The Parable of the Tenants in the Vineyard^(A)

^33 (B)“Listen to another parable,” Jesus said. “There was once a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a hole for the wine press, and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to tenants and left home on a trip. ³⁴ When the time came to gather the grapes, he sent his slaves to the tenants to receive his share of the harvest. ³⁵ The tenants grabbed his slaves, beat one, killed another, and stoned another. ³⁶ Again the man sent other slaves, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. ³⁷ Last of all he sent his son to them. ‘Surely they will respect my son,’ he said. ³⁸ But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the owner's son. Come on, let's kill him, and we will get his property!’ ³⁹ So they grabbed him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.

⁴⁰ “Now, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” Jesus asked.

⁴¹ “He will certainly kill those evil men,” they answered, “and rent the vineyard out to other tenants, who will give him his share of the harvest at the right time.”

^42 (C)Jesus said to them, “Haven't you ever read what the Scriptures say?

⁴³ “And so I tell you,” added Jesus, “the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce the proper fruits.” ^44 [a]

⁴⁵ The chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus' parables and knew that he was talking about them, ⁴⁶ so they tried to arrest him. But they were afraid of the crowds, who considered Jesus to be a prophet.

The Parable of the Tenants in the Vineyard^(A)

^9 (B)Then Jesus told the people this parable: “There was once a man who planted a vineyard, rented it out to tenants, and then left home for a long time. ¹⁰ When the time came to gather the grapes, he sent a slave to the tenants to receive from them his share of the harvest. But the tenants beat the slave and sent him back without a thing. ¹¹ So he sent another slave; but the tenants beat him also, treated him shamefully, and sent him back without a thing. ¹² Then he sent a third slave; the tenants wounded him, too, and threw him out. ¹³ Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my own dear son; surely they will respect him!’ ¹⁴ But when the tenants saw him, they said to one another, ‘This is the owner's son. Let's kill him, and his property 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 the tenants?” Jesus asked. ¹⁶ “He will come and kill those men, and turn the vineyard over to other tenants.”

When the people heard this, they said, “Surely not!”

^17 (C)Jesus looked at them and asked, “What, then, does this scripture mean?

¹⁸ Everyone who falls on that stone will be cut to pieces; and if that stone falls on someone, that person will be crushed to dust.”

The Question about Paying Taxes^(D)

¹⁹ The teachers of the Law and the chief priests tried to arrest Jesus on the spot, because they knew that he had told this parable against them; but they were afraid of the people.