New Testament in a Year
23 ¶ (A)[a]And when he was come into the Temple, the chief Priests, and the Elders of the people came unto him, as he was teaching, and said, By what [b]authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority?
24 Then Jesus answered, and said unto them, I also will ask of you [c]a certain thing, which if ye tell me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things.
25 The [d]baptism of John, whence was it? from [e]heaven, or of men? Then they [f]reasoned among themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven, he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him?
26 And if we say, Of men, we fear the multitude, (B)for all hold John as a Prophet.
27 Then they answered Jesus, and said, We can not tell. And he said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.
28 ¶ [g]But what think ye? A certain man had two sons, and came to the elder, and said, Son, go and work today in my vineyard.
29 But he answered, and said, I will not: yet afterward he repented himself, and went.
30 Then came he to the second, and said likewise. And he answered, and said, I will, Sir: yet he went not.
31 Whether of them twain did the will of the father? They said unto him, The first. Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, that the Publicans and the harlots [h]go before you into the kingdom of God.
32 For John came unto you in the [i]way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the Publicans and the harlots believed him, and ye though ye saw it, were not moved with repentance afterward, that ye might believe him.
33 ¶ [j]Hear another parable, There was a certain householder, (C)which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and made a winepress therein, and [k]built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a strange country.
34 And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen to receive the fruits thereof.
35 And the husbandmen took his servants and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another.
36 Again he sent other servants, more than the first: and they did the like unto them.
37 But last of all he sent unto them his own son, saying, They will reverence my son.
38 But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, (D)This is the heir: come, let us kill him, and let us [l]take his inheritance.
39 So they took him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him.
40 When therefore the Lord of the vineyard shall come, what will he do to those husbandmen?
41 They said unto him, He will [m]cruelly destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall deliver him the fruits in their seasons.
42 Jesus said unto them, Read ye never in the Scriptures, (E)The stone which the [n]builders refused, the same is [o]made the [p]head of the corner? [q]This was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes.
43 Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and shall be given to a nation, which shall bring forth the [r]fruits thereof.
44 (F)And whosoever shall fall on this stone, he shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will [s]dash him in pieces.
45 And when the chief Priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them.
46 [t]And they seeking to lay hands on him, feared the people, because they took him as a Prophet.
Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.