NSB(i)
28 »What do you think? A man had two sons. He asked the first to work today in the vineyard.
29 »The first son said in answer, ‘I will not.’ Later he changed his mind and went to work.
30 »He said the same to the second son. That son answered, ‘Yes, I will go,’ but he did not go to work.
31 »Which of the two pleased his father?« They replied: »The first.« Jesus said to them: »I tell you, tax collectors and prostitutes will go into the kingdom of God before you.«
32 »John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him. Even the tax collectors and prostitutes believed him. When you saw this, you did not regret your sins and did not have faith in him.
33 »Listen to another illustration. A master of a house made a vineyard, and put a wall around it. He made a wine press and built a tower. Then he rented it to workers and traveled to another country.
34 »When the time for the fruit came near, he sent his servants to the workmen, to get the fruit.
35 »The workmen attacked his servants, striking one with a stone and killing the other.
36 »He sent other servants more in number than the first. They did the same to them.
37 »Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘Certainly they will respect my son.’
38 »When the workmen saw the son, they said, ‘Let us put him to death and take his heritage, for someday he will own this property.’
39 »They took him out of the vineyard and killed him.
40 »When the lord of the vineyard returns, what will he do to the workmen?«
41 They all said: »He will put those cruel men to death. Then he will find other workmen who are worthy and who will give him fruit when it is ready.«
42 Jesus said to them: »Have you read the Scriptures, ‘The stone the builders rejected has been made the chief cornerstone of the building. This was Jehovah’s doing, and it is wonderful in our eyes.’ (Isaiah 28:16)
43 »For this reason I tell you, The kingdom of God will be taken away from you. It will be given to a nation producing fruit.
44 »Any man falling on this stone will be broken. Any man having this stone fall on him will be crushed to dust.«
45 When the chief priests and Pharisees heard his illustrations they realized he was talking about them.
46 They wanted to seize him, but feared the people, because the people saw Jesus as a prophet.
22 1 Jesus continued to speak to them with illustrations.
2 »The kingdom of heaven is like a king who gave a wedding feast for his son.
3 »He sent out his servants to invite guests to the feast, but they would not come.
4 »Again he sent out other servants with orders to say to the guests, ‘I have prepared my feast. Oxen and fat livestock are butchered and everything is ready, so come to the feast.’
5 »But they paid no attention and went about their business. One went to his farm and another went to his trade.
6 »The rest violently attacked his servants and put them to death.
7 »The king was angry, and sent his armies to put the evil servants to death and to destroy their town with fire.
8 »He said to his servants, ‘The feast is ready, but the guests were not worthy.
9 »‘Go then, to the main roads, and invite all those whom you see to come to the feast.’
10 »They went to the roads and brought in everyone they could find, good and bad alike. And the banquet room was filled with guests.
11 »When the king met the guests he found that one of them was not wearing the right kind of clothes for the wedding.
12 »The king asked why did he not wear proper clothes for the wedding? But the guest had no excuse.
13 »The king gave orders for that person to be tied hand and foot and thrown outside into the dark. That is where people will cry and grind their teeth in pain.
14 »Many are called, but few chosen.«