Bible in Basic English
And all things, whatever you make request for in prayer, having faith, you will get.
And when he had come into the Temple, the chief priests and those in authority over the people came to him while he was teaching, and said, By what authority do you do these things? and who gave you this authority?
And Jesus said to them in answer, I will put one question to you, and if you give me the answer, I will say by what authority I do these things.
The baptism of John, where did it come from? from heaven or from men? And they were reasoning among themselves, saying, If we say, From heaven; he will say to us, Why then did you not have faith in him?
But if we say, From men; we are in fear of the people, because all take John to be a prophet.
And they made answer and said, We have no idea. Then he said to them, And I will not say to you by what authority I do these things.
But how does it seem to you? A man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go and do work today in the vine-garden.
And he said in answer, I will not: but later, changing his decision, he went.
And he came to the second and said the same. And he made answer and said, I go, sir: and went not.
Which of the two did his father's pleasure? They say, The first. Jesus said to them, Truly I say to you, that tax-farmers and loose women are going into the kingdom of God before you.
For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you had no faith in him, but the tax-farmers and the loose women had faith in him: and you, when you saw it, did not even have regret for your sins, so as to have faith in him.
Give ear to another story. A master of a house made a vine garden, and put a wall round it, and made a place for crushing out the wine, and made a tower, and let it out to field-workers, and went into another country.
And when the time for the fruit came near, he sent his servants to the workmen, to get the fruit.
And the workmen made an attack on his servants, giving blows to one, putting another to death, and stoning another.
Again, he sent other servants more in number than the first: and they did the same to them.
But after that he sent his son to them, saying, They will have respect for my son.
But when the workmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is he who will one day be the owner of the property; come, let us put him to death and take his heritage.
And they took him and, driving him out of the vine-garden, put him to death.
When, then, the lord of the vine-garden comes, what will he do to those workmen?
They say to him, He will put those cruel men to a cruel death, and will let out the vine-garden to other workmen, who will give him the fruit when it is ready.
Jesus says to them, Did you never see in the Writings, The stone which the builders put on one side, the same has been made the chief stone of the building: this was the Lord's doing, and it is a wonder in our eyes?
For this reason I say to you, The kingdom of God will be taken away from you, and will be given to a nation producing the fruits of it.
Any man falling on this stone will be broken, but he on whom it comes down will be crushed to dust.
And when his stories came to the ears of the chief priests and the Pharisees, they saw that he was talking of them.
And though they had a desire to take him, they were in fear of the people, because in their eyes he was a prophet.
— Matthew 21:22-1964, Bible in Basic English
“All things, whatever you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive." When he had come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, "By what authority do you do these things? Who gave you this authority?" Jesus answered them, "I also will ask you one question, which if you tell me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, where was it from? From heaven or from men?" They reasoned with themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will ask us, 'Why then did you not believe him?' But if we say, 'From men,' we fear the multitude, for all hold John as a prophet." They answered Jesus, and said, "We don't know." He also said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things. But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first, and said, 'Son, go work today in my vineyard.' He answered, 'I will not,' but afterward he changed his mind, and went. He came to the second, and said the same thing. He answered, 'I go, sir,' but he didn't go. Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said to him, "The first." Jesus said to them, "Most certainly I tell you that the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering into the Kingdom of God before you. 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. "Hear another parable. There was a man who was a master of a household, who planted a vineyard, set a hedge about it, dug a winepress in it, built a tower, leased it out to farmers, and went into another country. When the season for the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the farmers, to receive his fruit. The farmers took his servants, beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they treated them the same way. But afterward he sent to them his son, saying, 'They will respect my son.' But the farmers, when they saw the son, said among themselves, 'This is the heir. Come, let's kill him, and seize his inheritance.' So they took him, and threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. When therefore the lord of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those farmers?" They told him, "He will miserably destroy those miserable men, and will lease out the vineyard to other farmers, who will give him the fruit in its season." Jesus said to them, "Did you never read in the Scriptures, 'The stone which the builders rejected, the same was made the head of the corner. This was from the Lord. It is marvelous in our eyes?' "Therefore I tell you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you, and will be given to a nation bringing forth its fruit. He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but on whoever it will fall, it will scatter him as dust." When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he spoke about them. When they sought to seize him, they feared the multitudes, because they considered him to be a prophet.”
“And whatever you ask in prayer, if you believe, you will receive.” The Authority of Jesus Now after Jesus entered the temple courts, the chief priests and elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching and said,“By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” Jesus answered them,“I will also ask you one question. If you answer me then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. Where did John’s baptism come from? From heaven or from people?” They discussed this among themselves, saying,“If we say,‘From heaven,’ he will say,‘Then why did you not believe him?’ But if we say,‘From people,’ we fear the crowd, for they all consider John to be a prophet.” So they answered Jesus,“We don’t know.” Then he said to them,“Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things. The Parable of the Two Sons“What do you think? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said,‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ The boy answered,‘I will not.’ But later he had a change of heart and went. The father went to the other son and said the same thing. This boy answered,‘I will, sir,’ but did not go. Which of the two did his father’s will?” They said,“The first.” Jesus said to them,“I tell you the truth, tax collectors and prostitutes will go ahead of you into the kingdom of God! For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him. But the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe. Although you saw this, you did not later change your minds and believe him. The Parable of the Tenants“Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a fence around it, dug a pit for its winepress, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenant farmers and went on a journey. When the harvest time was near, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his portion of the crop. But the tenants seized his slaves, beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other slaves, more than the first, and they treated them the same way. Finally he sent his son to them, saying,‘They will respect my son.’ But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves,‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and get his inheritance!’ So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” They said to him,“He will utterly destroy those evil men! Then he will lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him his portion at the harvest.” Jesus said to them,“Have you never read in the scriptures:‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? For this reason I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, and the one on whom it falls will be crushed.” When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them. They wanted to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowds, because the crowds regarded him as a prophet.”
And seeing a fig-tree by the wayside, he came to it, and saw nothing on it but leaves only; and he said to it, Let there be no fruit from you from this time forward for ever. And straight away the fig-tree became dry and dead.
And when the disciples saw it they were surprised, saying, How did the fig-tree become dry in so short a time?
And Jesus in answer said to them, Truly I say to you, If you have faith, without doubting, not only may you do what has been done to the fig-tree, but even if you say to this mountain, Be taken up and put into the sea, it will be done.
And all things, whatever you make request for in prayer, having faith, you will get.
And when he had come into the Temple, the chief priests and those in authority over the people came to him while he was teaching, and said, By what authority do you do these things? and who gave you this authority?
And Jesus said to them in answer, I will put one question to you, and if you give me the answer, I will say by what authority I do these things.
The baptism of John, where did it come from? from heaven or from men? And they were reasoning among themselves, saying, If we say, From heaven; he will say to us, Why then did you not have faith in him?
But if we say, From men; we are in fear of the people, because all take John to be a prophet.
And they made answer and said, We have no idea. Then he said to them, And I will not say to you by what authority I do these things.
But how does it seem to you? A man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go and do work today in the vine-garden.
And he said in answer, I will not: but later, changing his decision, he went.
And he came to the second and said the same. And he made answer and said, I go, sir: and went not.
Which of the two did his father's pleasure? They say, The first. Jesus said to them, Truly I say to you, that tax-farmers and loose women are going into the kingdom of God before you.
For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you had no faith in him, but the tax-farmers and the loose women had faith in him: and you, when you saw it, did not even have regret for your sins, so as to have faith in him.
Give ear to another story. A master of a house made a vine garden, and put a wall round it, and made a place for crushing out the wine, and made a tower, and let it out to field-workers, and went into another country.
And when the time for the fruit came near, he sent his servants to the workmen, to get the fruit.
And the workmen made an attack on his servants, giving blows to one, putting another to death, and stoning another.
Again, he sent other servants more in number than the first: and they did the same to them.
But after that he sent his son to them, saying, They will have respect for my son.
But when the workmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is he who will one day be the owner of the property; come, let us put him to death and take his heritage.
And they took him and, driving him out of the vine-garden, put him to death.
When, then, the lord of the vine-garden comes, what will he do to those workmen?
They say to him, He will put those cruel men to a cruel death, and will let out the vine-garden to other workmen, who will give him the fruit when it is ready.
Jesus says to them, Did you never see in the Writings, The stone which the builders put on one side, the same has been made the chief stone of the building: this was the Lord's doing, and it is a wonder in our eyes?
For this reason I say to you, The kingdom of God will be taken away from you, and will be given to a nation producing the fruits of it.
Any man falling on this stone will be broken, but he on whom it comes down will be crushed to dust.
And when his stories came to the ears of the chief priests and the Pharisees, they saw that he was talking of them.
And though they had a desire to take him, they were in fear of the people, because in their eyes he was a prophet.