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"He
went on to tell the people this parable: 'A man planted a
vineyard, rented it to some farmers and went away for a long time.
At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants so they would
give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat
him and sent him away empty-handed. He sent another servant, but
that one also they beat and treated shamefully and sent away
empty-handed. He sent still a third, and they wounded him and
threw him out.
Then the owner of the vineyard said, 'What shall I do? I will send
my son, whom I love; perhaps they will respect him.'
But when the tenants saw him, they talked the matter over. 'This
is the heir,' they said. 'Let's kill him, and the inheritance will
be ours.' So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.
1What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them?
He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to
others. When the people heard this, they said, 'May this never
be!'
Jesus looked directly at them and asked, 'Then what is the meaning
of that which is written:
'The stone the builders rejected
has become the
capstone'? Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to
pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.'
The teachers of the law and the chief priests looked for a way to
arrest him immediately, because they knew he had spoken this
parable against them. But they were afraid of the people."
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