The Song of the Vineyard

⁴ though I myself have reasons for such confidence.^(A)

If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: ⁵ circumcised^(B) on the eighth day, of the people of Israel,^(C) of the tribe of Benjamin,^(D) a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee;^{(E) 6} as for zeal,^(F) persecuting the church;^(G) as for righteousness based on the law,^(H) faultless.

⁷ But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss^(I) for the sake of Christ. ⁸ What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing^(J) Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ^{(K) 9} and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law,^(L) but that which is through faith in^[a] Christ—the righteousness^(M) that comes from God on the basis of faith.^{(N) 10} I want to know^(O) Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings,^(P) becoming like him in his death,^{(Q) 11} and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection^(R) from the dead.

¹² Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal,^(S) but I press on to take hold^(T) of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.^{(U) 13} Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind^(V) and straining toward what is ahead, ¹⁴ I press on^(W) toward the goal to win the prize^(X) for which God has called^(Y) me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

The Parable of the Tenants^(A)

³³ “Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted^(B) a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower.^(C) Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place.^{(D) 34} When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants^(E) to the tenants to collect his fruit.

³⁵ “The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third.^{(F) 36} Then he sent other servants^(G) to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. ³⁷ Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.

³⁸ “But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir.^(H) Come, let’s kill him^(I) and take his inheritance.’^{(J) 39} So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

⁴⁰ “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”

⁴¹ “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,”^(K) they replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants,^(L) who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.”

⁴² Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:

⁴³ “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you^(N) and given to a people who will produce its fruit. ⁴⁴ Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.”^[b](O)

⁴⁵ When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them. ⁴⁶ They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.^(P)