Luke 20:9-19

Common English Bible

Parable of the tenant farmers

⁹ Jesus told the people this parable: “A certain man planted a vineyard, rented it to tenant farmers, and went on a trip for a long time. ¹⁰ When it was time, he sent a servant to collect from the tenants his share of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants sent him away, beaten and empty-handed. ¹¹ The man sent another servant. But they beat him, treated him disgracefully, and sent him away empty-handed as well. ¹² He sent a third servant. They wounded this servant and threw him out. ¹³ The owner of the vineyard said, ‘What should I do? I’ll send my son, whom I love dearly. Perhaps they will respect him.’ ¹⁴ But when they saw him, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Let’s kill him so the inheritance will be ours.’ ¹⁵ They threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What will the owner of the vineyard do to them? ¹⁶ He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.”

When the people heard this, they said, “May this never happen!”

¹⁷ Staring at them, Jesus said, “Then what is the meaning of this text of scripture: The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone?^{[a] 18} Everyone who falls on that stone will be crushed. And the stone will crush the person it falls on.” ¹⁹ The legal experts and chief priests wanted to arrest him right then because they knew he had told this parable against them. But they feared the people.