¹ Then Jesus began to teach them in parables. He said, "A man planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, and dug a pit for a winepress. He built a watchtower and then leased the vineyard to vine growers. Then he went away on a journey. ² At the right time, he sent a servant to the vine growers to receive from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. ³ But they took him, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed.