36. Again he sent other slaves, more than the first, and they treated them the same way.
37. Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’
38. But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and get his inheritance!’
39. So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.
40. Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”
41. They said to him, “He will utterly destroy those evil men! Then he will lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him his portion at the harvest.”
42. Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the scriptures: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?
43. For this reason I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.
44. The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, and the one on whom it falls will be crushed.”
45. When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them.
46. They wanted to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowds, because the crowds regarded him as a prophet.