of the fruit. 35 But the tenants took his servants and beat one, and killed another, and stoned a third. 36 Again he ^asent other servants, more than the first time; and they treated them the same way. 37 Finally he sent his own son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son and have regard for him.’ 38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This man is the heir; come on, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’ 39 So they took the son and threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. 40 Now when the owner of the vineyard comes back, what will he do to those tenants?” 41 They said to Him, “He will put those despicable men to a miserable end, and ^arent out the vineyard to other tenants of good character who will pay him the proceeds at the proper seasons.”

42 Jesus asked them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:‘^aTHE very ¹STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED and THREW AWAY,HAS BECOME THE CHIEF CORNERSTONE;THIS IS THE LORD’S DOING,AND IT IS MARVELOUS and WONDERFUL IN OUR EYES’? Ps 118:22, 23 43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to another people who will produce the fruit of it. 44 And ^ahe who falls on this Stone will be broken to pieces; but he on whom it falls will be crushed.” Is 8:14, 15; Dan 2:34, 35

45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they understood that He was talking about them. 46 And although they were trying to arrest Him, they ^afeared the people, because they regarded Jesus as a ^bprophet.

^aAnd when they had approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, at ^bthe Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying 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 And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.” 4 ^aAnd this ¹took place in order that what was spoken through the prophet would be fulfilled, saying,

6 And the disciples went and did just as Jesus had instructed them, 7 and brought the donkey and the colt, and laid their garments on them; and He sat on ¹the garments. 8 And most of the crowd ^aspread their garments in the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them in the road. 9 And the crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were crying out, saying,“Hosanna to the ^aSon of David;^bBLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE ¹LORD;Hosanna ^cin the highest!” 10 And when He had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds were saying, “This is ^athe prophet Jesus, from ^bNazareth in Galilee.”

12 ^aAnd Jesus entered the temple and drove out all those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the ^bmoney changers and the seats of those who were selling ^cdoves. 13 And He *said to them, “It is written, ‘^aMY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER’; but you are making it a ^bROBBERS’ ¹DEN.”

14 And the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and ^aHe healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the marvelous things which He had done, and the children who were shouting in the temple, saying, “Hosanna to the ^aSon of David,” they became indignant 16 and said to Him, “Do You hear what these children are saying?” And Jesus *said to them, “Yes; have you never read, ‘^aOUT OF THE MOUTH OF INFANTS AND NURSING BABIES YOU HAVE PREPARED PRAISE FOR YOURSELF’?” 17 And He left them and went out of the city to ^aBethany, and spent the night there.

18 ^aNow in the morning, when He was returning to the city, He became hungry. 19 And seeing a lone ^afig 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.

20 And seeing this, the disciples marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither all at once?” 21 And Jesus answered and said to them, “Truly I say to you, ^aif 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 And ^aall things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”

23 ^aAnd when He entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to Him ^bwhile He was teaching, and said, “By what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?” 24 And Jesus answered and said to them, “I will also ask you one ¹thing, which if you tell Me, I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. 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?’ 26 But if we say, ‘From men,’ we fear the crowd; for they all regard John as ^aa prophet.” 27 And they answered Jesus and 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? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go work today in the ^avineyard.’ 29 And he answered and said, ‘I will not’; but afterward he regretted it and went. 30 And the man came to the second and said the same thing; and he answered and said, ‘I will, sir’; but he did not go. 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 ^athe tax collectors and prostitutes ¹will get into the kingdom of God before you. 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but ^athe tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even regret afterward so as to believe him.

33 “Listen to another parable. ^aThere was a ¹landowner who ^bPLANTED A ^cVINEYARD AND PUT A ²WALL AROUND IT AND DUG A WINE PRESS IN IT, AND BUILT A TOWER, and rented it out to ³vine-growers and ^dwent on a journey. 34 Now when the ¹harvest time approached, he ^asent his slaves to the vine-growers to receive his fruit. 35 And the vine-growers took his slaves and beat one, and killed another, and stoned a third. 36 Again he ^asent another group of slaves larger than the first; and they did the same thing to them. 37 But afterward he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 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 And they took him, and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40 Therefore when the ¹owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vine-growers?” 41 They *said to Him, “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end, and ^awill rent out the vineyard to other vine-growers who will pay him the proceeds at the proper seasons.”

42 Jesus *said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures,‘^aTHE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED,THIS HAS BECOME THE CHIEF CORNER stone;THIS CAME ABOUT FROM THE ¹LORD,AND IT IS MARVELOUS IN OUR EYES’? 43 Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation, producing the fruit of it. 44 And ^ahe who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.”

45 And when the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they understood that He *was speaking about them. 46 And although they were seeking to seize Him, they ^afeared the crowds, because they were regarding Him to be a ^bprophet.

^aWhen they had approached Jerusalem and had come to Bethphage, at ^bthe Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying 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 says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.” 4 ^aThis ¹took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

6 The disciples went and did just as Jesus had instructed them, 7 and brought the donkey and the colt, and laid their coats on them; and He sat on ¹the coats. 8 Most of the crowd ^aspread their coats in the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them in the road. 9 The crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting,“Hosanna to the ^aSon of David;^bBLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD;Hosanna ^cin the highest!” 10 When He had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds were saying, “This is ^athe prophet Jesus, from ^bNazareth in Galilee.”

12 ^aAnd Jesus entered the temple and drove out all those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the ^bmoney changers and the seats of those who were selling ^cdoves. 13 And He *said to them, “It is written, ‘^aMY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER’; but you are making it a ^bROBBERS’ ¹DEN.”

14 And the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and ^aHe healed them. 15 But 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 ^aSon of David,” they became indignant 16 and said to Him, “Do You hear what these children are saying?” And Jesus *said to them, “Yes; have you never read, ‘^aOUT OF THE MOUTH OF INFANTS AND NURSING BABIES YOU HAVE PREPARED PRAISE FOR YOURSELF’?” 17 And He left them and went out of the city to ^aBethany, and spent the night there.

18 ^aNow in the morning, when He was returning to the city, He became hungry. 19 Seeing a lone ^afig 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.

20 Seeing this, the disciples were amazed and asked, “How did the fig tree wither all at once?” 21 And Jesus answered and said to them, “Truly I say to you, ^aif 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 And ^aall things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”

23 ^aWhen He entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to Him ^bwhile He was teaching, and said, “By what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?” 24 Jesus said to them, “I will also ask you one ¹thing, which if you tell Me, I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. 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?’ 26 But if we say, ‘From men,’ we fear the ¹people; for they all regard John as ^aa prophet.” 27 And 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? A man had two ¹sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘²Son, go work today in the ^avineyard.’ 29 And he answered, ‘I will not’; but afterward he regretted it and went. 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 did the will of his father?” They *said, “The first.” Jesus *said to them, “Truly I say to you that ^athe tax collectors and prostitutes ¹will get into the kingdom of God before you. 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but ^athe tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even feel remorse afterward so as to believe him.

33 “Listen to another parable. ^aThere was a ¹landowner who ^bPLANTED A ^cVINEYARD AND PUT A WALL AROUND IT AND DUG A WINE PRESS IN IT, AND BUILT A TOWER, and rented it out to ²vine-growers and ^dwent on a journey. 34 When the ¹harvest time approached, he ^asent his slaves to the vine-growers to receive his produce. 35 The vine-growers took his slaves and beat one, and killed another, and stoned a third. 36 Again he ^asent another group of slaves larger than the first; and they did the same thing to them. 37 But afterward he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 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 They took him, and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40 Therefore when the ¹owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vine-growers?” 41 They *said to Him, “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end, and ^awill rent out the vineyard to other vine-growers who will pay him the proceeds at the proper seasons.”

42 Jesus *said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures,‘^aTHE 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 Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a ¹people, producing the fruit of it. 44 And ^ahe who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.”

45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they understood that He was speaking about them. 46 When they sought to seize Him, they ^afeared the ¹people, because they considered Him to be a ^bprophet.