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.

^9 (A)Then he proceeded to tell the people this parable. “[A] man planted a vineyard, leased it to tenant farmers, and then went on a journey for a long time.^{(B) 10} At harvest time he sent a servant^(C) to the tenant farmers to receive some of the produce of the vineyard. But they beat the servant and sent him away empty-handed. ¹¹ So he proceeded to send another servant, but him also they beat and insulted and sent away empty-handed. ¹² Then he proceeded to send a third, but this one too they wounded and threw out. ¹³ The owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I shall send my beloved son; maybe they will respect him.’^{(D) 14} But when the tenant farmers saw him they said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Let us kill him that the inheritance may become ours.’ ¹⁵ So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.^[a] What will the owner of the vineyard do to them? ¹⁶ He will come and put those tenant farmers to death and turn over the vineyard to others.” When the people heard this, they exclaimed, “Let it not be so!” ¹⁷ But he looked at them and asked, “What then does this scripture passage mean:

¹⁸ Everyone who falls on that stone will be dashed to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.” ¹⁹ The scribes and chief priests sought to lay their hands on him at that very hour, but they feared the people, for they knew that he had addressed this parable to them.^(F)

Paying Taxes to the Emperor.^(G)