He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went.
Parallel translations
- WEB He answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he changed his mind, and went.
- BSB ‘I will not,’ he replied. But later he changed his mind and went.
- NKJV He answered and said, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he regretted it and went.
- NASB But he replied, ‘I do not want to.’ Yet afterward he regretted it and went.
- NLT The son answered, ‘No, I won’t go,’ but later he changed his mind and went anyway.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The first son refuses but later repents and obeys. He pictures sinners who initially reject God yet turn and follow Him.
Overview
This son's open refusal followed by genuine change of mind illustrates true repentance. He represents the tax collectors and sinners who, though outwardly far from God, responded to John's call and believed. The parable shows that what counts before God is not initial profession but a heart that ultimately submits and obeys.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Ezek 18:28–32Because he considereth, and turneth away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die.
- Dan 4:34–37And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation:
- Matt 3:2–8And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
- Eph 4:17–19This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,
- Isa 1:16–19Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;
- Jonah 3:2Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.
- Jonah 3:8–10But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands.
- Eph 2:1–13And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
- Acts 26:20But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.
- Luke 15:17–18And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!
- 1 Cor 6:11And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
- Isa 55:6–7Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
- Jer 44:16As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the LORD, we will not hearken unto thee.
- Matt 21:31Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.
- 2 Chr 33:10–19And the LORD spake to Manasseh, and to his people: but they would not hearken.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
How Matthew 21:29 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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