Luke 20:9–19

The Parable of the Wicked Tenants

⁹He began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard and leased it to tenants and went away for a long time.^{* 10}When the season came, he sent a slave to the tenants in order that they might give him his share of the produce of the vineyard, but the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. ¹¹Next he sent another slave; that one also they beat and insulted and sent away empty-handed. ¹²And he sent still a third; this one also they wounded and threw out. ¹³Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’ ¹⁴But when the tenants saw him, they discussed it among themselves and said, ‘This is the heir; let us kill him so that the inheritance may be ours.’ ¹⁵So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? ¹⁶He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” When they heard this, they said, “Heaven forbid!”^{* 17}But he looked at them and said, “What then does this text mean:

‘The stone that the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone’?^v*

¹⁸“Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.”^{* 19}When the scribes and chief priests realized that he had told this parable against them, they wanted to lay hands on him at that very hour, but they feared the people.^*