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- He then began to speak to them in parables: "A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and went away on a journey.
- At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard.
- But they seized him, beat him and sent him away empty-handed.
- Then he sent another servant to them; they struck this man on the head and treated him shamefully.
- He sent still another, and that one they killed. He sent many others; some of them they beat, others they killed.
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- "He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, 'They will respect my son.'
- "But the tenants said to one another, 'This is the heir. Come, let's kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.'
- So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.
- "What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.
- Haven't you read this scripture: " 'The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone;
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- the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes'?"
- Then they looked for a way to arrest him because they knew he had spoken the parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd; so they left him and went away.
- Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words.
- They came to him and said, "Teacher, we know you are a man of integrity. You aren't swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?
- Should we pay or shouldn't we?" But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. "Why are you trying to trap me?" he asked. "Bring me a denarius and let me look at it."
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- They brought the coin, and he asked them, "Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?" "Caesar's," they replied.
- Then Jesus said to them, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's." And they were amazed at him.
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