Matthew 21:16-18
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
16 [a](A)and said to him, “Do you hear what they are saying?” Jesus said to them, “Yes; and have you never read the text, ‘Out of the mouths of infants and nurslings you have brought forth praise’?” 17 And leaving them, he went out of the city to Bethany, and there he spent the night.
The Cursing of the Fig Tree.[b] 18 (B)When he was going back to the city in the morning, he was hungry.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 21:16 ‘Out of the mouths…praise’: cf. Ps 8:3 LXX.
- 21:18–22 In Mark the effect of Jesus’ cursing the fig tree is not immediate; see Mk 11:14, 20. By making it so, Matthew has heightened the miracle. Jesus’ act seems arbitrary and ill-tempered, but it is a prophetic action similar to those of Old Testament prophets that vividly symbolize some part of their preaching; see, e.g., Ez 12:1–20. It is a sign of the judgment that is to come upon the Israel that with all its apparent piety lacks the fruit of good deeds (Mt 3:10) and will soon bear the punishment of its fruitlessness (Mt 21:43). Some scholars propose that this story is the development in tradition of a parable of Jesus about the destiny of a fruitless tree, such as Lk 13:6–9. Jesus’ answer to the question of the amazed disciples (Mt 21:20) makes the miracle an example of the power of prayer made with unwavering faith (Mt 21:21–22).
Matthew 21:16-18
New International Version
16 “Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him.
“Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read,
17 And he left them and went out of the city to Bethany,(B) where he spent the night.
Jesus Curses a Fig Tree(C)
18 Early in the morning, as Jesus was on his way back to the city, he was hungry.
Footnotes
- Matthew 21:16 Psalm 8:2 (see Septuagint)
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