1 Then Jesus began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a wine vat, and built a watchtower. Then he rented it out to some tenants and went away on a journey.
2 At harvest time, he sent a servant to the tenants to collect his share of the fruit of the vineyard.
3 But they seized the servant, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed.
4 Then he sent them another servant, and they struck him over the head and treated him shamefully.
5 He sent still another, and this one they killed. He sent many others; some they beat and others they killed.
6 Finally, having one beloved son, he sent him to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.
7 But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’
8 So they seized the son, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.
9 What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.
10 Have you never read this Scripture: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
11 This is from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?”
12 At this, the leaders sought to arrest Jesus, for they knew that He had spoken this parable against them. But fearing the crowd, they left Him and went away.