Matthew 21:32

³⁰ Then the man went to the second son and told him the same thing. ‘I will, sir,’ he said. But he did not go.

³¹ Which of the two did the will of his father?” “The first,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you.

For John came to you in a righteous way and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.

³³ Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a tower. Then he rented it out to some tenants and went away on a journey.

³⁴ When the harvest time drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his share of the fruit.

Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: For John came to you in a righteous way and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.
KJV: For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him.
WEB: For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you didn’t believe him; but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. When you saw it, you didn’t even repent afterward, that you might believe him.
ASV: For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not; but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye saw it, did not even repent yourselves afterward, that ye might believe him.
DARBY: For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not; but the tax-gatherers and the harlots believed him; but *ye* when ye saw [it] repented not yourselves afterwards to believe him.
BLB: For John came to you⁺ in the way of righteousness, and you⁺ did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And you⁺, having seen, did not even repent afterward to believe him.

ÅB: For Johannes kom til dere på rettferdighetens vei. Og dere trodde ham ikke, men tollerne og de prostituerte trodde ham. Og enda dere så det, angret dere ikke senere og trodde ham.
OTB: For Johannes kom til dere på rettferdighetens vei, og dere trodde ham ikke, men tollerne og de prostituerte trodde ham. Og selv etter at dere så dette, angret dere ikke og trodde ham.
B1930: For Johannes kom til eder på rettferdighets vei, og I trodde ham ikke, men tolderne og skjøgene trodde ham; men I, enda I så det, angret I det ikke siden, så I trodde ham.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

Luke 7:37–50
When a sinful woman from that town learned that Jesus was dining there, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume.
Read in context
Luke 7:29–30
All the people who heard this, even the tax collectors, acknowledged God’s justice. For they had received the baptism of John.
Read in context
Matthew 21:25
What was the source of John’s baptism? Was it from heaven or from men?” They deliberated among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will ask, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’
Read in context
Zechariah 7:11–12
But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder; they stopped up their ears from hearing.
Read in context
2 Peter 2:21
It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than to have known it and then to turn away from the holy commandment passed on to them.
Read in context
Acts 13:25–29
As John was completing his course, he said, ‘Who do you suppose I am? I am not that One. But He is coming after me whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.’
Read in context
John 5:33–40
You have sent to John, and he has testified to the truth.
Read in context
Hebrews 3:12
See to it, brothers, that none of you has a wicked heart of unbelief that turns away from the living God.
Read in context