Goodspeed(i)
1 For the Kingdom of Heaven is like an employer who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.
2 He agreed with the laborers to pay them a dollar a day, and sent them to his vineyard.
3 He went out about nine o'clock and saw others standing in the bazaar with nothing to do.
4 And he said to them, 'You go to my vineyard, too, and I will pay you whatever is right.' So they went.
5 He went out again about twelve and about three, and did the same.
6 About five he went out and found others standing about and he said to them, 'Why have you been standing about here all day doing nothing?'
7 They said to him, 'Because nobody has hired us.' He said to them, 'You go to my vineyard, too.'
8 When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, 'Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last and ending with the first.'
9 When those who were hired about five o'clock came they received a dollar apiece.
10 And when those who were hired first came they expected to get more, but they too got a dollar apiece.
11 And when they received it they grumbled at their employer,
12 and said, 'These men who were hired last worked only one hour, and you have put them on the same footing with us who have done the heavy work of the day and have stood the midday heat.'
13 But he answered one of them, 'My friend, I am doing you no injustice. Did you not agree with me on a dollar?
14 Take what belongs to you and go. I wish to give the last man hired as much as I give you.
15 Have I no right to do what I please with what is mine? Or do you begrudge my generosity?'
16 So those who are last now will be first then, and those who are first will be last."
17 When Jesus was about to go up to Jerusalem, he took the Twelve off by themselves, and said to them as they were on the way,
18 "We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the high priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death,
19 and hand him over to the heathen to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and on the third day he will be raised to life."
20 Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came up to him with her sons, bowing low, to ask a favor of him.
21 He said to her, "What do you want?" She said to him, "Give orders that these two sons of mine sit one at your right and one at your left, when you are king!"
22 But Jesus answered, "You do not know what you are asking for! Can you drink what I am going to drink?" They answered, "Yes, we can."
23 He said to them, "Then what I drink you shall drink, but as for sitting at my right or my left, that is not mine to give, but belongs to those for whom it is destined by my Father."
24 When the other ten heard of this, they were very indignant at the two brothers.
25 But Jesus called them to him and said, "You know that the rulers of the heathen lord it over them, and their great men tyrannize over them.
26 It is not to be so among you, but whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant,
27 and whoever wants to hold the first place among you must be your slave,
28 just as the Son of Man has come not to be waited on, but to wait on other people, and to give his life to ransom many others."
29 As they were going out of Jericho, a great crowd followed him.
30 And two blind men sitting by the roadside, hearing that it was Jesus who was passing, called out, "You Son of David! Take pity on us, sir!"
31 The crowd told them to be still, but they called all the louder, "You Son of David! Take pity on us, sir!"
32 And Jesus stopped and called them, and said, "What do you want me to do for you?"
33 They said to him, "Sir, have our eyes opened!"
34 And Jesus took pity on them and touched their eyes, and they immediately regained their sight, and followed him.
21 1 When they were near Jerusalem and had come to Bethphage and the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples on ahead,
2 saying to them, "Go to the village that lies in front of you, and you will at once find an ass tied there, and a colt with her. Untie her and bring them to me.
3 If anyone says anything to you, you are to say, 'The Master needs them'; then he will send them at once."
4 Now this happened in fulfilment of what was said by the prophet,
5 "Tell the daughter of Zion, 'Here is your king coming to you, Gentle, and riding on an ass, And on the foal of a beast of burden.' "
6 So the disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them;
7 they brought the ass and the colt, and laid their coats upon them, and Jesus seated himself upon them.
8 And most of the crowd spread their coats in his way, and others cut branches from the trees and scattered them before him.
9 And the crowds that went in front of him and that followed him shouted, "God bless the Son of David! Blessed be he who comes in the Lord's name. God bless him from on high!"
10 When he came into Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred, and everyone asked, "Who is he?"
11 The crowd answered, "It is Jesus, the prophet of Nazareth in Galilee!"
12 And Jesus went into the Temple and drove out all who were buying or selling things in it, and he upset the money-changers' tables and the pigeon-dealers' seats,
13 and he said to them, "The Scripture says, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer,' but you make it a robbers' cave."
14 And blind and lame people came up to him in the Temple, and he cured them.
15 But when the high priests and the scribes saw the wonders that he did and saw the boys shouting in the Temple, "God bless the Son of David!" they were indignant,
16 and said to him, "Do you hear what they are saying?" Jesus said to them, "Yes. Did you never read, 'You have drawn praise from the mouths of children and infants'?"
17 And he left them, and went out of the city to Bethany, and spent the night there.
18 In the morning as he went back to the city, he grew hungry,
19 and seeing a fig tree by the roadside, he went up to it, but found nothing on it but leaves. And he said to it, "No more fruit shall ever grow on you!" And the fig tree withered up at once.
20 When the disciples saw it, they were amazed and said, "How did the fig tree come to wither up immediately?"
21 Jesus answered, "I tell you, if you have faith and have no doubt, you will not only do what I have done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, 'Get up and throw yourself into the sea,' it will be done.
22 And everything that you pray for with faith, you will obtain."
23 When he had entered the Temple, and was teaching, the high priests and the elders of the people came up to him, and said, "What authority have you for doing as you do, and who gave you this authority?"
24 Jesus answered, "Let me ask you one question, and if you answer it, I will tell you what authority I have for doing as I do.
25 Where did John's baptism come from? Was it from heaven, or from men?" And they argued with one another, "If we say, 'It was from heaven,' he will say to us, 'Then why did you not believe him?'
26 But if we say, 'From men,' we have the people to fear, for they all consider John a prophet."
27 And they answered Jesus, "We do not know." He said to them, "Nor will I tell you what authority I have for doing as I do.
28 But what do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, 'My son, go and work in the vineyard today.'
29 And he answered, 'I will, sir,' but he did not go.
30 Then the man went to the second son, and told him the same thing. And he answered, 'I will not!' But afterward he changed his mind and went.
31 Which of the two did what his father wanted?" They said, "The second one." Jesus said to them, "I tell you, the tax-collectors and prostitutes are going into the Kingdom of God ahead of you.
32 For John came to you with a way of uprightness, and you would not believe him. The tax-collectors and prostitutes believed him, but even after seeing that, you would not change your minds and believe him!
33 "Listen to another figure. There was a land owner who planted a vineyard and fenced it in, and hewed out a wine-vat in it, and built a watch-tower, and leased it to tenants, and left the neighborhood.
34 When the time for the vintage approached he sent his slaves to the tenants to receive his share.
35 But the tenants took his slaves and beat one and killed another and stoned a third.
36 Again he sent other slaves and more of them than he had sent at first, and they treated them in the same way.
37 Finally he sent his son to them, thinking, 'They will respect my son.'
38 But when the tenants saw his son, they said to one another. 'This is his heir! Come on, let us kill him, and get his inheritance!'
39 So they took him and drove him out of the vineyard and killed him.
40 When the owner of the vineyard comes back, therefore, what will he do to these tenants?"
41 They said to him, "He will put the wretches to a miserable death, and let the vineyard to other tenants who will give him his share of the vintage when it is due."
42 Jesus said to them, "Did you never read in the Scriptures, " 'That stone which the builders rejected Has become the cornerstone; This came from the Lord, And seems marvelous to us'?
43 "That, I tell you, is why the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you, and given to a people that will produce its proper fruit.
44 Whoever falls on that stone will be shattered, but whoever it falls upon will be pulverized."
45 When the high priests and the Pharisees heard his figures, they knew that he was speaking about them,
46 and they wanted to have him arrested, but they were afraid of the people, for the people considered him a prophet.