Parable of the Vine-growers

12 (A)And He began to speak to them in parables: (B)A man (C)planted a vineyard and put a [a]fence around it, and dug a vat under the wine press and built a tower, and leased it to [b]vine-growers and went on a journey. And at the harvest time he sent a slave to the vine-growers, in order to receive his share of the produce of the vineyard from the vine-growers. And they took him, and beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. And again he sent them another slave, and they wounded him in the head, and treated him shamefully. And he sent another, and that one they killed; and so with many others, beating some and killing others. He had one more man to send, a beloved son; he sent him to them last of all, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But those vine-growers said to one another, ‘This is the heir; come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours!’ And they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. What will the [c]owner of the vineyard do? He will come and put the vine-growers to death, and give the vineyard to others. 10 Have you not even read this Scripture:

(D)A stone which the builders rejected,
This has become the [d]chief cornerstone;
11 (E)This came about from the Lord,
And it is marvelous in our eyes’?”

12 (F)And they were seeking to seize Him, and yet they feared the [e]people, for they understood that He told the parable against them. And so (G)they left Him and went away.

Jesus Answers the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Scribes

13 (H)Then they *sent some of the Pharisees and (I)Herodians to Him in order to (J)trap Him in a statement. 14 They came and *said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and [f]do not care what anyone thinks; for You [g]are not partial to anyone, but You teach the way of God in truth. Is it [h]permissible to pay a [i]poll-tax to Caesar, or not?

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Mark 12:1 Or hedge
  2. Mark 12:1 Or tenant farmers, also vv 2, 7, 9
  3. Mark 12:9 Lit lord
  4. Mark 12:10 Lit head of the corner
  5. Mark 12:12 Lit crowd
  6. Mark 12:14 Lit it is not a concern to You about anyone
  7. Mark 12:14 Lit do not look at the face of people
  8. Mark 12:14 I.e., by Jewish law and tradition
  9. Mark 12:14 I.e., a tax on each person in the census

Bible Gateway Recommends