Matthew 21:44

“And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and on whomever it falls, it will crush him.””

Matthew 21:44 · direct translation from the Greek
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With the Greek beneath

44

Matthew 21:44, word by word

fallsπεσὼνpesōn

fall

To go from above down to the ground.

Where else “pesōn” appears
stoneλίθονlithon

living stone

The Messiah as the main stone of the building; believers, as living stones.

Where else “lithon” appears
will be broken to piecesσυνθλασθήσεταιsynthlasthēsetai

be broken to pieces

Be broken to pieces, be shattered.

Where else “synthlasthēsetai” appears
it will crushλικμήσειlikmēsei

crush

Crush, grind to powder; also winnow, scatter.

Where else “likmēsei” appears

Translation note· on the manuscripts

This verse is missing in some manuscripts; the Greek text we follow includes it.

Parallel passages

Other books that tell the same thing or quote these words.

The wicked tenants

Mark 12:1-12Luke 20:9-19

See them side by side

Matthew 21:33-46

33Hear another parable. There was a man, 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 tenant farmers and went away on a journey. 34And when the season of fruit drew near, he sent his slaves to the tenant farmers to receive his fruit. 35And the tenant farmers took his slaves and one they beat, another they killed, another they stoned. 36Again he sent other slaves, more than the first, and they did to them the same. 37And finally he sent to them his son, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38But the tenant farmers, seeing the son, said among themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ 39And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40So when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenant farmers?” 41They say to him, “He will destroy those wretches wretchedly, and lease the vineyard to other tenant farmers who will give him the fruits in their seasons.” 42Jesus says to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures, ‘The stone that the builders rejected, this has become the head of the corner; this came about from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? 43Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation producing its fruits. 44And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and on whomever it falls, it will crush him.” 45And when the high priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they knew that he was speaking about them. 46And although they were seeking to seize him, they feared the crowds, because they held him to be a prophet.

Mark 12:1-12

1And he began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower, and leased it to tenant farmers and went away on a journey. 2And at the season he sent a slave to the tenants, so that he might receive from the tenants some of the fruit of the vineyard. 3And they took him, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. 4And again he sent to them another slave; and that one they struck on the head and treated shamefully. 5And he sent another, and that one they killed; and many others, some beating and some killing. 6He still had one, a beloved son; he sent him last to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 7But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8And they took him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. 9What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others. 10Have you not even read this Scripture: ‘The stone that the builders rejected, this has become the head of the corner; 11this came about from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?” 12And they were seeking to seize him, and they feared the crowd; for they knew that he had told the parable against them. And leaving him, they went away.

Luke 20:9-19

9And he began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard and leased it to tenant farmers and went abroad for a long time. 10And at the harvest time he sent a slave to the tenants, so that they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard; but the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 11And he went on to send another slave; but they beat that one too and treated him shamefully and sent him away empty-handed. 12And he went on to send a third; but they wounded this one also and threw him out. 13And the master of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’ 14But when the tenants saw him, they reasoned with one another, saying, ‘This is the heir; let us kill him, so that the inheritance may become ours.’ 15And they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What, then, will the master of the vineyard do to them? 16He will come and destroy these tenants and give the vineyard to others.” And when they heard this, they said, “By no means!” 17But he looked at them and said, “What then is this that is written: ‘The stone that the builders rejected, this has become the head of the corner’? 18Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; and on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.” 19And the scribes and the high priests sought to lay hands on him in that very hour, but they feared the people; for they knew that he had told this parable against them.

The context

43Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation producing its fruits.

44 · This verse (above)

45And when the high priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they knew that he was speaking about them.

Read all of Matthew 21

To study Matthew 21 in a group

  1. 1. What it says

    What did the crowd shout when Jesus entered Jerusalem (vv. 8–9)?

  2. 2. What it means

    Why did Jesus drive out those buying and selling in the temple, quoting “My house will be called a house of prayer” (vv. 12–13)?

  3. 3. How I live it

    Jesus said whatever you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive (v. 22). What would you like to ask for today with trust?

How to use it