Matthew 21:33-45

Amplified Bible

Parable of the Landowner

³³ “Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard and put a wall around it and dug a wine press in it, and built a tower, and rented it out to tenant farmers and went on a journey [to another country].^{(A) 34} When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his [share of the] fruit. ³⁵ But the tenants took his servants and beat one, and killed another, and stoned a third. ³⁶ Again he sent other servants, more than the first time; and they treated them the same way. ³⁷ Finally he sent his own son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son and have regard for him.’ ³⁸ But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This [man] is the heir; come on, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’ ³⁹ So they took the son and threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. ⁴⁰ Now when the owner of the vineyard comes back, what will he do to those tenants?” ⁴¹ They said to Him, “He will put those despicable men to a miserable end, and rent out the vineyard to other tenants [of good character] who will pay him the proceeds at the proper seasons.”

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

⁴³ Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to [another] people who will produce the fruit of it. ⁴⁴ And he who falls on this Stone will be broken to pieces; but he on whom it falls will be crushed.”^(C)

⁴⁵ When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they understood that He was talking about them.