4
So the man sent another servant to them. They hit the servant on the head and treated him shamefully.
5
The man sent another, and they killed that servant. Then he sent many other servants. Some of these they beat, and others they killed.
6
"He had one more person to send. That person was his son, whom he loved. Finally, he sent his son to them. He thought, 'They will respect my son.'
7
"But those workers said to one another, 'This is the heir. Let's kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.'
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So they took him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.
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"What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the workers and give the vineyard to others.
10
Have you never read the Scripture passage: 'The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
11
The Lord has done this, and it is amazing for us to see'?"
12
They wanted to arrest him but were afraid of the crowd. They knew that he had directed this illustration at them. So they left him alone and went away.
13
The leaders sent some of the Pharisees and some of Herod's followers to Jesus. They wanted to trap him into saying the wrong thing.
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When they came to him, they said, "Teacher, we know that you tell the truth. You don't favor individuals because of who they are. Rather, you teach the way of God truthfully. Is it right to pay taxes to the emperor or not? Should we pay taxes or not?"