Matthew 15:1-21:46 Then some Pharisees and Teachers of the Law came to Jesus, and said:

Twentieth_Century⁽ⁱ⁾ ¹ Then some Pharisees and Teachers of the Law came to Jesus, and said: ² "How is it that your disciples break the traditions of our ancestors? For they do not wash their hands when they eat food." ³ His reply was: "How is it that you on your side break God's commandments out of respect for your own traditions? ⁴ For God said--'Honor thy father and mother,' and 'Let him who reviles his father or mother suffer death,' ⁵ But you say 'Whenever any one says to his father or mother "Whatever of mine might have been of service to you is 'Given to God,'" ⁶ He is in no way bound to honor his father.' In this way you have nullified the words of God on account of your traditions. ⁷ Hypocrites! It was well said by Isaiah when he prophesied about you-- ⁸ 'This is a people that honor me with their lips, While their hearts are far removed from me; ⁹ But vainly do they worship me, For they teach but the precepts of men.'" ¹⁰ Then Jesus called the people to him, and said: "Listen, and mark my words. ¹¹ It is not what enters a man's mouth that 'defiles' him, but what comes out from his mouth--that does defile him!" ¹² On this his disciples came up to him, and said: "Do you know that the Pharisees were shocked on hearing what you said?" ¹³ "Every plant," Jesus replied, "that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up. ¹⁴ Let them be; they are but blind guides; and, if one blind man guides another, both of them will fall into a ditch." ¹⁵ Upon this, Peter said to Jesus: "Explain this saying to us." ¹⁶ "What, do even you understand nothing yet?" Jesus exclaimed. ¹⁷ "Do not you see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is afterwards expelled? ¹⁸ But the things that come out from the mouth proceed from the heart, and it is these that defile a man; ¹⁹ For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts--murder, adultery, unchastity, theft, perjury, slander. ²⁰ These are the things that defile a man; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile a man." ²¹ On going away from that place, Jesus retired to the country round Tyre and Sidon. ²² There, a Canaanite woman of that district came out and began calling to Jesus: "Take pity on me, Master, Son of David; my daughter is grievously possessed by a demon." ²³ But Jesus did not answer her a word; and his disciples came up and begged him to send her away. "She keeps calling out after us," they said. ²⁴ "I was not sent," replied Jesus, "to any one except the lost sheep of Israel." ²⁵ But the woman came, and, bowing to the ground before him, said: "Master, help me." ²⁶ "It is not fair," replied Jesus, "to take the children's food and throw it to dogs." ²⁷ "Yes, Master," she said, "for even dogs do feed on the scraps that fall from their owners' table." ²⁸ "Your faith is great," was his reply to the woman; "it shall be as you wish!" And her daughter was cured that very hour. ²⁹ On leaving that place, Jesus went to the shore of the Sea of Galilee; and then went up the hill, and sat down., you will do what not only what has been done to the fig tree, but, even if you should say to this hill 'Be lifted up and hurled into the sea!' it would be done. ³⁰ Great crowds of people came to him, bringing with them those who were lame, crippled, blind, or dumb, and many others. They put them down at his feet, and he cured them; ³¹ And the crowds were astonished, when they saw the dumb talking, the cripples made sound, the lame walking about, and the blind with their sight restored; and they praised the God of Israel. ³² Afterwards Jesus called his disciples to him, and said: "My heart is moved at the sight of all these people, for they have already been with me three days and they have nothing to eat; and I am unwilling to send them away hungry, for fear that they should break down on the way." ³³ "Where can we," his disciples asked, "in a lonely place find enough bread for such a crowd as this?" ³⁴ "How many loaves have you?" said Jesus. "Seven," they answered, "and a few small fish." ³⁵ Telling the crowd to sit down on the ground, ³⁶ Jesus took the seven loaves and the fish, and, after saying the thanksgiving, broke them, and gave them to the disciples; and the disciples gave them to the crowds. ³⁷ Every one had sufficient to eat, and they picked up seven baskets full of the broken pieces left. ³⁸ The men who ate were four thousand in number without counting women and children. ³⁹ Then, after dismissing the crowds, Jesus got into the boat, and went to the neighborhood of Magadan. ¹⁶ ¹ Here the Pharisees and Sadducees came up, and, to test Jesus, requested him to show them some sign from the heavens. ² But Jesus answered: [ "In the evening you say 'It will be fine weather, for the sky is as red as fire.' ³ But in the morning you say 'To-day it will be stormy, for the sky is as red as fire and threatening.' You learn to read the sky; yet you are unable to read the signs of the times!] ⁴ A wicked and unfaithful generation is asking for a sign, but no sign shall be given it except the sign of Jonah." So he left them and went away. ⁵ Now the disciples had crossed to the opposite shore, and had forgotten to take any bread. ⁶ Presently Jesus said to them: "Take care and be on your guard against the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees." ⁷ But the disciples began talking among themselves about their having brought no bread. ⁸ On noticing this, Jesus said: "Why are you talking among yourselves about your being short of bread, O men of little faith? ⁹ Do not you yet see, nor remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you took away? ¹⁰ Nor yet the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many basketfuls you took away? ¹¹ How is it that you do not see that I was not speaking about bread? Be on your guard against the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees." ¹² Then they understood that he had told them to be on their guard, not against the leaven of bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. ¹³ On coming into the neighborhood of Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asked his disciples this question-- "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" ¹⁴ "Some say John the Baptist," they answered, "Others, however, say that he is Elijah, while others again say Jeremiah, or one of the Prophets." ¹⁵ "But you," he said, "who do you say that I am?" ¹⁶ And to this Simon Peter answered: "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God." ¹⁷ "Blessed are you, Simon, Son of Jonah," Jesus replied. "For no human being has revealed this to you, but my Father who is in Heaven. ¹⁸ Yes, and I say to you, Your name is 'Peter--a Rock, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the Powers of the Place of Death shall not prevail over it. ¹⁹ I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you forbid on earth will be held in Heaven to be forbidden, and whatever you allow on earth will be held in Heaven to be allowed." ²⁰ Then he charged his disciples not to tell any one that he was the Christ. ²¹ At that time Jesus Christ began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem, and undergo much suffering at the hands of the Councillors, and Chief Priests, and Teachers of the Law, and be put to death, and rise on the third day. ²² But Peter took Jesus aside, and began to rebuke him. "Master," he said, "please God that shall never be your fate!" ²³ Jesus, however, turning to Peter, said: "Out of my way, Satan! You are a hindrance to me; for you look at things, not as God does, but as man does." ²⁴ Then Jesus said to his disciples: "If any man wishes to walk in my steps, let him renounce self, and take up his cross, and follow me. ²⁵ For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, and whoever, for my sake, loses his life shall find it. ²⁶ What good will it do a man to gain the whole world, if he forfeits his life? or what will a man give that is of equal value with his life? ²⁷ For the Son of Man is to come in his Father's Glory, with his angels, and then he 'will give to every man what his actions deserve.' ²⁸ I tell you, some of those who are standing here will not know death till they have seen the Son of Man coming into his Kingdom." ¹⁷ ¹ Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter, and the brothers James and John, and led them up a high mountain alone. ² There his appearance was transformed before their eyes; his face shown like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. ³ And all at once Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Jesus. ⁴ "Master," exclaimed Peter, interposing, "it is good to be here; if you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." ⁵ While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and there was a voice from the cloud that said-- "This is my Son, the Beloved, in whom I delight; him you must hear." ⁶ The disciples, on hearing this, fell on their faces, greatly afraid. ⁷ But Jesus came and touched them, saying as he did so: "Rise up, and do not be afraid." ⁸ When they raised their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus himself alone. ⁹ As they were going down the mountain side, Jesus gave them this warning-- "Do not speak of this vision to any one, until the Son of Man has risen from the dead." ¹⁰ "How is it," his disciples asked, "that our Teachers of the Law say that Elijah has to come first?" ¹¹ "Elijah indeed does come," Jesus replied, "and will restore everything; ¹² And I tell you that Elijah has already come, and people have not recognized him, but have treated him just as they pleased. In the same way, too, the Son of Man is destined to undergo suffering at men's hands." ¹³ Then the disciples understood that it was of John the Baptist that he had spoken to them. ¹⁴ When they came to the crowd, a man came up to Jesus, and, kneeling down before him, said: ¹⁵ "Master, take pity on my son, for he is epileptic and suffers terribly; indeed, he often falls into the fire and into the water; ¹⁶ I brought him to your disciples, but they could not cure him." ¹⁷ "O faithless and perverse generation!" Jesus exclaimed, "how long must I be among you? how long must I have patience with you? Bring the boy here to me." ¹⁸ Then Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy; and he was cured from that very hour. ¹⁹ Afterwards the disciples came up to Jesus, and asked him privately: "Why was it that we could not drive it out?" ²⁰ "Because you have so little faith," he answered; "for, I tell you, if your faith were only like a mustard-seed, you could say to this mountain 'Move from this place to that!' and it would be moved; and nothing would be impossible to you." ²¹ OMITTED TEXT ²² While Jesus and his disciples were together in Galilee, he said to them: "The Son of Man is destined to be betrayed into the hands of his fellow-men, ²³ And they will put him to death, but on the third day he will rise." And the disciples were greatly distressed. ²⁴ After they had reached Capernaum, the collectors of the Temple-rate came up to Peter, and said: "Does not your Master pay the Temple-rate?" ²⁵ "Yes," answered Peter. But, on going into the house, before he could speak, Jesus said: "What do you think, Simon? From whom do earthly kings take taxes or tribute? From their sons, or from others?" ²⁶ "From others," answered Peter. "Well then," continued Jesus, "their sons go free. ²⁷ Still, that we may not shock them, go and throw a line into the Sea; take the first fish that rises, open its mouth, and you will find in it a piece of money. Take that, and give it to the collectors for both of us." ¹⁸ ¹ On the same occasion the disciples came to Jesus, and asked him: "Who is really the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?" ² Jesus called a little child to him, and placed it in the middle of them, and then said: ³ "I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven at all. ⁴ Therefore, any one who will humble himself like this child-- that man shall be the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. ⁵ And any one who, for the sake of my Name, welcomes even one little child like this, is welcoming me. ⁶ But, if any one puts a snare in the way of one of these lowly ones who believe in me, it would be best for him to be sunk in the depths of the sea with a great millstone hung round his neck. ⁷ Alas for the world because of such snares! There cannot but be snares; yet alas for the man who is answerable for the snare! ⁸ If your hand or your foot is a snare to you, cut it off, and throw it away. It would be better for you to enter the Life maimed or lame, than to have both hands, or both feet, and be thrown into the aeonian fire. ⁹ If your eye is a snare to you, take it out, and throw it away. It would be better for you to enter the Life with only one eye, than to have both eyes and be thrown into the fiery Pit. ¹⁰ Beware of despising one of these lowly ones, for in Heaven, I tell you, their angels always see the face of my Father who is in Heaven. ¹¹ OMITTED TEXT ¹² What think you? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them strays, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills, and go and search for the one that is straying? ¹³ And, if he succeeds in finding it, I tell you that he rejoices more over that one sheep than over the ninety-nine which did not stray. ¹⁴ So, too, it is the will of my Father who is in Heaven that not one of these lowly ones should be lost. ¹⁵ If your Brother does wrong, go to him and convince him of his fault when you and he are alone. If he listens to you, you have won your Brother. ¹⁶ But, if he does not listen to you, take with you one or two others, so that 'on the evidence of two or three witnesses, every word may be put beyond dispute.' ¹⁷ If he refuses to listen to them, speak to the Church; and, if he also refuses to listen to the Church, treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax-gatherer. ¹⁸ I tell you, all that you forbid on earth will be held in Heaven to be forbidden, and all that you allow on earth will be held in Heaven to be allowed. ¹⁹ Again, I tell you that, if but two of you on earth agree as to what they shall pray for, whatever it be, it will be granted them by my Father who is in Heaven. ²⁰ For where two or three have come together in my Name, I am present with them." ²¹ Then Peter came up, and said to Jesus: "Master, how often am I to forgive my Brother when he wrongs me? As many as seven times?" ²² But Jesus answered: "Not seven times, but 'seventy times seven.' ²³ And therefore the Kingdom of Heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. ²⁴ When he had begun to do so, one of them was brought to him who owed him six million pounds; ²⁵ And, as he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold towards the payment of the debt, together with his wife, and his children, and everything that he had. ²⁶ Thereupon the servant threw himself down on the ground before him and said 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.' ²⁷ The master was moved with compassion; and he let him go, and forgave him the debt. ²⁸ But, on going out, that same servant came upon one of his fellow-servants who owed him ten pounds. Seizing him by the throat, he said 'Pay what you owe me.' ²⁹ Thereupon his fellow-servant threw himself on the ground and begged for mercy. 'Have patience with me,' he said, 'and I will pay you.' ³⁰ But the other would not, but went and put him in prison till he should pay his debt. ³¹ When his fellow-servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed, and went to their master and laid the whole matter before him. ³² Upon that the master sent for the servant, and said to him 'You wicked servant! When you begged me for mercy, I forgave you the whole of that debt. ³³ Ought not you, also, to have shown mercy to your fellow- servant, just as I showed mercy to you?' ³⁴ Then his master, in anger, handed him over to the jailers, until he should pay the whole of his debt. ³⁵ So, also, will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each one of you forgives his Brother from his heart." ¹⁹ ¹ At the conclusion of this teaching, Jesus withdrew from Galilee, and went into that district of Judea which is on the other side of the Jordan. ² Great crowds followed him, and he cured them there. ³ Presently some Pharisees came up to him, and, to test him, said: "Has a man the right to divorce his wife for every cause?" ⁴ "Have not you read," replied Jesus, "that at the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female,' ⁵ And said--'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother, and be united to his wife, and the man and his wife shall become one'? ⁶ So that they are no longer two, but one. What God himself, then, has yoked together man must not separate." ⁷ "Why, then," they said, "did Moses direct that a man should 'serve his wife with a notice of separation and divorce her'?" ⁸ "Moses, owing to the hardness of your hearts," answered Jesus, "permitted you to divorce your wives, but that was not so at the beginning. ⁹ But I tell you that any one who divorces his wife, except on the ground of her unchastity, and marries another woman, is guilty of adultery." ¹⁰ "If that," said the disciples, "is the position of a man with regard to his wife, it is better not to marry." ¹¹ "It is not every one," replied Jesus, "who can accept this teaching, but only those who have been enabled to do so. ¹² Some men, it is true, have from birth been disabled for marriage, while others have been disabled by their fellow men, and others again have disabled themselves for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven. Let him accept it who can." ¹³ Then some little children were brought to Jesus, for him to place his hands on them, and pray; but the disciples found fault with those who had brought them. ¹⁴ Jesus, however, said: "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for it is to the childlike that the Kingdom of Heaven belongs." ¹⁵ So he placed his hands on them, and then went on his way. ¹⁶ And a man came up to Jesus, and said: "Teacher, what good thing must I do to obtain Immortal life?" ¹⁷ "Why ask me about goodness?" answered Jesus. "There is but One who is good. If you want to enter the Life, keep the commandments." ¹⁸ "What commandments?" asked the man. "These," answered Jesus:-- "'Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not say what is false about others. ¹⁹ Honor thy father and thy mother.' And 'Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thou dost thyself." ²⁰ "I have observed all these," said the young man. "What is still wanting in me?" ²¹ "If you wish to be perfect," answered Jesus, "go and sell your property, and give to the poor, and you shall have wealth in Heaven; then come and follow me." ²² On hearing these words, the young man went away distressed, for he had great possessions. ²³ At this, Jesus said to his disciples: "I tell you that a rich man will find it hard to enter the Kingdom of Heaven! ²⁴ I say again, it is easier for a camel to get through a needle's eye than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven!" ²⁵ On hearing this, the disciples exclaimed in great astonishment: "Who then can possibly be saved?" ²⁶ But Jesus looked at them, and said: "With men this is impossible, but with God everything is possible." Then Peter turned and said to Jesus: ²⁷ "But we--we left everything, and followed you; what, then, shall we have?" ²⁸ "I tell you," answered Jesus, "that at the New Creation, 'when the Son of Man takes his seat on his throne of glory,' you who followed me shall be seated upon twelve thrones, as judges of the twelve tribes of Israel. ²⁹ Every one who has left houses, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or children, or land, on account of my Name, will receive many times as much, and will 'gain Immortal Life.' ³⁰ But many who are first now will then be last, and those who are last will be first. ²⁰ ¹ For the Kingdom of Heaven is like an employer who went out in the early morning to hire laborers for his vineyards. ² He agreed with the laborers to pay them two shillings a day, and sent them into his vineyard. ³ On going out again, about nine o'clock, he saw some others standing in the market-place, doing nothing. ⁴ 'You also may go into my vineyard,' he said, 'and I will pay you what is fair.' ⁵ So the men went. Going out again about mid-day and about three o'clock, he did as before. ⁶ When he went out about five, he found some other men standing there, and said to them 'Why have you been standing here all day long, doing nothing?' ⁷ 'Because no one has hired us,' they answered. 'You also may go into my vineyard,' he said. ⁸ In the evening the owner of the vineyard said to his steward 'Call the laborers, and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, and ending with the first. ⁹ Now when those who had been hired about five o'clock went up, they received two shillings each. ¹⁰ So, when the first went up, they thought that they would receive more, but they also received two shillings each; ¹¹ On which they began to grumble at their employer. ¹² 'These last,' they said, 'have done only one hour's work, and yet you have put them on the same footing with us, who have borne the brunt of the day's work, and the heat.' ¹³ 'My friend,' was his reply to one of them, 'I am not treating you unfairly. Did not you agree with me for two shillings? ¹⁴ Take what belongs to you, and go. I choose to give to this last man the same as to you. ¹⁵ Have not I the right to do as I choose with what is mine? Are you envious because I am liberal?' ¹⁶ So those who are last will be first, and the first last." ¹⁷ When Jesus was on the point of going up to Jerusalem, he gathered the twelve disciples round him by themselves, and said to them as they were on their way: ¹⁸ "Listen! We are going up to Jerusalem; and there the Son of Man will be betrayed to the Chief Priests and Teachers of the Law, and they will condemn him to death, ¹⁹ And give him up to the Gentiles for them to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify; and on the third day he will rise." ²⁰ Then the mother of Zebediah's sons came to him with her sons, bowing to the ground, and begging a favor. ²¹ "What is it that you want?" he asked. "I want you to say," she replied, "that in your Kingdom these two sons of mine may sit, one on your right, and the other on your left." ²² "You do not know what you are asking," was Jesus' answer. "Can you drink the cup that I am to drink?" "Yes," they exclaimed, "we can." ²³ "You shall indeed drink my cup," he said, "but as to a seat at my right and at my left--that is not mine to give, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father." ²⁴ On hearing of this, the ten others were very indignant about the two brothers. ²⁵ Jesus, however, called the ten to him, and said: "The rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them as you know, and their great men oppress them. ²⁶ Among you it is not so. ²⁷ No, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to take the first place among you, must be your slave; ²⁸ Just as the Son of Man came, not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." ²⁹ As they were going out of Jericho, a great crowd followed him. ³⁰ Two blind men who were sitting by the road-side, hearing that Jesus was passing, called out: "Take pity on us, Master, Son of David!" ³¹ The crowd told them to be quiet; but the men only called out the louder: "Take pity on us, Master, Son of David!" ³² Then Jesus stopped and called them. "What do you want me to do for you?" he said. ³³ "Master," they replied, "we want our eyes to be opened." ³⁴ So Jesus, moved with compassion, touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight, and followed him. ²¹ ¹ When they had almost reached Jerusalem, having come as far as Bethphage, on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent on two disciples. ² "Go to the village facing you," he said, "and you will immediately find an ass tethered, with a foal by her side; untie her, and lead her here for me. ³ And, if any one says anything to you, you are to say this-- 'The Master wants them'; and he will send them at once." ⁴ This happened in fulfillment of these words in the Prophet-- ⁵ 'Say to the daughter of Zion--"Behold, thy King is coming to thee, 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 led the ass and the foal back, and, when they had put their cloaks on them, he seated himself upon them. ⁸ The immense crowd of people spread their cloaks in the road, while some cut branches off the trees, and spread them on the road. ⁹ The crowds that led the way, as well as those that followed behind, kept shouting: "God save the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! God save him from on high!" ¹⁰ When he had entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred, and asked-- ¹¹ "Who is this?", to which the crowd replied--"This is the Prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee." ¹² Jesus went into the Temple Courts, and drove out all those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money-changers, and the seats of the pigeon-dealers, ¹³ And said to them: "Scripture says—'My House shall be called a house of prayer'; but you are making it 'a den of robbers.'" ¹⁴ While he was still in the Temple Courts, some blind and some lame people came up to him, and he cured them. ¹⁵ But, when the Chief Priests and the Teachers of the Law saw the wonderful things that Jesus did, and the boys who were calling out in the Temple Courts "God save the Son of David!", they were indignant, ¹⁶ And said to him: "Do you hear what these boys are saying?" "Yes," answered Jesus; "but did you never read the words--'Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings thou hast called forth perfect praise'?" ¹⁷ Then he left them, and went out of the city to Bethany, and spent the night there. ¹⁸ The next morning, in returning to the city, Jesus became hungry; ¹⁹ And, noticing a solitary fig tree by the road-side, he went up to it, but found nothing on it but leaves. So he said to it: "Never again shall fruit be gathered off you." And suddenly the fruit tree withered up. ²⁰ When the disciples saw this, they exclaimed in astonishment: "How suddenly the fig tree withered up!" ²¹ "I tell you," replied Jesus, "if you have faith, without ever a doubt, you will do what not only what has been done to the fig tree, but, even if you should say to this hill 'Be lifted up and hurled into the sea!' it would be done. ²² And whatever you ask for in your prayers will, if you have faith, be granted you." ²³ After Jesus had come into the Temple Courts, the Chief Priests and the Councillors of the Nation came up to him as he was teaching, and said: " What authority have you to do these things? Who gave you this authority?" ²⁴ "I, too," said Jesus in reply, "will ask you one question; if you will give me an answer to it, then I, also, will tell you what authority I have to act as I do. ²⁵ It is about John's baptism. What was its origin? divine or human?" But they began arguing among themselves: "If we say 'divine,' he will say to us 'Why then did not you believe him?' ²⁶ But if we say 'human,' we are afraid of the people, for every one regards John as a Prophet." ²⁷ So the answer they gave Jesus was--"We do not know." "Then I," he said, "refuse to tell you what authority I have to do these things. ²⁸ What do you think of this? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the elder and said 'Go and work in the vineyard to-day my son.' ²⁹ 'Yes, sir,' he answered; but he did not go. ³⁰ Then the father went to the second son, and said the same. 'I will not,' he answered; but afterwards he was sorry and went. ³¹ Which of the two sons did as his father wished?" " The second," they said. "I tell you," added Jesus, "that tax-gatherers and prostitutes are going into the Kingdom of God before you. ³² For when John came to you, walking in the path of righteousness, you did not believe him, but tax-gatherers and prostitutes did; and yet you, though you saw this, even then were not sorry, nor did you believe him. ³³ Listen to another parable. A man, who was an employer, once planted a vineyard, put a fence round it, dug a winepress in it, built a tower, and then let it out to tenants and went abroad. ³⁴ When the time for the vintage drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants, to receive his share of the produce. ³⁵ But the tenants seized his servants, beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. ³⁶ A second time the owner sent some servants, a larger number than before, and the tenants treated them in the same way. ³⁷ As a last resource he sent his son to them. 'They will respect my son,' he said. ³⁸ But the tenants, on seeing his son, said to each other 'Here is the heir! Come, let us kill him, and get his inheritance.' ³⁹ So they seized him, and threw him outside the vineyard, and killed him. ⁴⁰ Now, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?" ⁴¹ "Miserable wretches!" they exclaimed, "he will put them to a miserable death, and he will let out the vineyard to other tenants, who will pay him his share of the produce at the proper times." ⁴² Then Jesus added: "Have you never read in the Scriptures?-- 'The very stone which the builders despised--Has now itself become the corner-stone; This corner-stone has come from the Lord, And is marvelous in our eyes.' ⁴³ And that, I tell you, is why the Kingdom of God will be taken from you, and given to a nation that does produce the fruit of the Kingdom. ⁴⁴ Yes, and he who falls on this stone will be dashed to pieces, while any one on whom it falls--it will scatter him as dust." ⁴⁵ After listening to these parables, the Chief Priests and the Pharisees saw that it was about them that he was speaking; ⁴⁶ Yet, although eager to arrest him, they were afraid of the crowds, who regarded him as a Prophet.