²⁷ And they come again to Jerusalem: and as he was walking in the temple, there come to him the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders,

²⁸ And say unto him, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority to do these things?

²⁹ And Jesus answered and said unto them, I will also ask of you one question, and answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things.

³⁰ The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? answer me.

³¹ And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then did ye not believe him?

³² But if we shall say, Of men; they feared the people: for all men counted John, that he was a prophet indeed.

³³ And they answered and said unto Jesus, We cannot tell. And Jesus answering saith unto them, Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things.

12 And he began to speak unto them by parables. A certain man planted a vineyard, and set an hedge about it, and digged a place for the winefat, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country.

² And at the season he sent to the husbandmen a servant, that he might receive from the husbandmen of the fruit of the vineyard.

³ And they caught him, and beat him, and sent him away empty.

⁴ And again he sent unto them another servant; and at him they cast stones, and wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully handled.

⁵ And again he sent another; and him they killed, and many others; beating some, and killing some.

⁶ Having yet therefore one son, his wellbeloved, he sent him also last unto them, saying, They will reverence my son.

⁷ But those husbandmen said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours.'

⁸ And they took him, and killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard.

⁹ What shall therefore the lord of the vineyard do? he will come and destroy the husbandmen, and will give the vineyard unto others.

¹⁰ And have ye not read this scripture; The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner:

¹¹ This was the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?

¹² And they sought to lay hold on him, but feared the people: for they knew that he had spoken the parable against them: and they left him, and went their way.

20 And it came to pass, that on one of those days, as he taught the people in the temple, and preached the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes came upon him with the elders,

² And spake unto him, saying, Tell us, by what authority doest thou these things? or who is he that gave thee this authority?

³ And he answered and said unto them, I will also ask you one thing; and answer me:

⁴ The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men?

⁵ And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then believed ye him not?

⁶ But and if we say, Of men; all the people will stone us: for they be persuaded that John was a prophet.

⁷ And they answered, that they could not tell whence it was.

⁸ And Jesus said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.

⁹ Then began he to speak to the people this parable; A certain man planted a vineyard, and let it forth to husbandmen, and went into a far country for a long time.

¹⁰ And at the season he sent a servant to the husbandmen, that they should give him of the fruit of the vineyard: but the husbandmen beat him, and sent him away empty.

¹¹ And again he sent another servant: and they beat him also, and entreated him shamefully, and sent him away empty.

¹² And again he sent a third: and they wounded him also, and cast him out.

¹³ Then said the lord of the vineyard, What shall I do? I will send my beloved son: it may be they will reverence him when they see him.

¹⁴ But when the husbandmen saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, This is the heir: come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.

¹⁵ So they cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him. What therefore shall the lord of the vineyard do unto them?

¹⁶ He shall come and destroy these husbandmen, and shall give the vineyard to others. And when they heard it, they said, God forbid.

¹⁷ And he beheld them, and said, What is this then that is written, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner?

¹⁸ Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.

¹⁹ And the chief priests and the scribes the same hour sought to lay hands on him; and they feared the people: for they perceived that he had spoken this parable against them.