The Parable of the Wedding Feast^(A)

22 And Jesus answered ^(B)and spoke to them again by parables and said:

The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard

20 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. ² Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. ³ And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, ⁴ and said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went. ⁵ Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise. ⁶ And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing ^[a]idle, and said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day?’ ⁷ They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, ^[b]and whatever is right you will receive.’

⁸ “So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, ‘Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.’ ⁹ And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius. ¹⁰ But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius. ¹¹ And when they had received it, they ^[c]complained against the landowner, ¹² saying, ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.’ ¹³ But he answered one of them and said, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? ¹⁴ Take what is yours and go your way. I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. ^15 (A)Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or ^(B)is your eye evil because I am good?’ ^16 (C)So the last will be first, and the first last. ^(D)For^[d] many are called, but few chosen.”

An Unclean Spirit Returns^(A)

^43 (B)“When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, ^(C)he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. ⁴⁴ Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. ⁴⁵ Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; ^(D)and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation.”

^16 (A)Then He said to him, “A certain man gave a great supper and invited many,

¹⁰ And He said, “To you it has been given to know the ^[a]mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that

Jesus’ Use of Parables

^33 (A)And with many such parables He spoke the word to them as they were able to hear it. ³⁴ But without a parable He did not speak to them. And when they were alone, ^(B)He explained all things to His disciples.

The Parable of the Two Sons

²⁸ “But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go, work today in my ^(A)vineyard.’ ²⁹ He answered and said, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he regretted it and went. ³⁰ Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, ‘I go, sir,’ but he did not go. ³¹ Which of the two did the will of his father?”

They said to Him, “The first.”

Jesus said to them, ^(B)“Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you. ³² For ^(C)John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; ^(D)but tax collectors and harlots believed him; and when you saw it, you did not afterward ^[a]relent and believe him.

The Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers^(E)

³³ “Hear another parable: There was a certain landowner ^(F)who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and ^(G)went into a far country. ³⁴ Now when vintage-time drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedressers, that they might receive its fruit. ^35 (H)And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another. ³⁶ Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did likewise to them. ³⁷ Then last of all he sent his ^(I)son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ ³⁸ But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, ^(J)‘This is the heir. ^(K)Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’ ^39 (L)So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.

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

^41 (M)They said to Him, ^(N)“He will destroy those wicked men miserably, ^(O)and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will ^[b]render to him the fruits in their seasons.”

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

⁴³ “Therefore I say to you, ^(Q)the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. ⁴⁴ And ^(R)whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, ^(S)it will grind him to powder.”

⁴⁵ Now when the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they ^[c]perceived that He was speaking of them. ⁴⁶ But when they sought to lay hands on Him, they ^(T)feared the multitudes, because ^(U)they took Him for a prophet.

³ Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: ^(A)“Behold, a sower went out to sow. ⁴ And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. ⁵ Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. ⁶ But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. ⁷ And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. ⁸ But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some ^(B)a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. ^9 (C)He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

The Purpose of Parables^(D)

¹⁰ And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?”

¹¹ He answered and said to them, “Because ^(E)it has been given to you to know the ^[a]mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.

¹⁵ And Jesus said to them, “Can ^(A)the ^[a]friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and ^(B)then they will fast. ¹⁶ No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for ^[b]the patch pulls away from the garment, and the tear is made worse. ¹⁷ Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins ^[c]break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”