'Farmers' in the Bible

For if you have love for those who have love for you, what credit is it to you? do not the tax-farmers the same?

And it came about, when he was in the house taking food, that a number of tax-farmers and sinners came and took their places with Jesus and his disciples.

And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to his disciples, Why does your Master take food with tax-farmers and sinners?

The Son of man has come feasting, and they say, See, a lover of food and wine, a friend of tax-farmers and sinners! And wisdom is judged to be right by her works.

Which of the two did his father's pleasure? They say, The first. Jesus said to them, Truly I say to you, that tax-farmers and loose women are going into the kingdom of God before you.

For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you had no faith in him, but the tax-farmers and the loose women had faith in him: and you, when you saw it, did not even have regret for your sins, so as to have faith in him.

“Listen to another parable: There was a man, a landowner, who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a watchtower. He leased it to tenant farmers and went away.

When the grape harvest drew near, he sent his slaves to the farmers to collect his fruit.

But the farmers took his slaves, beat one, killed another, and stoned a third.

Again, he sent other servants to them, a greater number than the first, but the tenant farmers treated them the same way.

“But when the tenant farmers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance!’

Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those farmers?”

“He will completely destroy those terrible men,” they told Him, “and lease his vineyard to other farmers who will give him his produce at the harvest.”

And it came about that he was seated at meat in his house, and a number of tax-farmers and sinners were at table with Jesus and his disciples: for there were a great number of them, and they came after him.

And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was taking food with the tax-farmers and sinners, said to his disciples, Why does he take food and drink with such men?

Then He began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug out a pit for a winepress, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenant farmers and went away.

At harvest time he sent a slave to the farmers to collect some of the fruit of the vineyard from the farmers.

But the farmers grabbed the servant, beat him, and sent him back empty-handed.

“But those tenant farmers said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours!’

“Therefore, what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the farmers and give the vineyard to others.

Then tax-farmers came to him for baptism and said to him, Master, what have we to do?

And Levi made a great feast for him in his house: and a great number of tax-farmers and others were seated at table with them.

And the Pharisees and their scribes made protests against his disciples, saying, Why do you take food and drink with tax-farmers and sinners?

(And all the people, and the tax-farmers, to whom John had given baptism, when they had knowledge of these things, gave glory to God.

The Son of man came feasting, and you say, Here is a lover of food and wine, a friend of tax-farmers and sinners.

Now all the tax-farmers and sinners came near to give ear to him.

Then He began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, leased it to tenant farmers, and went away for a long time.

At harvest time he sent a slave to the farmers so that they might give him some fruit from the vineyard. But the farmers beat him and sent him away empty-handed.

“But when the tenant farmers saw him, they discussed it among themselves and said, ‘This is the heir. Let’s kill him, so the inheritance will be ours!’

He will come and destroy those farmers and give the vineyard to others.”But when they heard this they said, “No—never!”

The farmers who labor must be the first to get a share of the crops.