The Parable of the Tenants(A)

12 Jesus then began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard.(B) He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place.

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34 It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants(A) in charge, each with their assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.

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The Song of the Vineyard

I will sing for the one I love
    a song about his vineyard:(A)
My loved one had a vineyard
    on a fertile hillside.
He dug it up and cleared it of stones
    and planted it with the choicest vines.(B)
He built a watchtower(C) in it
    and cut out a winepress(D) as well.
Then he looked for a crop of good grapes,
    but it yielded only bad fruit.(E)

“Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and people of Judah,
    judge between me and my vineyard.(F)
What more could have been done for my vineyard
    than I have done for it?(G)
When I looked for good grapes,
    why did it yield only bad?(H)

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He taught them many things by parables,(A) and in his teaching said:

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The Parable of the Bags of Gold(A)

14 “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey,(B) who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them.

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17 If some of the branches have been broken off,(A) and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others(B) and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, 18 do not consider yourself to be superior to those other branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you.(C) 19 You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.” 20 Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith.(D) Do not be arrogant,(E) but tremble.(F) 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.

22 Consider therefore the kindness(G) and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue(H) in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off.(I) 23 And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.(J) 24 After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree,(K) how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!

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33 With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand.(A) 34 He did not say anything to them without using a parable.(B) But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything.

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You transplanted a vine(A) from Egypt;
    you drove out(B) the nations and planted(C) it.
You cleared the ground for it,
    and it took root and filled the land.
10 The mountains were covered with its shade,
    the mighty cedars with its branches.
11 Its branches reached as far as the Sea,[a]
    its shoots as far as the River.[b](D)

12 Why have you broken down its walls(E)
    so that all who pass by pick its grapes?
13 Boars from the forest ravage(F) it,
    and insects from the fields feed on it.
14 Return to us, God Almighty!
    Look down from heaven and see!(G)
Watch over this vine,
15     the root your right hand has planted,
    the son[c] you have raised up for yourself.

16 Your vine is cut down, it is burned with fire;(H)
    at your rebuke(I) your people perish.

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 80:11 Probably the Mediterranean
  2. Psalm 80:11 That is, the Euphrates
  3. Psalm 80:15 Or branch

the people of Israel.(A) Theirs is the adoption to sonship;(B) theirs the divine glory,(C) the covenants,(D) the receiving of the law,(E) the temple worship(F) and the promises.(G) Theirs are the patriarchs,(H) and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah,(I) who is God over all,(J) forever praised![a](K) Amen.

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Footnotes

  1. Romans 9:5 Or Messiah, who is over all. God be forever praised! Or Messiah. God who is over all be forever praised!

God’s Faithfulness

What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision? Much in every way!(A) First of all, the Jews have been entrusted with the very words of God.(B)

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46 who enjoyed God’s favor and asked that he might provide a dwelling place for the God of Jacob.[a](A) 47 But it was Solomon who built a house for him.(B)

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Footnotes

  1. Acts 7:46 Some early manuscripts the house of Jacob

38 He was in the assembly in the wilderness, with the angel(A) who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our ancestors;(B) and he received living words(C) to pass on to us.(D)

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The Parable of the Tenants(A)

He went on to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard,(B) rented it to some farmers and went away for a long time.(C) 10 At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants so they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 11 He sent another servant, but that one also they beat and treated shamefully and sent away empty-handed. 12 He sent still a third, and they wounded him and threw him out.

13 “Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my son, whom I love;(D) perhaps they will respect him.’

14 “But when the tenants saw him, they talked the matter over. ‘This is the heir,’ they said. ‘Let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 15 So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

“What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16 He will come and kill those tenants(E) and give the vineyard to others.”

When the people heard this, they said, “God forbid!”

17 Jesus looked directly at them and asked, “Then what is the meaning of that which is written:

“‘The stone the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone’[a]?(F)

18 Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.”(G)

19 The teachers of the law and the chief priests looked for a way to arrest him(H) immediately, because they knew he had spoken this parable against them. But they were afraid of the people.(I)

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 20:17 Psalm 118:22

The Vine and the Branches

15 “I am(A) the true vine,(B) and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit,(C) while every branch that does bear fruit(D) he prunes[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.(E) Remain in me, as I also remain in you.(F) No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit;(G) apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.(H) If you remain in me(I) and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.(J) This is to my Father’s glory,(K) that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.(L)

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Footnotes

  1. John 15:2 The Greek for he prunes also means he cleans.

12 He said: “A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return.

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13 “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth(A) in wild living.

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Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any.(A) So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down!(B) Why should it use up the soil?’

“‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’”

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10 He said, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you,(A) but to others I speak in parables, so that,

“‘though seeing, they may not see;
    though hearing, they may not understand.’[a](B)

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 8:10 Isaiah 6:9

The Parable of the Tenants(A)

12 Jesus then began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard.(B) He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. But they seized him, beat him and sent him away empty-handed. Then he sent another servant to them; they struck this man on the head and treated him shamefully. He sent still another, and that one they killed. He sent many others; some of them they beat, others they killed.

“He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all,(C) saying, ‘They will respect my son.’

“But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.

“What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others. 10 Haven’t you read this passage of Scripture:

“‘The stone the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone;(D)
11 the Lord has done this,
    and it is marvelous in our eyes’[a]?”(E)

12 Then the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders looked for a way to arrest him because they knew he had spoken the parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd;(F) so they left him and went away.(G)

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Footnotes

  1. Mark 12:11 Psalm 118:22,23

11 He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God(A) has been given to you. But to those on the outside(B) everything is said in parables 12 so that,

“‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,
    and ever hearing but never understanding;
otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’[a](C)

13 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable?

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Footnotes

  1. Mark 4:12 Isaiah 6:9,10

The Parable of the Two Sons

28 “What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’(A)

29 “‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.

30 “Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go.

31 “Which of the two did what his father wanted?”

“The first,” they answered.

Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors(B) and the prostitutes(C) are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32 For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness,(D) and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors(E) and the prostitutes(F) did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent(G) and believe him.

The Parable of the Tenants(H)

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

35 “The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third.(M) 36 Then he sent other servants(N) 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.(O) Come, let’s kill him(P) and take his inheritance.’(Q) 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,”(R) they replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants,(S) who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.”

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

“‘The stone the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone;
the Lord has done this,
    and it is marvelous in our eyes’[a]?(T)

43 “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you(U) 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](V)

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.(W)

The Parable of the Wedding Banquet(X)

22 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like(Y) a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his servants(Z) to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.

“Then he sent some more servants(AA) and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’

“But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers(AB) and burned their city.

“Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. So go to the street corners(AC) and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ 10 So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good,(AD) and the wedding hall was filled with guests.

11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 12 He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend(AE)?’ The man was speechless.

13 “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’(AF)

14 “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”(AG)

Footnotes

  1. Matthew 21:42 Psalm 118:22,23
  2. Matthew 21:44 Some manuscripts do not have verse 44.

34 Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable.(A) 35 So was fulfilled(B) what was spoken through the prophet:

“I will open my mouth in parables,
    I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world.”[a](C)

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 13:35 Psalm 78:2

10 The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?”

11 He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven(A) has been given to you,(B) but not to them. 12 Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.(C) 13 This is why I speak to them in parables:

“Though seeing, they do not see;
    though hearing, they do not hear or understand.(D)

14 In them is fulfilled(E) the prophecy of Isaiah:

“‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
    you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
15 For this people’s heart has become calloused;
    they hardly hear with their ears,
    and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
    hear with their ears,
    understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.’[a](F)

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 13:15 Isaiah 6:9,10 (see Septuagint)

49 Then I said, “Sovereign Lord,(A) they are saying of me, ‘Isn’t he just telling parables?(B)’”[a]

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 20:49 In Hebrew texts 20:45-49 is numbered 21:1-5.

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