Discovery BoxMatthew 21:43-46 
Context21:43 For this reason I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a people 1 who will produce its fruit. 21:44 The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, and the one on whom it falls will be crushed.” 2 21:45 When 3 the chief priests and the Pharisees 4 heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them. 21:46 They wanted to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowds, because the crowds 5 regarded him as a prophet.
1 tn Or “to a nation” (so KJV, NASB, NLT).
2 tc A few witnesses, especially of the Western text (D 33 it sys Or Eussyr), do not contain 21:44. However, the verse is found in א B C L W Z (Θ) 0102 Ë1,13 Ï lat syc,p,h co and should be included as authentic.
tn Grk “on whomever it falls, it will crush him.”
sn This proverb basically means that the stone crushes, without regard to whether it falls on someone or someone falls on it. On the stone as a messianic image, see Isa 28:16 and Dan 2:44-45.
3 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
4 sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.
5 tn Grk “they”; the referent (the crowds) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Both previous occurrences of “they” in this verse refer to the chief priests and the Pharisees.
