Mark 12:1-12

The Parable of the Wicked Tenants

1 Then Jesus began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a wine vat, and built a watchtower. Then he rented it out to some tenants and went away on a journey. ¹

2 At harvest time, he sent a servant to the tenants to collect his share of the fruit of the vineyard.

3 But they seized the servant, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed.

4 Then he sent them another servant, and they struck him over the head and treated him shamefully.

5 He sent still another, and this one they killed. He sent many others; some they beat and others they killed.

6 Finally, having one beloved son, he sent him to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.

7 But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’

8 So they seized the son, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.

9 What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.

10 Have you never read this Scripture: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.

11 This is from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes’ ^[a]?”

12 At this, the leaders sought ^[b] to arrest Jesus, for they knew that He had spoken this parable against them. But fearing the crowd, they left Him and went away.

Cross References

• 1. (Matthew 21:33–46; Luke 20:9–18)

Footnotes

• [a] Psalms 118:22–23
• [b] Literally they sought