Matthew 21:30

And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not.

King James Version · Read in your translation · Open the Explore console

Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
And	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
he came	προσελθὼν proselthōn	G4334	to approach · verb — second aorist active participle, nominative singular masculine
to the second	δεύτερος deúteros	G1208	(ordinal) second (in time
and said	εἶπεν eipen	G2036	to speak or say (by word or writing) · verb — second aorist active indicative, 3rd person singular
likewise	ὡσαύτως. hōsautōs	G5615	as thus · adverb
And	δὲ de	G1161	but · conjunction
he answered	ἀποκριθεὶς apokritheis	G611	to conclude for oneself · verb — aorist passive deponent participle, nominative singular masculine
and said	εἶπεν· eipen	G2036	to speak or say (by word or writing) · verb — second aorist active indicative, 3rd person singular
I	ἐγώ, egō	G1473	I · personal pronoun — 1st person nominative singular
sir	κύριε· kurie	G2962	supreme in authority · noun — vocative singular masculine
and	καί kaí	G2532	and
went	ἀπῆλθεν. apēlthen	G565	to go off (i.e. depart) · verb — second aorist active indicative, 3rd person singular
not	οὐκ ouk	G3756	the absolute negative (compare G3361 (μή)) adverb · particle — negative

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Titus 1:16 They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.
Ezekiel 33:31 And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for…
Matthew 23:3 All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.
Romans 2:17-25 Behold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of God,

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Matthew 21:30

And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir--"I, sir." The emphatic "I," here, denotes the self-righteous complacency which says, "God, I thank thee that I am not as other men" (Luk 18:11). and went not--He did not "afterward repent" and refuse to go; for there was here no intention to go. It is the class that "say and do not" (Mat 23:3) --a falseness more abominable to God, says STIER, than any "I will not."

John Gill on Matthew 21:30

And he came to the second,.... The Scribes and Pharisees, by the ministry of John the Baptist, Christ, and his apostles also: and said likewise; the same things as to the other son, the publicans and sinners; calling them into the Gospel dispensation, to hear the word, embrace truth, attend on ordinances, and labour in promoting the kingdom, and interest of the Messiah, whilst they had the light of the Gospel with them. Urging also the relation they stood in to God, as a part of the Jewish body; to whom, among other external privileges, the adoption belonged: and he answered and said, I go, sir, and went not: the word "go" is not in the generality of the Greek copies; the phrase is only "I…

Read the whole note in the console

John Calvin on Matthew 21:28-32

Matthew 21:28-32 Matthew 21:28-32 28. But what think you? [29] A man had two sons, and, coming to the first, he said, Son, go work today in my vineyard. 29. And he answering said, I will not; [30] but afterwards he repented, and went. 30. And coming to the other, he spoke in the same manner. But he answering said, I[[go,] Sir, and went not. 31. Which of the two did what his father wished? [31] And they say to him, The first. Jesus saith to them, Verily I say to you, That the publicans and the harlots will go before you into the kingdom of God. 32. For John came to you by the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but the publicans and the harlots believed him. And you, when you…

Read the whole note in the console

Tyndale Open Study Notes

The Church Fathers

The second son is the Jewish people who made answer to Moses, All that the Lord hath said unto us we will do. (Exod. 24:3.)
— Jerome ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

But afterwards turning their backs, they lied unto God, according to that in the Psalms, The sons of the strangers have lied unto me. (Ps. 18:44.) This is what is said, But he went not.
— Pseudo-Chrysostom ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

(Verse 30) Going to the second, he said similarly. But he, answering, said: Yes, sir, and he did not go. However, the second son, who is the people of the Jews, replied to Moses: 'We will do everything that the Lord has spoken' (Exod. XXIV), but he did not go into the vineyard because, thinking himself the heir after the son of the household had been killed.
— Jerome, Commentary on Matthew

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Ecclesiasticism · Jewish, to be overthrown — Jewish, to be overthrown
Hypocrisy · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Parables · Parables of christ: Two sons — Parables of christ: Two sons
Vineyard · Parables of — Parables of
Vineyards · Members of the family often wrought in — Members of the family often wrought in
Works · .The two — .The two

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).