"You generation of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. "When the time of fruit drew near, he sent his slaves to the vine-dressers seized to get his fruit.

"Listen to another parable: "A man who was a householder planted a vineyard, fenced it about, dug a wine vat in it, built a tower, then rented it to vine-dressers and went abroad.

When the time of fruit drew near, he sent his slaves to the vine-dressers to get his fruit.

And the vine-dressers seized his slaves, flogged one, killed another, and stoned a third.

But when the vine-dressers saw his son, they said to themselves: "'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and take his inheritance.'

When therefore the lord of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vine-dressers?"

"He will utterly destroy those wretches," they answered, "and will entrust his vineyard to other vine-dressers, who will pay back the fruits to him in their season."

At vintage-time he sent a slave to the vine-dressers to collect some of the proceeds of the vineyard;

Then he began to tell the people this parable. "There was a man who planted a vineyard, and let it out to vine-dressers, and went to another country for a long time.

"At harvest-time he sent a slave to the vine-dressers, to ask them to give him a share of the crop; but the vine-dresser beat him and sent him away empty-handed.

"But when the vine-dressers saw him, they reasoned together, saying. 'This is the heir. Let us kill him so that the inheritance may be ours.'

"He will come and destroy those vine-dressers, and will give the vineyard to others."