They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons.

MATTHEW 21:41KJV
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Matthew 21:41 (KJV)

What does Matthew 21:41 mean?

Matthew 21:41 gives the listeners’ answer to Jesus’ question about a vineyard owner and his tenants. They say that the owner will punish the tenants for their violence and entrust the vineyard to others who will give him his share of the harvest.

The speakers are the chief priests and elders whom Jesus is addressing. Their answer matters because they state the judgment themselves, before Jesus applies the story to the people he is addressing.

The Greek behind Matthew 21:41

  • “miserably” — κακῶς (kakōs): This word can mean badly or severely. Here it describes the terrible manner of the punishment.
  • “husbandmen” — γεωργοί (geōrgoi): The word refers to people who work the land. In the story, these workers tend a vineyard belonging to someone else.
  • “render” — ἀποδώσουσιν (apodōsousin): This word carries the sense of giving back or paying what is due. It pictures the new tenants handing over the owner’s share, rather than making a gift.

Why Matthew 21:41 matters

  • The answer is a response to the tenants’ treatment of the owner’s servants and son. The earlier part of the story describes the tenants beating, killing, and stoning those sent to collect the produce.
  • The vineyard remains the owner’s property when the tenants change. The phrase “let out his vineyard” pictures the owner renting the land to other workers, not abandoning it.
  • The answer prepares for Jesus’ words about bearing fruit. In verse 43, Jesus speaks of a people “bringing forth the fruits” of the kingdom of God, connecting the harvest in the story to his warning.

Where else these words appear

“out” Greek G1554 · used in 4 verses

  • Matthew 21:33 Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country:
  • Mark 12:1 And he began to speak unto them by parables. A certain man planted a vineyard, and set an hedge about it, and digged a place for the winefat, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country.
  • Luke 20:9 Then began he to speak to the people this parable; A certain man planted a vineyard, and let it forth to husbandmen, and went into a far country for a long time.

“miserably” Greek G2560 · used in 16 verses

  • Matthew 4:24 And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them.
  • Matthew 17:15 Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water.
  • Luke 5:31 And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick.

“husbandmen” Greek G1092 · used in 17 verses

  • Matthew 21:33 Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country:
  • Mark 12:1 And he began to speak unto them by parables. A certain man planted a vineyard, and set an hedge about it, and digged a place for the winefat, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country.
  • Luke 20:10 And at the season he sent a servant to the husbandmen, that they should give him of the fruit of the vineyard: but the husbandmen beat him, and sent him away empty.

“vineyard” Greek G290 · used in 21 verses

  • Matthew 20:1 For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard.
  • Matthew 21:33 Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country:
  • Luke 13:6 He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none.