Mark 12:1-9

English Standard Version

The Parable of the Tenants

12 ^(A)And he began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted ^(B)a vineyard ^(C)and put a fence around it and dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower, and ^(D)leased it to tenants and ^(E)went into another country. ² When the season came, he sent a servant^[a] to the tenants to get from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. ^3 (F)And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. ^4 (G)Again ^(H)he sent to them another servant, and ^(I)they struck him on the head and ^(J)treated him shamefully. ^5 (K)And he sent another, and him they killed. And so with many others: some they beat, and some they killed. ⁶ He had still one other, ^(L)a beloved son. ^(M)Finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ ⁷ But those tenants said to one another, ^(N)‘This is the heir. Come, ^(O)let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ ⁸ And they took him and killed him and ^(P)threw him out of the vineyard. ⁹ What will the owner of the vineyard do? ^(Q)He will ^(R)come and destroy the tenants and ^(S)give the vineyard to others.