Matthew 21 — Clausal Layout (English)

independentparticipialrelativepurposecausecomparativecontentconditionaldashed = verbless / suspended

Flush-left = a main (independent) clause. Each dependent line begins directly beneath the word it attaches to in the line above — the anchor word is dotted-underlined, and lights up when you hover its dependent clause; each tag also names the attachment. A dashed border marks verbless, elliptical, or suspended lines. Where a long sentence's staircase runs wider than the page, the diagram scrolls sideways. (In print, or without JavaScript, lines fall back to stepped indent columns.)

The entry into Jerusalem — the king on a donkey 21:1–11

vv. 1–3 — the commission: two disciples, two animals, and a password

And when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives,conditional — temporal ὅτε (typed cnd; no temporal key) — Olivet, the mount of the Messiah's appearing (Zech 14:4); leans on ἀπέστειλεν

then Jesus sent two disciples,independent — Matthew's τότε — Jesus stage-manages his own entry

saying to them:participial — speech-participle — the frame for the instructions

'Go into the village opposite you,content — the dispatch

and at once you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her;content — predictive future — the foreknowledge; two animals, mother and foal, where Mark has one

untie them and bring them to me.content — attendant λύσαντες folded into the command — the requisition

And if anyone says anything to you,conditional — protasis inside quoted speech — leans forward on ἐρεῖτε; the objection foreseen

you shall say:content — imperatival future with recitative ὅτι — the commanded reply

'The Lord has need of them,'content — the password — ὁ κύριος: Jesus' self-designation, or ambiguously the animals' owner

and immediately he will send them.content — predictive future — the objector will release them at once

vv. 4–5 — the formula quotation: Zech 9:9, the humble king

Now this has happenedindependent — the narrator steps forward — consummative perfect γέγονεν: the event stands accomplished as fulfilment

in order that what was spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying:purpose — the fulfilment formula — Matthew's ἵνα πληρωθῇ; the prophet is Zechariah, opened with a line of Isaiah

'Say to the daughter of Zion:content — Isa 62:11 — the herald's command spliced onto Zechariah's oracle

Behold, your king is coming to you,content — Zech 9:9 — ὁ βασιλεύς σου: the entry read as royal arrival

humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.'participial — πραΰς, the Beatitude word (5:5) — the war-horse refused; Matthew reads the Hebrew parallelism as two animals

vv. 6–9 — the errand done, the garments spread, the Hosanna (Ps 118:25–26)

And the disciples, going and doingparticipial — double preposed participle — obedience before the main verb strikes; leans on ἤγαγον

just as Jesus had directed them,comparative — καθὼς συνέταξεν — word and deed align; the fulfilment refrain in miniature

brought the donkey and the colt,independent — the errand completed — both animals of v. 2

and put their garments on them,independent — the improvised saddle — homage before the throne he never mounts

and he sat on them.independent — ἐπάνω αὐτῶν — on the garments, not the two animals; the variant ἐπεκάθισαν ('they set him') is attested

And most of the crowd spread their garments on the road,independent — constructio ad sensum (ὄχλος with plural verb) — garments under the king's feet (2 Kgs 9:13)

and others were cutting branches from the treesindependent — iterative imperfect — the repeated cutting of festal greenery

and spreading them on the road.independent — coordinate imperfect — the road carpeted like a coronation route

And the crowds going before him and those following kept crying out, saying:independent — iterative imperfect ἔκραζον — the sustained chant, before and behind the procession

'Hosanna to the Son of David!content — Ps 118:25 — 'save now!' worn smooth into acclamation, aimed at Matthew's royal title; verbless

Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!content — Ps 118:26 — the pilgrim benediction; ὁ ἐρχόμενος heard messianically (cf. 11:3)

Hosanna in the highest!'content — the chant closes ring-wise — heaven summoned to join the praise

vv. 10–11 — the shaken city and its half-answer

And when he had entered Jerusalem,participial — genitive absolute — forward-leaning on ἐσείσθη

the whole city was shaken,independent — ἐσείσθη — a seismic verb; the Magi's troubled Jerusalem again (2:3)

saying:participial — the city personified speaks — the frame for the identity question

'Who is this?'content — the question the whole chapter answers

And the crowds were saying:independent — descriptive imperfect — the answering refrain

'This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.'content — true but partial — 'the prophet' where they had just cried 'Son of David'; the estimate that shields him (v. 46)

The temple cleansed — and the children's Hosanna 21:12–17

vv. 12–13 — the driving out and the scriptural indictment (Isa 56:7 / Jer 7:11)

And Jesus entered the temple,independent — the entry's true goal — the precinct, not a palace (Mal 3:1); some witnesses add τοῦ θεοῦ

and drove out all those selling and buying in the temple,independent — ἐξέβαλεν — the exorcism verb turned on the traders; buyers expelled with sellers, and Matthew adds πάντας

and overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those selling the doves,independent — fronted objects — the doves were the poor's offering (Lev 5:7)

and he says to them:independent — historic present — the act interpreted at once by the word

'It is written:content — the citation formula — 'it stands written,' abiding authority

"My house shall be called a house of prayer,"content — Isa 56:7 — the temple's destined character; Matthew drops Mark's 'for all the nations'

but you make it a den of robbers.'content — Jer 7:11 — emphatic ὑμεῖς; present ποιεῖτε, the corruption ongoing; λῃσταί, bandits' hideout

vv. 14–16 — healing, the children's cry, and Ps 8 against the indignant

And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple,independent — the once-barred (2 Sam 5:8) enter the cleansed courts

and he healed them.independent — the restorative counterpart of the expulsion — the house of prayer at work

But the chief priests and the scribes, seeing the wonderful thingsparticipial — preposed participle — the double object loaded before ἠγανάκτησαν strikes

that he did,relative — the healings of v. 14

and the children crying out in the temple and saying:participial — the second object of the seeing — the chant of v. 9 continued by children

'Hosanna to the Son of David!' —content — Ps 118:25 verbatim from v. 9 — the acclamation, not the wonders, is what they cannot stomach

they were indignant,independent — ingressive aorist — one bare verb after the long suspension

and they said to him:independent — the protest-frame

'Do you hearcontent — the indignant challenge — silence them!

what these are saying?'content — indirect question — οὗτοι, the children dismissively indicated

And Jesus says to them:independent — historic present — the reply

'Yes;content — one word owns the children's praise — verbless

have you never read:content — the polemical 'have you never read?' to the scholars (cf. 12:3; 19:4; 21:42), with recitative ὅτι

"Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise"?'content — Ps 8:3 LXX — αἶνον ('praise') where the Hebrew has 'strength'; the children vindicated from Scripture

v. 17 — the withdrawal to Bethany

And leaving them,participial — preposed participle — leans on ἐξῆλθεν; the confrontation broken off, not resolved

he went out of the city to Bethany,independent — the nightly exit — the city holds him only by day

and lodged there.independent — αὐλίζομαι — the Passion-Week lodging outside the walls

The fig tree withered — faith and prayer 21:18–22

vv. 18–19 — the curse and the instant withering

Now in the morning, returning to the city,participial — preposed participle — the morning journey back; leans on ἐπείνασεν

he was hungry.independent — ingressive aorist — one bare verb; the human hunger that stages the acted parable

And seeing a single fig tree by the road,participial — preposed participle — leans on ἦλθεν; the fig tree, Israel's stock emblem (Jer 8:13; Mic 7:1)

he came to it,independent — the approach

and found nothing on it but leaves only,independent — foliage without fruit — the temple of vv. 12–16 in emblem; Matthew drops Mark's 'not the season' aside

and he says to it:independent — historic present — the curse-frame

'May no fruit ever come from you again.'content — volitive aorist subjunctive — the curse of permanent barrenness

And the fig tree withered at once.independent — παραχρῆμα — Matthew compresses Mark's overnight sandwich into instant judgment

vv. 20–22 — the marvel and the lesson: undoubting faith

And seeing it, the disciplesparticipial — preposed participle — leans on ἐθαύμασαν

marveled, saying:independent — the wonder that opens the teaching

'How did the fig tree wither at once?'content — the question fastens on the speed — παραχρῆμα echoed

And answering, Jesusparticipial — pleonastic Semitism — leans on εἶπεν

said to them:independent — the frame for the saying of vv. 21–22

'Truly I say to you:content — the ἀμήν-formula — the solemn warrant

if you have faith and do not doubt,conditional — protasis — leans forward on ποιήσετε; διακριθῆτε, inner wavering (cf. Jas 1:6)

you will not only do what was done to the fig tree,content — the apodosis — τὸ τῆς συκῆς, 'the fig-tree deed'

but even if you say to this mountain,conditional — second protasis (κἄν) — leans forward on γενήσεται; 'this mountain': Olivet, or the Temple Mount itself

'Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,'content — the command to the mountain — two passive imperatives quoted within the saying

it will happen.content — one-word apodosis — the certainty of answered faith

And all things whatever you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.'content — the mountain-saying generalized to all prayer — πιστεύοντες, the one operative condition

By what authority? — the question turned 21:23–27

vv. 23–24 — the challenge and the counter-question

And when he had come into the temple,participial — genitive absolute — forward-leaning on προσῆλθον; back into the courts he cleared

the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching, saying:independent — the official deputation — διδάσκοντι: they interrupt the teaching itself

'By what authority are you doing these things?content — the first prong — the kind of authority; ταῦτα: the entry, the cleansing, the acclaimed healings

And who gave you this authority?'content — the second prong — its source; ἐξουσία the contested keyword

And answering, Jesusparticipial — pleonastic Semitism — leans on εἶπεν; δέ marks the turn

said to them:independent — the counter-move

'I also will ask you one question,content — the rabbinic counter-question — κἀγώ: their challenge mirrored back; ἕνα λόγον against their two

and if you tell it to me,relative — conditional relative (ὃν ἐάν) on λόγον — protasis-force, leaning on ἐρῶ below

I also will tell youcontent — the apodosis — answer for answer, κἀγώ repeated

by what authority I do these things.content — indirect question — their own words handed back

vv. 25–26 — the dilemma and the trapped deliberation

The baptism of John — from where was it?content — the dilemma — John's mandate and Jesus' stand or fall together

From heaven or from men?'content — the two horns stated — 'heaven,' the reverent circumlocution for God; verbless

And they deliberated among themselves,independent — imperfect — the huddle; Matthew lets the reader overhear

saying:participial — pleonastic speech-participle — the frame for the whole calculation

'If we say,conditional — first protasis — leaning forward on ἐρεῖ

"From heaven,"content — the first horn quoted — verbless

he will say to us,content — the apodosis — the riposte they foresee

"Why then did you not believe him?"content — the unanswerable rebuke — unbelief toward John convicts them toward Jesus (cf. v. 32)

But if we say,conditional — second protasis — leaning forward on φοβούμεθα

"From men,"content — the second horn quoted — verbless

we fear the crowd,content — the apodosis — where Mark's narrator breaks in, Matthew keeps the fear on their own lips

for all hold John as a prophet.'cause — the γάρ ground — the crowd's verdict on John constrains Israel's teachers

v. 27 — the evasion and the refusal

And answering Jesus,participial — preposed participle — leans on εἶπαν

they said:independent — the evasion delivered

'We do not know.'content — Israel's teachers plead ignorance — and forfeit their standing to judge

He in turn said to them:independent — καὶ αὐτός — the symmetry of the refusal

'Neither will I tell youcontent — emphatic ἐγώ — self-authenticating authority owes them nothing; the frame for the parables that follow

by what authority I do these things.content — indirect question — ἐξουσία left standing, unanswered in word, answered in parable

The two sons — deeds against words 21:28–32

vv. 28–30 — the parable: refusal that repents, assent that does nothing

'But what do you think?independent — Jesus' speech continues from v. 27 (the frame ἔφη stands in the previous section) — the drawing-in question, mainline

A man had two sons.independent — the parable opens — the father for God, the vineyard (Isa 5) for Israel

And going to the first,participial — preposed participle — leans on εἶπεν

he said:independent — the father's first approach

'Son, go, work in the vineyard today.'content — the affectionate vocative and the double asyndetic imperative — today, not someday

And he answered and said:independent — the first son's reply-frame; the manuscript tradition of vv. 28–31 is famously tangled — the most widely printed arrangement is followed

'I will not,'content — the blunt refusal — no κύριε, no pretense

but afterward, having changed his mind,participial — preposed participle — μεταμεληθείς, the repentance-verb the leaders will refuse (v. 32); leans on ἀπῆλθεν

he went.independent — one word of obedience — the deed that outweighs the word

And going to the other,participial — preposed participle — leans on εἶπεν; the pattern repeats

he said the same.independent — the identical command — the sons differ only in response

And he answered and said:independent — the second son's reply-frame

'I go, sir,'content — elliptical emphatic assent — the deferential κύριε masking disobedience; verbless

and he did not go.independent — the adversative καί — words without deeds

vv. 31–32 — the verdict extracted, and the application: John believed by the wrong people

Which of the two did the will of the father?'independent — the verdict-question — ἐποίησεν: doing, not saying, is the criterion (cf. 7:21)

They say:independent — historic present — the answer that condemns the answerers

'The first.'content — the right answer — verbless; the crowd's ὁ πρῶτος is itself textually contested (ὁ ὕστερος / ὁ ἔσχατος in parts of the tradition)

Jesus says to them:independent — historic present — the application-frame

'Truly I say to you:content — the ἀμήν-formula with ὅτι — the solemn warrant for the scandal

the tax collectors and the prostitutes go before you into the kingdom of God.content — προάγουσιν — present, already under way; the despised cast as the first son

For John came to you in the way of righteousness,cause — the γάρ ground — the John-question of v. 25 answered by Jesus himself

and you did not believe him;cause — coordinate within the ground — the leaders as the second son: right words, no faith

but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him;cause — the reversal — the refusers who repented

and you, even seeing it, did not afterward change your minds so as to believe him.cause — οὐδὲ μετεμελήθητε ὕστερον — the first son's very words (v. 29) turned against them; τοῦ πιστεῦσαι, epexegetic articular infinitive

The wicked tenants — the rejected stone made the head of the corner 21:33–46

vv. 33–39 — the parable told: the vineyard, the sendings, the son

'Hear another parable.independent — the summons — the parable narrative hangs as a coordinate catena beneath this imperative (the mark12 shape)

There was a man, a householder,content — the owner enters — Isa 5:1–2, the Song of the Vineyard reopened

who planted a vineyardrelative — Isa 5:2 — the vineyard is Israel (Isa 5:7)

and put a fence around itrelative — the owner's lavish care itemized

and dug a winepress in itrelative — the press for the expected vintage

and built a tower,relative — the watchtower — οἰκοδομέω, the verb that returns with the builders (v. 42)

and let it out to tenants,relative — the lease — the tenants are Israel's entrusted leaders

and went abroad.relative — the ὅστις-chain closes — the absence that sets up the testing

And when the season of the fruits drew near,conditional — temporal ὅτε (typed cnd) — leans forward on ἀπέστειλεν; καρποί, the chapter's keyword (vv. 19, 41, 43)

he sent his servants to the tenantscontent — ἀποστέλλω — the verb of prophetic mission; the servants are the prophets

to receive his fruits.purpose — purpose infinitive — the owner's rightful share

And the tenants, taking his servants,participial — preposed participle — the seizure before the verbs strike; leans on ἔδειραν

beat one,content — distributive ὃν μέν — the first outrage

killed another,content — ὃν δέ — the violence escalates to murder

and stoned another.content — ἐλιθοβόλησαν — the prophets' fate (2 Chr 24:21; cf. 23:37, 'stoning those sent to her')

Again he sent other servants, more than the first,content — the patient second wave — the long history of rejected prophets

and they did to them likewise.content — ὡσαύτως — the pattern fixed

Finally he sent his son to them, saying:content — ὕστερον — the last envoy; the son a transparent figure for Jesus

'They will respect my son.'content — the owner's hope — inner speech one deeper; the hope the tenants refute

But the tenants, seeing the son, said among themselves:content — the counter-speech-frame — the tenants confer

'This is the heir;content — the recognition that damns — they know exactly who he is

come, let us kill himcontent — hortatory plot — cf. Gen 37:20, Joseph's brothers

and take his inheritance.'content — the motive — σχῶμεν, the inheritance seized

And taking him,participial — preposed participle — the plot enacted; leans on ἐξέβαλον

they threw him out of the vineyardcontent — Matthew's order: cast out first, then killed — the crucifixion outside the city (Heb 13:12)

and killed him.content — the parable's climax — the murder of the heir

vv. 40–41 — the verdict-question, and the sentence from their own mouths

When therefore the lord of the vineyard comes,conditional — temporal ὅταν (typed cnd) — leans forward on ποιήσει; the owner's return = God's visitation

what will he do to those tenants?'content — Jesus makes the hearers judge (cf. Isa 5:3–4) — unlike Mark, where he answers himself

They say to him:independent — historic present — the narrative resumes; the targets pronounce sentence

'He will wretchedly destroy those wretches,content — κακοὺς κακῶς — the emphatic paronomasia; self-condemnation unawares (cf. 2 Sam 12:5–7)

and will let out the vineyard to other tenants,content — the transfer — anticipating v. 43's verdict

who will render him the fruits in their seasons.'relative — qualitative οἵτινες — tenants defined by rendering fruit; the criterion of v. 43

vv. 42–44 — Ps 118:22–23: the rejected stone, the kingdom transferred, the stone that crushes

Jesus says to them:independent — historic present — the scriptural clincher

'Have you never read in the Scriptures:content — the second 'have you never read?' of the chapter (cf. v. 16) — Scripture as indictment

"The stone that the builders rejected, this one has become the head of the corner;content — Ps 118:22 LXX — pendent Λίθον resumed by οὗτος; the murdered son vindicated; 'the builders' = the leaders

from the Lord this came about,content — Ps 118:23 — God the author of the reversal; the feminine αὕτη kept from the LXX

and it is marvelous in our eyes"?content — the citation closes — the crowd's Hosanna psalm (vv. 9, 15) now turned against the leaders

Therefore I say to you:content — διὰ τοῦτο with recitative ὅτι — the parable's application made explicit, only in Matthew

the kingdom of God will be taken away from youcontent — divine passive ἀρθήσεται — the verdict on the tenants pronounced over the hearers

and will be given to a people producing its fruits.content — ἔθνος — a people defined by fruit-bearing, not ethnicity; the ἄλλοι γεωργοί of v. 41 named

And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces;content — the stone of stumbling (Isa 8:14–15) — the verse is omitted by D and some Old Latin, often bracketed as a Lukan harmonization; printed here

but on whomever it falls,relative — conditional relative (ἐφ’ ὃν ἄν) — leans forward, protasis-like, on λικμήσει; the stone now falling (Dan 2:34–35, 44)

it will crush him.'content — λικμήσει — winnow to dust; stumble over the stone or be pulverized beneath it

vv. 45–46 — they perceive, they want to seize, they fear

And the chief priests and the Pharisees, hearing his parables,participial — preposed participle — leans on ἔγνωσαν; the Pharisees now join the priests

perceivedindependent — ingressive aorist — the penny drops

that he was speaking about them;content — retained present in indirect discourse — they read the allegory correctly, and harden

and though seeking to arrest him,participial — concessive participle — leans on ἐφοβήθησαν; the passion plot now open

they feared the crowds,independent — fear decides — the leaders checked by the very acclaim they resented

since they held him as a prophet.cause — ἐπεί ground — εἰς προφήτην, the crowd's verdict of v. 11 closing the chapter's ring

Analysis. Matthew 21 is the entry into Jerusalem and the first day of open war in the temple, and the layout shows a narrative chapter that keeps turning into speech: the purple mainline runs flush-left (sent, brought, spread, entered, drove out, healed, withdrew), historic presents flagged as they land (λέγει, λέγουσιν), Matthew's preposed participles and genitive absolutes leaning forward, anchor-less, on the verb below (πορευθέντες...καὶ ποιήσαντες, εἰσελθόντος αὐτοῦ, ἐλθόντος αὐτοῦ, ἀποκριθεὶς δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς) — while everything decisive hangs blue beneath a verb of saying. Five Scriptures structure the chapter and each hangs at citation depth with its source in the tag: Zech 9:9 (blended with Isa 62:11) under the fulfilment formula's λέγοντος — Matthew's signature ἵνα πληρωθῇ as pur beneath Τοῦτο δὲ γέγονεν, the layout siding with the reading that Matthew's two animals render the Hebrew parallelism literally; Ps 118:25–26 under ἔκραζον λέγοντες, the crowd's Hosanna repeated verbatim by the children in the temple (v. 15); Isa 56:7 under Γέγραπται answered by Jer 7:11 on Jesus' own lips; Ps 8:3 LXX under the polemical οὐδέποτε ἀνέγνωτε; and Ps 118:22–23 under the second ἀνέγνωτε, the rejected stone clinching the tenants. The authority dialogue (vv. 23–27) shows the John-dilemma as trapped deliberation overheard beneath λέγοντες, its two ἐάν-protases leaning forward, one deeper, on the ripostes they fear — the first horn answered by Jesus' foreseen rebuke, the second broken on the crowd — down to the evasion Οὐκ οἴδαμεν and the refusal that answers it. The two parables that follow are Jesus' continuing address and run as mainline diatribe (the framing ἔφη stands in the previous section): the two sons in quick speech-frames, with μεταμεληθείς (v. 29) deliberately echoed in οὐδὲ μετεμελήθητε (v. 32); the wicked tenants as a coordinate cnt catena under Ἄλλην παραβολὴν ἀκούσατε (the mark12 shape), the Isa 5 vineyard-furniture chained as relatives under οἰκοδεσπότης, the owner's hope (Ἐντραπήσονται) and the tenants' plot (δεῦτε ἀποκτείνωμεν) each nested one deeper under its own verb of saying. Cruxes named rather than hidden: ἐπάνω αὐτῶν in v. 7 is read of the garments, not the two animals (the tag notes the variant ἐπεκάθισαν); the tangled two-sons tradition follows the most widely printed arrangement (first refuses then goes; 'the first' is the right answer); v. 44, the stone that breaks and crushes, is printed though some witnesses omit it as a Lukan harmonization; and in v. 41 it is the leaders themselves who pronounce the κακοὺς κακῶς sentence — the parable's verdict extracted from its targets before v. 43 makes the transfer of the kingdom explicit.