Then the father told the other son, ‘You go,’ and he said, ‘Yes, sir, I will.’ But he didn’t go.
Parallel translations
- WEB He came to the second, and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but he didn’t go.
- KJV And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not.
- BSB Then the man went to the second son and told him the same thing. ‘I will, sir,’ he said. But he did not go.
- NKJV Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, ‘I go, sir,’ but he did not go.
- NASB And the man came to his second son and said the same thing; and he replied, ‘I will, sir’; and yet he did not go.
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 second son politely agrees but never goes. He represents those who profess obedience yet never truly follow God.
Overview
This son's courteous 'I go, sir' masks a heart that has no intention of obeying. He pictures the religious leaders, outwardly respectful of God yet refusing the repentance John demanded. The contrast warns that verbal assent without obedience is worthless in God's sight.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Titus 1:16They profess that they know God, but by their deeds they deny him, being abominable, disobedient, and unfit for any good work.
- Ezek 33:31They come to you as the people come, and they sit before you as my people, and they hear your words, but don’t do them; for with their mouth they show much love, but their heart goes after their gain.
- Matt 23:3All things therefore whatever they tell you to observe, observe and do, but don’t do their works; for they say, and don’t do.
- Rom 2:17–25Indeed you bear the name of a Jew, and rest on the law, and glory in God,
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 21:30 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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