Bible / Matthew
Matthew 21
Douay-Rheims Bible, Challoner revision (1749–1752), the traditional Catholic English Bible, translated from the Latin Vulgate. If you read a modern Bible, this is the same Scripture in older English; some names are spelled differently (Cesarea for Caesarea, Apocalypse for Revelation). About this translation
1 And when they drew nigh to Jerusalem and were come to Bethphage, unto mount Olivet, then Jesus sent two disciples, CCC
2 Saying to them: Go ye into the village that is over against you: and immediately you shall find an ass tied and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to me.
3 And if any man shall say anything to you, say ye that the Lord hath need of them. And forthwith he will let them go.
4 Now all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:
5 Tell ye the daughter of Sion: Behold thy king cometh to thee, meek and sitting upon an ass and a colt, the foal of her that is used to the yoke.
6 And the disciples going, did as Jesus commanded them.
7 And they brought the ass and the colt and laid their garments upon them and made him sit thereon.
8 And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way: and others cut boughs from the trees and strewed them in the way. Fathers
9 And the multitudes that went before and that followed cried, saying: Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest. CCC
10 And when he was come into Jerusalem, the whole city was moved, saying: Who is this?
11 And the people said: This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.
12 And Jesus went into the temple of God and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple and overthrew the tables of the money changers and the chairs of them that sold doves.
13 And he saith to them: It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but you have made it a den of thieves. CCC · Fathers
14 And there came to him the blind and the lame in the temple: and he healed them.
15 And the chief priests and scribes, seeing the wonderful things that he did and the children crying in the temple and saying: Hosanna to the son of David, were moved with indignation, CCC
16 And said to him: Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus said to them: Yea, have you never read: Out of the mouth of infants and of sucklings thou hast perfected praise? CCC · Fathers
17 And leaving them, he went out of the city into Bethania and remained there.
18 And in the morning, returning into the city, he was hungry. CCC
19 And seeing a certain fig tree by the way side, he came to it and found nothing on it but leaves only. And he saith to it: May no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And immediately the fig tree withered away.
20 And the disciples seeing it wondered, saying: How is it presently withered away?
21 And Jesus answering, said to them: Amen, I say to you, if you shall have faith and stagger not, not only this of the fig tree shall you do, but also if you shall say to this mountain, Take up and cast thyself into the sea, it shall be done.
22 And all things whatsoever you shall ask in prayer believing, you shall receive. CCC
23 And when he was come into the temple, there came to him, as he was teaching, the chief priests and ancients of the people, saying: By what authority dost thou these things? And who hath given thee this authority?
24 Jesus answering, said to them: I also will ask you one word, which if you shall tell me, I will also tell you by what authority I do these things.
25 The baptism of John, whence was it? From heaven or from men? But they thought within themselves, saying:
26 If we shall say, from heaven, he will say to us: Why then did you not believe him? But if we shall say, from men, we are afraid of the multitude: for all held John as a prophet.
27 And answering Jesus, they said: We know not. He also said to them: Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things.
28 But what think you? A certain man had two sons: and coming to the first, he said: Son, go work to day in my vineyard. CCC
29 And he answering, said: I will not. But afterwards, being moved with repentance, he went. CCC
30 And coming to the other, he said in like manner. And he answering said: I go, Sir. And he went not. CCC
31 Which of the two did the father’s will? They say to him: The first. Jesus saith to them: Amen I say to you that the publicans and the harlots shall go into the kingdom of God before you. CCC · Fathers
32 For John came to you in the way of justice: and you did not believe him. But the publicans and the harlots believed him: but you, seeing it, did not even afterwards repent, that you might believe him. CCC
33 Hear ye another parable. There was a man, an householder, who planted a vineyard and made a hedge round about it and dug in it a press and built a tower and let it out to husbandmen and went into a strange country. Fathers
34 And when the time of the fruits drew nigh, he sent his servants to the husbandmen that they might receive the fruits thereof. CCC
35 And the husbandmen laying hands on his servants, beat one and killed another and stoned another. CCC
36 Again he sent other servants, more than the former; and they did to them in like manner. CCC
37 And last of all he sent to them his son, saying: They will reverence my son. CCC
38 But the husbandmen seeing the son, said among themselves: This is the heir: come, let us kill him, and we shall have his inheritance. CCC
39 And taking him, they cast him forth out of the vineyard and killed him.
40 When therefore the lord of the vineyard shall come, what will he do to those husbandmen?
41 They say to him: He will bring those evil men to an evil end and will let out his vineyard to other husbandmen that shall render him the fruit in due season.
42 Jesus saith to them: Have you never read in the Scriptures: The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner? By the Lord this has been done; and it is wonderful in our eyes. CCC · Fathers
43 Therefore I say to you that the kingdom of God shall be taken from you and shall be given to a nation yielding the fruits thereof. Fathers
44 And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it shall grind him to powder. Fathers
45 And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they knew that he spoke of them.
46 And seeking to lay hands on him, they feared the multitudes, because they held him as a prophet.
This chapter in the Catechism and the early Church
Where the Catechism of the Catholic Church cites these verses (from its footnotes on vatican.va), and where the earliest Church Fathers quote them (Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1, public domain). Short quotes only; follow the links for the full text.
Read the Catechism
- CCC 559 “How will Jerusalem welcome her Messiah? Although Jesus had always refused popular attempts to make him king, he chooses the time and…”
Read the Fathers
“… His sorrow of soul, and spread their garments for Him, and ornamented the way with green boughs, crying out with great joy and gladness, "Hosanna to the Son of David; blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord: hosanna in the highest.”
Quoted in Against Heresies, Book IV, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter XI. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
Read the Catechism
- CCC 439 “Many Jews and even certain Gentiles who shared their hope recognized in Jesus the fundamental attributes of the messianic "Son of David",…”
Read the Catechism and Fathers
- CCC 584 “Jesus went up to the Temple as the privileged place of encounter with God. For him, the Temple was the dwelling of…”
“For He appeared distasteful to you when He cried among you, It is written, My house is the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves!”
Quoted in Dialogue with Trypho, St. Justin Martyr (c. AD 160), Chapter XVII. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
“… and did truly vindicate His own house, by driving out of it the changers of money, who were buying and selling, saying unto them: "It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.”
Quoted in Against Heresies, Book IV, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter II. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
Read the Catechism
- CCC 559 “How will Jerusalem welcome her Messiah? Although Jesus had always refused popular attempts to make him king, he chooses the time and…”
Read the Catechism and Fathers
- CCC 559 “How will Jerusalem welcome her Messiah? Although Jesus had always refused popular attempts to make him king, he chooses the time and…”
“… had no great intelligence, and for this reason were unwilling that the king should come, and who said to Him, "Hearest thou what these say?" did the Lord reply, "Have ye never read, Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings hast Thou perfected praise?”
Quoted in Against Heresies, Book IV, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter XI. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
Read the Catechism
- CCC 544 “The kingdom belongs to the poor and lowly, which means those who have accepted it with humble hearts. Jesus is sent to…”
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- CCC 2610 “Just as Jesus prays to the Father and gives thanks before receiving his gifts, so he teaches us filial boldness: "Whatever you…”
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- CCC 546 “Jesus' invitation to enter his kingdom comes in the form of parables, a characteristic feature of his teaching. Through his parables he…”
Read the Catechism
- CCC 546 “Jesus' invitation to enter his kingdom comes in the form of parables, a characteristic feature of his teaching. Through his parables he…”
Read the Catechism
- CCC 546 “Jesus' invitation to enter his kingdom comes in the form of parables, a characteristic feature of his teaching. Through his parables he…”
Read the Catechism and Fathers
- CCC 546 “Jesus' invitation to enter his kingdom comes in the form of parables, a characteristic feature of his teaching. Through his parables he…”
“… who did not receive His advent, – the Pharisees, no doubt, nullify the sign of the scarlet thread, which meant the passover, and the redemption and exodus of the people from Egypt, – when He said, "The publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of heaven before you.”
Quoted in Against Heresies, Book IV, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter XX. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
Read the Catechism
- CCC 535 “Jesus' public life begins with his baptism by John in the Jordan. John preaches "a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of…”
- CCC 546 “Jesus' invitation to enter his kingdom comes in the form of parables, a characteristic feature of his teaching. Through his parables he…”
- CCC 755 “The Church is a cultivated field, the tillage of God. On that land the ancient olive tree grows whose holy roots were…”
Read the Fathers
“They say unto him, He will miserably destroy these wicked men, and will let out his vineyard to other husbandmen, who shall render him the fruits in their season.”
Quoted in Against Heresies, Book IV, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter XXXVI. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
Read the Catechism
- CCC 443 “Peter could recognize the transcendent character of the Messiah's divine sonship because Jesus had clearly allowed it to be so understood. To…”
Read the Catechism
- CCC 443 “Peter could recognize the transcendent character of the Messiah's divine sonship because Jesus had clearly allowed it to be so understood. To…”
Read the Catechism
- CCC 443 “Peter could recognize the transcendent character of the Messiah's divine sonship because Jesus had clearly allowed it to be so understood. To…”
Read the Catechism
- CCC 443 “Peter could recognize the transcendent character of the Messiah's divine sonship because Jesus had clearly allowed it to be so understood. To…”
Read the Catechism
- CCC 443 “Peter could recognize the transcendent character of the Messiah's divine sonship because Jesus had clearly allowed it to be so understood. To…”
Read the Catechism and Fathers
- CCC 756 “Often, too, the Church is called the building of God. the Lord compared himself to the stone which the builders rejected, but…”
“Therefore I say unto you, that the kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.”
Quoted in Against Heresies, Book IV, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter XXXVI. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
Read the Fathers
“Therefore I say unto you, that the kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.”
Quoted in Against Heresies, Book IV, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter XXXVI. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
Read the Fathers
“Therefore I say unto you, that the kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.”
Quoted in Against Heresies, Book IV, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter XXXVI. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
A modern English Catholic translation will be added once its publisher grants permission.