The Death of Moses

34 Then Moses climbed Mount Nebo^(A) from the plains of Moab to the top of Pisgah,^(B) across from Jericho.^(C) There the Lord showed^(D) him the whole land—from Gilead to Dan,^{(E) 2} all of Naphtali, the territory of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Mediterranean Sea,^{(F) 3} the Negev^(G) and the whole region from the Valley of Jericho, the City of Palms,^(H) as far as Zoar.^{(I) 4} Then the Lord said to him, “This is the land I promised on oath^(J) to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob^(K) when I said, ‘I will give it^(L) to your descendants.’ I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross^(M) over into it.”

⁵ And Moses the servant of the Lord^(N) died^(O) there in Moab, as the Lord had said. ⁶ He buried him^[a] in Moab, in the valley opposite Beth Peor,^(P) but to this day no one knows where his grave is.^{(Q) 7} Moses was a hundred and twenty years old^(R) when he died, yet his eyes were not weak^(S) nor his strength gone.^{(T) 8} The Israelites grieved for Moses in the plains of Moab^(U) thirty days,^(V) until the time of weeping and mourning^(W) was over.

⁹ Now Joshua son of Nun was filled with the spirit^[b] of wisdom^(X) because Moses had laid his hands on him.^(Y) So the Israelites listened to him and did what the Lord had commanded Moses.

¹⁰ Since then, no prophet^(Z) has risen in Israel like Moses,^(AA) whom the Lord knew face to face,^{(AB) 11} who did all those signs and wonders^(AC) the Lord sent him to do in Egypt—to Pharaoh and to all his officials^(AD) and to his whole land. ¹² For no one has^(AE) ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds^(AF) that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.

The Authority of Jesus Questioned^(A)

²³ Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. “By what authority^(B) are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you this authority?”

²⁴ Jesus replied, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. ²⁵ John’s baptism—where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or of human origin?”

They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ ²⁶ But if we say, ‘Of human origin’—we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet.”^(C)

²⁷ So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”

Then he said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

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.’^(D)

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^(E) and the prostitutes^(F) are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. ³² For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness,^(G) and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors^(H) and the prostitutes^(I) did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent^(J) and believe him.

The Parable of the Tenants^(K)

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

³⁵ “The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third.^{(P) 36} Then he sent other servants^(Q) 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.^(R) Come, let’s kill him^(S) and take his inheritance.’^{(T) 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,”^(U) they replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants,^(V) who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.”

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

⁴³ “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you^(X) 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](Y)

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.^(Z)