₃₃“Listen to another parable,” Jesus said. “There was once a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a hole for the winepress, and built a watchtower. Then he let out the vineyard to tenants and went on a journey. ₃₄When the time came to gather the grapes, he sent his slaves to the tenants to receive his share of the harvest. ₃₅The tenants seized his slaves, beat one, killed another, and stoned another. ₃₆Again the man sent other slaves, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. ₃₇Last of all he sent his son to them. ‘Surely they will respect my son,’ he said. ₃₈But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the owner's son. Come on, let's kill him, and we will get his property!’ ₃₉So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.

₄₀“Now, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” Jesus asked.

₄₁“He will certainly kill those evil men,” they answered, “and let the vineyard out to other tenants, who will give him his share of the harvest at the right time.”

₄₂Jesus said to them, “Haven't you ever read what the Scriptures say?

₄₃“And so I tell you,” added Jesus, “the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce the proper fruits.”

₄₅The chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus' parables and knew that he was talking about them, ₄₆so they tried to arrest him. But they were afraid of the crowds, who considered Jesus to be a prophet.