^33 (A)“Hear another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard,^[a] put a hedge around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a tower. Then he leased it to tenants and went on a journey.^{(B) 34} When vintage time drew near, he sent his servants^[b] to the tenants to obtain his produce. ³⁵ But the tenants seized the servants and one they beat, another they killed, and a third they stoned. ³⁶ Again he sent other servants, more numerous than the first ones, but they treated them in the same way. ³⁷ Finally, he sent his son to them, thinking, ‘They will respect my son.’ ^38 [c]But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and acquire his inheritance.’ ^39 [d](C)They seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. ⁴⁰ What will the owner of the vineyard do to those tenants when he comes?” ⁴¹ They answered^[e] him, “He will put those wretched men to a wretched death and lease his vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the proper times.” ^42 [f](D)Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the scriptures:

^43 [g]Therefore, I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit. ⁴⁴ [^[h] The one who falls on this stone will be dashed to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.]” ⁴⁵ When the chief priests and the Pharisees^[i] heard his parables, they knew that he was speaking about them. ⁴⁶ And although they were attempting to arrest him, they feared the crowds, for they regarded him as a prophet.

Chapter 12

Parable of the Tenants.^{[a] 1} He began to speak to them in parables.^(A) “A man planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a wine press, and built a tower. Then he leased it to tenant farmers and left on a journey.^{(B) 2} At the proper time he sent a servant to the tenants to obtain from them some of the produce of the vineyard. ³ But they seized him, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. ⁴ Again he sent them another servant. And that one they beat over the head and treated shamefully. ⁵ He sent yet another whom they killed. So, too, many others; some they beat, others they killed. ⁶ He had one other to send, a beloved son. He sent him to them last of all, thinking, ‘They will respect my son.’ ⁷ But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ ⁸ So they seized him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. ⁹ What [then] will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come, put the tenants to death, and give the vineyard to others. ¹⁰ Have you not read this scripture passage:^(C)

¹² They were seeking to arrest him, but they feared the crowd, for they realized that he had addressed the parable to them. So they left him and went away.