³³‘Hear ye another simile: There was a certain man, a householder, who planted a vineyard, and did put a hedge round it, and digged in it a wine-press, and built a tower, and gave it out to husbandmen, and went abroad.

³⁴‘And when the season of the fruits came nigh, he sent his servants unto the husbandmen, to receive the fruits of it, ³⁵and the husbandmen having taken his servants, one they scourged, and one they killed, and one they stoned.

³⁶‘Again he sent other servants more than the first, and they did to them in the same manner.

³⁷‘And at last he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son; ³⁸and the husbandmen having seen the son, said among themselves, This is the heir, come, we may kill him, and may possess his inheritance; ³⁹and having taken him, they cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him; ⁴⁰whenever therefore the lord of the vineyard may come, what will he do to these husbandmen?’ ⁴¹They say to him, ‘Evil men—he will evilly destroy them, and the vineyard will give out to other husbandmen, who will give back to him the fruits in their seasons.’ ⁴²Jesus saith to them, ‘Did ye never read in the Writings, A stone that the builders disallowed, it became head of a corner; from the Lord hath this come to pass, and it is wonderful in our eyes.

⁴³‘Because of this I say to you, that the reign of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth its fruit; ⁴⁴and he who is falling on this stone shall be broken, and on whomsoever it may fall it will crush him to pieces.’ ⁴⁵And the chief priests and the Pharisees having heard his similes, knew that of them he speaketh, ⁴⁶and seeking to lay hold on him, they feared the multitudes, seeing they were holding him as a prophet.

Chapter 22

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