Matthew 21:23-46

23And when he came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him [as he was] teaching, saying, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority? 24And Jesus answering said to them, I also will ask you one thing, which if ye tell me, I also will tell you by what authority I do these things: 25The baptism of John, whence was it? of heaven or of men? And they reasoned among themselves, saying, If we should say, Of heaven, he will say to us, Why then have ye not believed him? 26but if we should say, Of men, we fear the crowd, for all hold John for a prophet. 27And answering Jesus they said, We do not know. He also said to them, Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things. 28But what think ye? A man had two children, and coming to the first he said, Child, go to-day, work in [my] vineyard. 29And he answering said, I will not; but afterwards repenting himself he went. 30And coming to the second he said likewise; and he answering said, I [go], sir, and went not. 31Which of the two did the will of the father? They say [to him], The first. Jesus says to them, Verily I say unto you that the tax-gatherers and the harlots go into the kingdom of 1God before you. 32For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not; but the tax-gatherers and the harlots believed him; but ye when ye saw [it] repented not yourselves afterwards to believe him. 33Hear another parable: There was a householder who planted a vineyard, and made a fence round it, and dug a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and left the country. 34But when the time of fruit drew near, he sent his bondmen to the husbandmen to receive his fruits. 35And the husbandmen took his bondmen, and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. 36Again he sent other bondmen more than the first, and they did to them in like manner. 37And at last he sent to them his son, saying, They will have respect for my son. 38But the husbandmen, seeing the son, said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him and possess his inheritance. 39And they took him, and cast him forth out of the vineyard, and killed him. 40When therefore the lord of the vineyard comes, what shall he do to those husbandmen? 41They say to him, He will miserably destroy those evil [men], and let out the vineyard to other husbandmen, who shall render him the fruits in their seasons. 42Jesus says to them, Have ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which they that builded rejected, this has become the corner-stone: this is of [the] Lord, and it is wonderful in our eyes? 43Therefore I say to you, that the kingdom of 2God shall be taken from you and shall be given to a nation producing the fruits of it. 44And he that falls on this stone shall be broken, but on whomsoever it shall fall, it shall grind him to powder. 45And the chief priests and the Pharisees, having heard his parables, knew that he spoke about them. 46And seeking to lay hold of him, they were afraid of the crowds, because they held him for a prophet.