Psa. 65:9‑13• 9Thou hast visited the earth, thou hast watered it; thou greatly enrichest it: the river of God is full of water; thou providest their corn, when thou hast so prepared it:
10Thou dost satiate its furrows, thou smoothest its clods, thou makest it soft with showers; thou blessest the springing thereof.
11Thou crownest the year with thy goodness, and thy paths drop fatness:
12They drop upon the pastures of the wilderness, and the hills are girded with gladness.
13The meadows are clothed with flocks, and the valleys are covered over with corn; they shout for joy, yea, they sing. (Psa. 65:9‑13)
Isa. 5:1‑7• 1I will sing to my well-beloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard: My well-beloved had a vineyard upon a fruitful hill.
2And he dug it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine; and he built a tower in the midst of it, and also hewed out a winepress therein; and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, but it brought forth wild grapes.
3And now, inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, between me and my vineyard.
4What was there yet to do to my vineyard that I have not done in it? Wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?--
5And now, let me tell you what I am about to do to my vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it shall be eaten up; I will break down its wall, and it shall be trodden under foot;
6and I will make it a waste--it shall not be pruned nor cultivated, but there shall come up briars and thorns; and I will command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it.
7For the vineyard of Jehovah of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah the plant of his delight: and he looked for justice, and behold, blood-shedding; for righteousness, and behold, a cry. (Isa. 5:1‑7)
Isa. 28:24‑29• 24Doth the ploughman plough all day to sow? Is he all day opening and breaking the clods of his land?
25Doth he not, when he hath levelled the face thereof, cast abroad dill, and scatter cummin, and set the wheat in rows, and the barley in an appointed place, and the rye in its border?
26His God doth instruct him in his judgment, he doth teach him.
27For the dill is not threshed with a threshing instrument, neither is a cart-wheel turned about upon the cummin; but dill is beaten out with a staff, and cummin with a rod.
28Bread corn is crushed, because he will not ever be threshing it; and if he drove the wheels of his cart and his horses over it, he would not crush it.
29This also cometh forth from Jehovah of hosts; he is wonderful in counsel, great in wisdom. (Isa. 28:24‑29)
Isa. 61:3,5,11• 3to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, that beauty should be given unto them instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of the spirit of heaviness: that they might be called terebinths of righteousness, the planting of Jehovah, that he may be glorified.
5And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your ploughmen and your vinedressers.
11For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as a garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth, so the Lord Jehovah will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations. (Isa. 61:3,5,11)
Matt. 13:3‑9,18‑30,36‑42• 3And he spoke to them many things in parables, saying, Behold, the sower went out to sow:
4and as he sowed, some grains fell along the way, and the birds came and devoured them;
5and others fell upon the rocky places where they had not much earth, and immediately they sprang up out of the ground because of not having any depth of earth,
6but when the sun rose they were burned up, and because of not having any root were dried up;
7and others fell upon the thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them;
8and others fell upon the good ground, and produced fruit, one a hundred, one sixty, and one thirty.
9He that has ears, let him hear.
18*Ye*, therefore, hear the parable of the sower.
19From every one who hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the wicked one comes and catches away what was sown in his heart: this is he that is sown by the wayside.
20But he that is sown on the rocky places--this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy,
21but has no root in himself, but is for a time only; and when tribulation or persecution happens on account of the word, he is immediately offended.
22And he that is sown among the thorns--this is he who hears the word, and the anxious care of this life, and the deceit of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.
23But he that is sown upon the good ground--this is he who hears and understands the word, who bears fruit also, and produces, one a hundred, one sixty, and one thirty.
24Another parable set he before them, saying, The kingdom of the heavens has become like a man sowing good seed in his field;
25but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed darnel amongst the wheat, and went away.
26But when the blade shot up and produced fruit, then appeared the darnel also.
27And the bondmen of the householder came up and said to him, Sir, hast thou not sown good seed in thy field? whence then has it darnel?
28And he said to them, A man that is an enemy has done this. And the bondmen said to him, Wilt thou then that we should go and gather it up?
29But he said, No; lest in gathering the darnel ye should root up the wheat with it.
30Suffer both to grow together unto the harvest, and in time of the harvest I will say to the harvestmen, Gather first the darnel, and bind it into bundles to burn it; but the wheat bring together into my granary.
36Then, having dismissed the crowds, he went into the house; and his disciples came to him, saying, Expound to us the parable of the darnel of the field.
37But he answering said, He that sows the good seed is the Son of man,
38and the field is the world; and the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom, but the darnel are the sons of the evil one;
39and the enemy who has sowed it is the devil; and the harvest is the completion of the age, and the harvestmen are angels.
40As then the darnel is gathered and is burned in the fire, thus it shall be in the completion of the age.
41The Son of man shall send his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all offences, and those that practise lawlessness;
42and they shall cast them into the furnace of fire; there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth. (Matt. 13:3‑9,18‑30,36‑42)
Matt. 20:1‑14• 1For the kingdom of the heavens is like a householder who went out with the early morn to hire workmen for his vineyard.
2And having agreed with the workmen for a denarius the day, he sent them into his vineyard.
3And having gone out about the third hour, he saw others standing in the market place idle;
4and to them he said, Go also ye into the vineyard, and whatsoever may be just I will give you. And they went their way.
5Again, having gone out about the sixth and ninth hour, he did likewise.
6But about the eleventh hour, having gone out, he found others standing, and says to them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?
7They say to him, Because no man has hired us. He says to them, Go also ye into the vineyard and whatsoever may be just ye shall receive.
8But when the evening was come, the lord of the vineyard says to his steward, Call the workmen and pay them their wages, beginning from the last even to the first.
9And when they who came to work about the eleventh hour came, they received each a denarius.
10And when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more, and they received also themselves each a denarius.
11And on receiving it they murmured against the master of the house,
12saying, These last have worked one hour, and thou hast made them equal to us, who have borne the burden of the day and the heat.
13But he answering said to one of them, My friend, I do not wrong thee. Didst thou not agree with me for a denarius?
14Take what is thine and go. But it is my will to give to this last even as to thee: (Matt. 20:1‑14)
Matt. 21:23‑44• 23And when he came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, saying, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority?
24And Jesus answering said to them, *I* also will ask you one thing, which if ye tell me, *I* also will tell you by what authority I do these things:
25The baptism of John, whence was it? of heaven or of men? And they reasoned among themselves, saying, If we should say, Of heaven, he will say to us, Why then have ye not believed him?
26but if we should say, Of men, we fear the crowd, for all hold John for a prophet.
27And answering Jesus they said, We do not know. *He* also said to them, Neither do *I* tell you by what authority I do these things.
28But what think ye? A man had two children, and coming to the first he said, Child, go to-day, work in my vineyard.
29And he answering said, I will not; but afterwards repenting himself he went.
30And coming to the second he said likewise; and he answering said, *I* go, sir, and went not.
31Which of the two did the will of the father? They say to him, The first. Jesus says to them, Verily I say unto you that the tax-gatherers and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.
32For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not; but the tax-gatherers and the harlots believed him; but *ye* when ye saw it repented not yourselves afterwards to believe him.
33Hear another parable: There was a householder who planted a vineyard, and made a fence round it, and dug a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and left the country.
34But when the time of fruit drew near, he sent his bondmen to the husbandmen to receive his fruits.
35And the husbandmen took his bondmen, and beat one, killed another, and stoned another.
36Again he sent other bondmen more than the first, and they did to them in like manner.
37And at last he sent to them his son, saying, They will have respect for my son.
38But the husbandmen, seeing the son, said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him and possess his inheritance.
39And they took him, and cast him forth out of the vineyard, and killed him.
40When therefore the lord of the vineyard comes, what shall he do to those husbandmen?
41They say to him, He will miserably destroy those evil men, and let out the vineyard to other husbandmen, who shall render him the fruits in their seasons.
42Jesus says to them, Have ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which they that builded rejected, this has become the corner-stone: this is of the Lord, and it is wonderful in our eyes?
43Therefore I say to you, that the kingdom of God shall be taken from you and shall be given to a nation producing the fruits of it.
44And he that falls on this stone shall be broken, but on whomsoever it shall fall, it shall grind him to powder. (Matt. 21:23‑44)
Mark 4:26‑29• 26And he said, Thus is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast the seed upon the earth,
27and should sleep and rise up night and day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he does not know how.
28The earth bears fruit of itself, first the blade, then an ear, then full corn in the ear.
29But when the fruit is produced, immediately he sends the sickle, for the harvest is come. (Mark 4:26‑29)
John 15:1‑8• 1I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
2As to every branch in me not bearing fruit, he takes it away; and as to every one bearing fruit, he purges it that it may bring forth more fruit.
3Ye are already clean by reason of the word which I have spoken to you.
4Abide in me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abide in the vine, thus neither can ye unless ye abide in me.
5I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abides in me and I in him, *he* bears much fruit; for without me ye can do nothing.
6Unless any one abide in me he is cast out as the branch, and is dried up; and they gather them and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
7If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will and it shall come to pass to you.
8In this is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit, and ye shall become disciples of mine. (John 15:1‑8)