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12 He began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a pit for the wine press, built a tower, rented it out to a farmer, and went into another country. When it was time, he sent a servant to the farmer to get from the farmer his share of the fruit of the vineyard. They took him, beat him, and sent him away empty. Again, he sent another servant to them; and they threw stones at him, wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully treated. Again he sent another; and they killed him; and many others, beating some, and killing some. Therefore still having one, his beloved son, he sent him last to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But those farmers said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ They took him, killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard. What therefore will the lord of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the farmers, and will give the vineyard to others. 10 Haven’t you even read this Scripture:

‘The stone which the builders rejected
    was made the head of the corner.
11 This was from the Lord.
    It is marvelous in our eyes’?”Psalm 118:22-23

12 They tried to seize him, but they feared the multitude; for they perceived that he spoke the parable against them. They left him, and went away.

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The Parable of the Vineyard Owner

12 He(A) began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard,(B) put a fence around it, dug out a pit for a winepress, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenant farmers and went away. At harvest time he sent(C) a servant(D) to the farmers to collect some of the fruit(E) of the vineyard from them. But they took him, beat(F) him, and sent him away empty-handed.(G) Again he sent another servant to them, and they[a] hit him on the head and treated him shamefully.[b] Then he sent another, and they killed that one. He also sent many others; some they beat, and others they killed. He still had one to send, a beloved(H) son. Finally(I) he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But those tenant farmers said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ So they seized him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. What then will the owner[c](J) of the vineyard do? He will come and kill the farmers and give the vineyard to others. 10 Haven’t you read this Scripture:(K)

The(L) stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.(M)
11 This came about from the Lord(N)
and is wonderful in our eyes?”[d]

12 They were looking for a way to arrest him but feared the crowd because they knew he had spoken this parable against them. So they left him and went away.

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Footnotes

  1. 12:4 Other mss add threw stones and
  2. 12:4 Other mss add and sent him off
  3. 12:9 Or lord
  4. 12:10–11 Ps 118:22–23