61 Bible Verses about Privileges

For who concedes you [superiority]? And what do you have that you did not receive? But if indeed you received [it], why do you boast as [if you] did not receive [it]?

Now in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee {named} Nazareth, to a virgin legally promised in marriage to a man {named} Joseph of the house of David. And the name of the virgin [was] Mary. And he came to her [and] said, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord [is] with you."read more.
But she was greatly perplexed at the statement, and was pondering what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in the womb and will give birth to a son, and you will call his name Jesus. This one will be great, and he will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David. And he will reign over the house of Jacob {forever}, and of his kingdom there will be no end. And Mary said to the angel, "How will this be, since I have not had sexual relations with a man?" And the angel answered [and] said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore also the one to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth--she also has conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren. For {nothing will be impossible with God}." So Mary said, "Behold, the Lord's female slave! May it happen to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.

For by grace you are saved through faith, and this [is] not from yourselves, [it is] the gift of God; [it is] not from works, so that no one can boast.

although I [could] have confidence even in the flesh. {circumcised on the eighth day}, from the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew [born] from Hebrews, according to the law a Pharisee, according to zeal persecuting the church, according to the righteousness in the law being blameless.read more.
But whatever [things] were gain to me, these [things] I have considered loss because of Christ. {More than that}, even consider all [things] to be loss because of the surpassing greatness of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for the sake of whom I have suffered the loss of all [things], and consider [them] dung, in order that I may gain Christ and may be found in him, not having my righteousness [which is] from the law, but [which is] through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God on the basis of faith,

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, [the] moon and [the] stars which you set in place-- what [is] a human being that you think of him? and a child of humankind that you care for him? And you made him a little lower than heavenly beings, and [with] glory and [with] majesty you crowned him.read more.
You make him over the works of your hands; all [things] you have placed under his feet:

And God said, "Let us make humankind in our image and according to our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of heaven, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every moving thing that moves upon the earth." So God created humankind in his image, in the likeness of God he created him, male and female he created them. And God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it, and rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of heaven, and over every animal that moves upon the earth."

who are Israelites, [to] whom [belong] the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the [temple] service, and the promises, [to] whom [belong] the patriarchs, and from whom [is] the Christ according to human descent, who is God over all, blessed {forever}! Amen.

"Yahweh loved you and chose you not {because of your great number} exceeding all [other] peoples, for you [are] fewer than all of the peoples, but {because of} the love of Yahweh [for] you and because of his keeping [of] the sworn oath that he swore to your ancestors, Yahweh brought you [out] with a strong hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. [So] know that Yahweh your God, he [is] God, the trustworthy God, maintaining his covenant and his loyal love with those who love him and with those who keep his commandments to a thousand generations,

Therefore you [are] great, my lord Yahweh, for there is no one like you, and there [is] no god except you, in all that we have heard with our ears. Who [is] like your people, like Israel? [Israel is] the one nation on earth whose God {led them}, [in order] to redeem a people for himself, and to make a name for himself, and to do for you the great and awesome things for your land in the presence of your people whom he redeemed for himself from Egypt, [from the] nations and their gods. You have established your people Israel for yourself as a people forever, and you, O Yahweh, have become their God.

Therefore I say, God has not rejected his people, has he? May it never be! For I also am an Israelite, from the descendants of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected his people, whom he foreknew! Or do you not know, in [the passage about] Elijah, what the scripture says--how he appeals to God against Israel? "Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have torn down your altars, and I alone am left, and they are seeking my life!"read more.
But what does the divine response say to him? "I have left for myself seven thousand people who have not bent the knee to Baal." So in this way also at the present time, there is a remnant {selected by grace}. But if by grace, [it is] no longer by works, for otherwise grace would no longer be grace. What then? What Israel was searching for, this it did not obtain. But the elect obtained [it], and the rest were hardened, just as it is written, "God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that do not see and ears that do not hear, until this very day." And David says, "Let their table become a snare and a trap, and a cause for stumbling and a retribution to them; let their eyes be darkened so that they do not see, and cause their backs to bend {continually}." I say then, they did not stumble so that they fell, [did they]? May it never be! But by their trespass, salvation [has come] to the Gentiles, in order to provoke them [to jealousy]. And if their trespass [means] riches for the world and their loss [means] riches for the Gentiles, how much more [will] their fullness [mean]?

Blessed [is] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly [places] in Christ, just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, [that] we should be holy and blameless before him in love, having predestined us to adoption through Jesus Christ to himself according to the good pleasure of his will,read more.
to the praise of the glory of his grace that he bestowed on us in the beloved, in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace, that he caused to abound to us in all wisdom and insight,

Therefore if anyone [is] in Christ, [he is] a new creation; the old [things] have passed away; behold, new [things] have come. And all these [things] [are] from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ, and who has given us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.read more.
Therefore we are ambassadors on behalf of Christ, as [if] God were imploring [you] through us. We beg [you] on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made the one who did not know sin [to be] sin on our behalf, in order that we could become the righteousness of God in him.

among whom also we all formerly lived in the desires of our flesh, doing the will of the flesh and of the mind, and we were children of wrath by nature, as also the rest of [them] were. But God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love [with] which he loved us, and we being dead in trespasses, he made [us] alive together with Christ (by grace you are saved),read more.
and raised [us] together and seated [us] together in the heavenly [places] in Christ Jesus, in order that he might show in the coming ages the surpassing riches of his grace in kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you are saved through faith, and this [is] not from yourselves, [it is] the gift of God; [it is] not from works, so that no one can boast.

who has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred [us] to the kingdom of the Son {he loves}, in whom we have the redemption, the forgiveness of sins,

because through him [we] both have access in one Spirit to the Father.

Therefore, [because we] have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have [obtained] access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we boast in the hope of the glory of God.

Therefore, brothers, [since we] have confidence for the entrance into the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, [by the] new and living way which he inaugurated for us through the curtain, that is, his flesh, and [since we have] a great priest over the house of God,read more.
let us approach with a true heart in the full assurance of faith, our hearts sprinkled [clean] from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

For you have not come to something that can be touched, and to a burning fire, and to darkness, and to gloom, and to a whirlwind, and to the noise of a trumpet, and to the sound of words which those who heard begged [that] not [another] word be spoken to them. For they could not endure what was commanded: "If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned."read more.
And the spectacle was so terrifying [that] Moses said, "I am terrified and trembling." But you have come to Mount Zion, and to the city of the living God, to the heavenly Jerusalem, and to tens of thousands of angels, to the festal gathering and assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of righteous [people] made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and {to the sprinkled blood} that speaks better than Abel's [does].

Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

But Jesus cried out and said, "The one who believes in me does not believe in me, but in the one who sent me, and the one who sees me sees the one who sent me. I have come [as] a light into the world, in order that everyone who believes in me will not remain in the darkness.

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you know him and have seen him."

But when the fullness of time came, God sent out his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order that he might redeem those under the law, in order that we might receive the adoption. And because you are sons, God sent out the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying out, "Abba! (Father!),"read more.
so that you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, also an heir through God.

For all those who are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery [leading] to fear again, but you have received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, "Abba! Father!" The Spirit himself confirms to our spirit that we are children of God,read more.
and if children, also heirs--heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer together [with him] so that we may also be glorified together [with him].

For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for as many [of you] as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.read more.
And if you [are] Christ's, then you are descendants of Abraham, heirs according to the promise.

And have you completely forgotten the exhortation which instructs you as sons? "My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, or give up [when you] are corrected by him. For the Lord disciplines the one whom he loves, and punishes every son whom he accepts." Endure [it] for discipline. God is dealing with you as sons. For what son [is there] whom a father does not discipline?read more.
But if you are without discipline, in which all [legitimate sons] have become participants, then you are illegitimate and not sons. Furthermore, we have had {our earthly fathers} who disciplined [us], and we respected [them]. Will we not much rather subject ourselves to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined [us] for a few days according to what seemed [appropriate] to them, but he [does so] for our benefit, in order that [we] can have a share in his holiness. Now all discipline seems for the moment not to be joyful but painful, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness for those who are trained by it.

But you [are] a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for [God's] possession, so that you may proclaim the virtues of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light, who once [were] not a people, but now [are] the people of God, the ones [who were] not shown mercy, but now are shown mercy.

Consequently, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but you are fellow citizens of the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole building, joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord,read more.
in whom you also are built up together into a dwelling place of God in [the] Spirit.

And turning to the disciples, he said privately, "Blessed [are] the eyes that see [the things] which you see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see [the things] which you see, and did not see [them], and to hear [the things] which you hear, and did not hear [them]."

And the disciples came up [and] said to him, "{Why} do you speak to them in parables?" And he answered [and] said to them, "To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to those [people] it has not been granted. For whoever has, to him [more] will be given, and he will have an abundance. But whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.read more.
For this [reason] I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand, and with reference to them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says, "{You will listen carefully} and will never understand, and {you will look closely} and will never perceive. For the heart of this people has become dull, and with their ears they hear with difficulty, and they have shut their eyes, so that they would not see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them." But your eyes [are] blessed because they see, and your ears because they hear. For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous [people] longed to see what you see, and did not see [it], and to hear what you hear, and did not hear [it]!

And when he was alone, those around him together with the twelve began asking him about the parables. And he said to them, "To you has been granted the secret of the kingdom of God, but to those who are outside everything is in parables, so that '{they may look closely} and not perceive, and {they may listen carefully} and not understand, lest they turn and it be forgiven them.'"

And his disciples asked him what this parable meant. And he said, "To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest [they are] in parables, so that 'Seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.'

No longer do I call you slaves, because the slave does not know what his master is doing. But I have called you friends, because everything that I have heard from my Father I have revealed to you.

Now we do speak wisdom among the mature, but wisdom not of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are perishing, but we speak the hidden wisdom of God in a mystery, which God predestined before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew. For if they had known [it], they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.read more.
But just as it is written, "[Things] which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and have not entered into the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love him." For to us God has revealed [them] through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches all [things], even the depths of God. For who among men knows the things of a man, except the spirit of the man that [is] in him? Thus also no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who [is] from God, in order that we may know the things freely given to us by God,

Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace meant for you sought and made careful inquiry, investigating for what [person] or which time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating [when he] testified beforehand to the sufferings with reference to Christ and the glories after these [things], to whom it was revealed that they were serving not themselves but you with reference to the same [things] which now have been announced to you through those who proclaimed the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, {things into which} angels desire to look.

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you came out from [the] womb I consecrated you; I appointed you [as] a prophet to the nations."

Then King David went and sat before Yahweh and said, "Who [am] I, my lord Yahweh, and what [is] my house that you have brought me up to {this place}? Still, this [was] {insignificant} in your eyes, my lord Yahweh, and also you have spoken about the house of your servant from afar, and this [may be] the teaching of humans, my lord Yahweh. {What more can David say to you}? You know your servant, my lord Yahweh.read more.
Because of your word and according to your heart, you have done all of this great thing, [in order] to let your servant know.

No longer do I call you slaves, because the slave does not know what his master is doing. But I have called you friends, because everything that I have heard from my Father I have revealed to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and your fruit should remain, in order that whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.

and last of all, as it were to one born at the wrong time, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me has not been in vain, but I labored even more than all of them, and not I, but the grace of God with me.

And indeed, who [am] I, and who [are] my people that we retain power to offer according to these [offerings] willingly? For everything [is] from you, and from your hand we have given to you. For we [are] strangers before you and sojourners like all our ancestors. Our days [are] like the shadow upon earth, and there is no hope [of abiding]. O Yahweh our God, all this abundance that we have provided to build for you a house for your holy name is from your hand, and all [of it] is yours.

I have desired no one's silver or gold or clothing! You yourselves know that these hands served [to meet] my needs and [the needs of] those who were with me. I have shown you [with respect to] all [things] that [by] working hard in this way it is necessary to help those who are in need, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus that he himself said, "It is more blessed to give than to receive."

Now we make known to you, brothers, the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, that with a great ordeal of affliction, the abundance of their joy and the extreme depth of their poverty have overflowed to the wealth of their generosity. I testify that [they gave] according to [their] ability, and beyond [their] ability, by their own choice,read more.
requesting of us with much exhortation the favor and the fellowship of the ministry to the saints, and not just as we had hoped, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and [then] to us, by the will of God. So we urged Titus that, just as he had previously begun [it], thus he would also complete for you this [act of] grace. But just as you excel in everything--in faith and in speaking and in knowledge and with all diligence and in the love from us [that is] in you--so may you excel in this grace also. I am not saying [this] as a command, but proving the genuineness of your love by means of the diligence of others. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that [although he] was rich, for your sake he became poor, in order that you, by his poverty, may become rich. And I am giving an opinion in this [matter], because this is profitable for you who not only began previously, a year ago, to do [something], but also to want [to do it]. So now also complete the doing [of it], in order that just as [you have] the eagerness to want [to do it], thus also [you may] complete [it] from [what you] have. For if the eagerness is present {according to what one has}, [it is] acceptable not {according to what one does not have}. For [this is] not that for others [there may be] relief, [and] for you difficult circumstances, but [as a matter] of equality. At the present time your abundance [will be] for their need, in order that their abundance may also be for your need, so that there may be equality, just as it is written, "The [one] who [gathered] much did not have too much, and the [one] who [gathered] little did not have too little."

Now [the point is] this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one [should give] as he has decided in his heart, not {reluctantly} or from compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to cause all grace to abound to you, so that in everything at all times, [because you] have enough of everything, you may overflow in every good work.read more.
Just as it is written, "He scattered widely, he gave to the poor; his righteousness remains {forever}." Now the one who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will provide and multiply your seed, and will cause the harvest of your righteousness to grow, being made rich in every [way] for all generosity, which is producing through us thanksgiving to God,

Thus let a person consider us as servants of Christ and stewards of God's mysteries. In this case, moreover, it is sought in stewards that one be found faithful.

"Who then is the faithful and wise slave whom the master has put in charge of his household slaves to give them their food at the right time? Blessed [is] that slave whom his master will find so doing [when he] comes back. Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions.read more.
But if that evil slave should say {to himself}, 'My master is staying away for a long time,' and he begins to beat his fellow slaves and eats and drinks with drunkards, the master of that slave will come on a day that he does not expect and at an hour that he does not know, and will cut him in two and assign his place with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!

And the Lord said, "Who then is the faithful wise manager whom the master will put in charge over his servants to give [them] [their] food allowance at the right time? Blessed [is] that slave whom his master will find so doing [when he] comes back. Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions.read more.
But if that slave should say {to himself}, 'My master is taking a long time to return,' and he begins to beat the male slaves and the female slaves and to eat and drink and get drunk, the master of that slave will come on a day that he does not expect and at an hour that he does not know, and will cut him in two and assign his place with the unbelievers. And that slave who knew the will of his master and did not prepare or do according to his will {will be given a severe beating}. But the one who did not know and did [things] deserving blows {will be given a light beating}. And from everyone to whom much has been given, much will be demanded, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will ask him [for] even more.

Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit [who is] in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God with your body.

Obey your leaders and submit [to them], for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account, so that they can do this with joy and not [with] groaning, for this [would be] unprofitable for you.

Now the sons of Eli [were] {worthless scoundrels}; they did not know Yahweh. And the custom of the priests with the people [was this]: When any man {brought a sacrifice}, as the meat was boiling, the servant of the priest would take a three-pronged meat fork in his hand and would thrust it into the pan or into the kettle or into the cauldron or into the cooking pot. All that the meat fork brought up the priest would take for himself. This [is] what they used to do to all of the Israelites who came there at Shiloh.read more.
Also, before they {offered up} the fat as a burnt offering, the servant of the priest would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, "Give the priest meat for roasting, for he will not take boiled meat from you, but only {raw}." And [if] the man said to him, "Let them burn the fat completely {first}, then take for yourself as {you} desire," then he would say to him, "No! Give it now! If not, I will take it by force!" So the sin of the young men was very great in the sight of Yahweh, because the men treated the offering of Yahweh with contempt.

{It came about in the spring}, at the time {kings} go out, David sent Joab and his servants with him and all of Israel. They ravaged all of the {Ammonites} and besieged Rabbah, but David [was] remaining in Jerusalem. It happened {late one afternoon} [that] David got up from his bed and walked about on the roof of the king's house, and he saw a woman bathing on her roof. Now the woman {was very beautiful}. David sent and inquired about the woman, and [someone] said, "[Is] this not Bathsheba the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?"read more.
Then David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and he slept with her. (Now she had been purifying herself from her uncleanness.) And she returned to her house.

It happened after these things that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard which [was] in Jezreel beside the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, "Give me your vineyard that it may be mine for a garden of vegetable plants, because it is near, beside my house, and I will give to you a better vineyard in place of it. If it is better in your eyes, I will give you the money of its price." Naboth said to Ahab, "Far be it from me from Yahweh that I should give the inheritance of my ancestors to you."read more.
Then Ahab went to his house, sullen and angry because of the word that Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him [when] he had said, "I will not give to you the inheritance of my ancestors." So he lay on his bed, turned away his face, and would not eat [any] food. Then Jezebel his wife came to him, and she said to him, "What is this, that your spirit is sullen and you are not eating food?" Then he said to her, "When I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite and asked him, 'Give me your vineyard for money, or it you prefer, I will give you a vineyard in place of it,' he said, 'I will not give you my vineyard.'" Jezebel his wife said to him, "Now, you {rule} over Israel. Get up, eat food, and let your heart be {cheerful}. I myself will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite." So she wrote letters in the name of Ahab and sealed them with his seal. She sent the letters to the elders and the nobles who [were] dwelling with Naboth in his city. She had written in the letters, saying, "Call a fast and seat Naboth at the head of the people. Seat two men, {scoundrels}, opposite him. Let them witness against him saying, 'You cursed God and the king.' Then you shall bring him out and stone him so that he dies." The men of his city and the elders and nobles who were living in his city did according to what Jezebel had sent to them, as [was] written in the letters which she had sent to them. They called a fast, and they seated Naboth at the head of the people. Then the two men, {scoundrels}, came, sat opposite him, and the {scoundrels} witnessed against Naboth before the people, saying, "Naboth cursed God and the king," so they brought him outside of the city and stoned him with stones, and he died. They sent to Jezebel saying, "Naboth has been stoned, and he is dead." It happened at the moment Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and died, Jezebel said to Ahab, "Get up, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite which he had refused to give to you for money, for Naboth is not alive, but dead." When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he got up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite to take possession of it.

And [when it] was day, the chief magistrates sent the police officers, saying, "Release those men." And the jailer reported these words to Paul: "The chief magistrates have sent [an order] that you should be released. So come out now [and] go in peace!" But Paul said to them, "They beat us in public without due process--men who are Roman citizens--[and] threw [us] into prison, and now they are wanting to release us secretly? Certainly not! Rather let them come themselves [and] bring us out!"read more.
So the police officers reported these words to the chief magistrates, and they were afraid [when they] heard that they were Roman citizens. And they came [and] apologized to them, and [after they] brought [them] out they asked [them] to depart from the city.

And looking intently at the Sanhedrin, Paul said, "Men [and] brothers, I have lived my life in all good conscience before God to this day." So the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near him to strike his mouth. Then Paul said to him, "God is going to strike you, [you] whitewashed wall! And are you sitting [there] judging me according to the law, and acting contrary to the law do you order me to be struck?"

"Listen to another parable: There was a man--a master of a house--who planted a vineyard, and put a fence [around] it, and dug a winepress in it, and built a watchtower, and leased it to tenant farmers, and went on a journey. And when the season of fruit drew near, he sent his slaves to the tenant farmers to collect his fruit. And the tenant farmers seized his slaves, [one of] whom they beat, and [one of] whom they killed, and [one of] whom they stoned.read more.
Again, he sent other slaves, more than the first [ones], and they did the same [thing] to them. So finally he sent his son to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.' But [when] the tenant farmers saw the son, they said among themselves, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance!' And they seized him [and] threw [him] out of the vineyard and killed [him]. Now when the master of the vineyard arrives, what will he do to those tenant farmers?" They said to him, "He will destroy those evil [men] completely and lease the vineyard to other tenant farmers who will give him the fruits in their season." Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the scriptures, 'The stone which the builders rejected, this has become {the cornerstone}. This came about from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes'? For this [reason], I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and will be given to a people who produce its fruits.

And he began to speak to them in parables: "A man planted a vineyard, and put a fence [around it], and dug a trough for the winepress, and built a watchtower, and leased it to tenant farmers, and went on a journey. And he sent a slave to the tenant farmers at the proper time, so that he could collect [some] of the fruit of the vineyard from the tenant farmers. And they seized him [and] beat [him] and sent [him] away empty-handed.read more.
And again he sent to them another slave, and that one they struck on the head and dishonored. And he sent another, and that one they killed. And [he sent] many others, [some] of whom they beat and [some] of whom they killed. He had one more, a beloved son. Last [of all] he sent him to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.' But those tenant farmers said to one another, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and the inheritance will be ours!' And they seized [and] killed him and threw him out of the vineyard. What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenant farmers and give the vineyard to others.

And he began to tell the people this parable: "A man planted a vineyard, and leased it to tenant farmers, and went on a journey for a long time. And at the proper time he sent a slave to the tenant farmers, so that they would give him [some] of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenant farmers sent him away empty-handed [after] beating [him]. And he proceeded to send another slave, but they beat and dishonored that one also, [and] sent [him] away empty-handed.read more.
And he proceeded to send a third, but they wounded [and] threw out this one also. So the owner of the vineyard said, 'What should I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.' But [when] the tenant farmers saw him, they began to reason with one another, saying, 'This is the heir. Let us kill him so that the inheritance will become ours!' And they threw him out of the vineyard [and] killed [him]. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and destroy those tenant farmers and give the vineyard to others." And [when they] heard [this], they said, "[May this] never happen!"

For [it is] like a man going on a journey. He summoned his own slaves and handed over his property to them. And to one he gave five talents, and to another two, and to another one, to each one according to his own ability, and he went on a journey immediately. The one who had received the five talents went out [and] traded with them and gained five more.read more.
In the same way the one [who had] the two gained two more. But the one who had received the one went away [and] dug up the ground and hid his master's money. Now after a long time, the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. And the one who had received the five talents came up [and] brought five more talents, saying, 'Master, you handed over to me five talents. See, I have gained five more talents!' His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful slave! You were faithful over a few [things]; I will put you [in charge] over many [things]. Enter into the joy of your master!' And the one [who had] the two talents also came up [and] said, 'Master, you handed over to me two talents. See, I have gained two talents more!' And the one who had received the one talent came up also [and] said, 'Master, [because I] knew you, that you are a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering from where you did not scatter [seed]. And [because I] was afraid, I went away [and] hid your talent in the ground. See, you have [what is] yours!' But his master answered [and] said to him, 'Evil and lazy slave! You knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather from where I did not scatter [seed]. Then you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and [when I] returned I would have gotten back [what was] mine with interest! Therefore take the talent from him and give [it] to the one who has the ten talents. For to everyone who has, [more] will be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. And throw the worthless slave into the outer darkness--in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!'

Therefore he said, "A certain nobleman traveled to a distant country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. And summoning ten of his own slaves, he gave them ten minas and said to them, 'Do business {until I come back}.' But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, 'We do not want this man to be king over us!'read more.
And it happened that when he returned [after] receiving the kingdom, he ordered these slaves to whom he had given the money to be summoned to him, so that he could know what they had gained by trading. So the first arrived, saying, 'Sir, your mina has made ten minas more!' And he said to him, 'Well done, good slave! Because you have been faithful in a very small thing, {have authority} over ten cities.' And the second came, saying, 'Sir, your mina has made five minas.' So he said to this one also, 'And you be over five cities.' And another came, saying, 'Sir, behold your mina, which I had put away for safekeeping in a piece of cloth. For I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man--you withdraw what you did not deposit, and you reap what you did not sow!' He said to him, '{By your own words} I will judge you, wicked slave! You knew that I am a severe man, withdrawing what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow. And why did you not give my money to the bank, and I, [when I] returned, would have collected it with interest?' And to the bystanders he said, 'Take away from him the mina and give [it] to the one who has the ten minas!' And they said to him, 'Sir, he has ten minas.' 'I tell you that to everyone who has, [more] will be given. But from the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. But these enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them--bring [them] here and slaughter them [in] my presence!'"