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Parable of the Vineyard

Now let me sing for my greatly Beloved [Lord]
A song of my Beloved about His vineyard (His chosen people).
My greatly Beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile slope (the promised land, Canaan).(A)

He dug it all around and cleared away its stones,
And planted it with [a]the choicest vine (the people of Judah).
And He built a tower in the center of it;
And also hewed out a [b]wine vat in it.
Then He expected it to produce [the choicest] grapes,
But it produced only worthless ones.


“And now, says the Lord, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah,
Judge between Me and My vineyard (My people).

“What more could have been done for My vineyard that I have not done in it?
When I expected it to produce good grapes, why did it yield worthless ones?

“So now let me tell you what I am going to do to My vineyard:
I will take away its thorn-hedge, and it will be burned up;
I will break down its [c]stone wall and it will be trampled down [by enemies].

“I will turn it into a wasteland;
It will not be pruned or cultivated,
But briars and thorns will come up.
I will also command the clouds not to rain on it.”


For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house (nation) of Israel
And the men of Judah are His delightful planting [which He loves].
So He looked for justice, but in fact, [He saw] bloodshed and lawlessness;
[He looked] for righteousness, but in fact, [He heard] a cry of distress and oppression.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 5:2 Lit a bright red grape.
  2. Isaiah 5:2 This was the lower of two hollowed-out reservoirs made in the soft rock, one above the other, connected by a channel that allowed the juice pressed out in the upper reservoir to flow to the lower.
  3. Isaiah 5:5 The wall was usually made up of loose stones that had been cleared from the field.

Parable of the Vineyard Owner

12 Jesus began to speak to them [the chief priests, scribes and elders who were questioning Him] in parables: “A man planted a vineyard and put a [a]wall around it, and dug a pit for the wine press and built a tower; and he rented it out to tenant farmers and left the country.(A) When the harvest season came he sent a [b]servant to the tenants, in order to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. They took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. Again he sent them another servant, and they [threw stones and] wounded him in the head, and treated him disgracefully. And he sent another, and that one they killed; then many others—some they beat and some they killed. He still had one man left to send, a beloved son; he sent him last of all to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But those tenants said to each other, ‘This man is the heir! Come on, let us kill him [and destroy the evidence], and his inheritance will be ours!’ So they took him and killed him, and threw his body outside the vineyard. What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants, and will give the vineyard to others. 10 Have you not even read this Scripture:

The stone which the builders regarded as unworthy and rejected,
This [very stone] has become the chief Cornerstone
11 
This came about from the Lord,
And it is marvelous and wonderful in our eyes’?”(B)

12 And they were looking for a way to seize Him, but they were afraid of the crowd; for they knew that He spoke this parable in reference to [and as a charge against] them. And so they left Him and went away.

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Footnotes

  1. Mark 12:1 It was commonplace to pile up loose rocks to serve as a low wall around one’s property.
  2. Mark 12:2 The servants represent the prophets sent to Israel by God.

Parable of the Vineyard Owner

Then He began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard and leased it to tenant farmers, and went on a journey for a long time [to another country].(A) 10 At harvest time he sent a servant [as his representative] to the tenants, so that they would give him his share of the fruit of the vineyard; but the tenants beat the servant and sent him away empty-handed. 11 So he again sent another servant; they also beat him and dishonored and treated him disgracefully and sent him away empty-handed. 12 And he sent yet a third; and this one too they wounded and threw out [of the vineyard]. 13 Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will have respect for him.’ 14 But when the tenants saw him, they discussed it among themselves, saying, ‘This [man] is the heir; let us kill him so that the inheritance will be ours.’ 15 So they threw the son out of the vineyard and killed him. What, then, will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16 He will come and put these tenants to death and will give the vineyard to others.” When the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders heard this, they said, “May it never be!” 17 But Jesus looked at them and said, “What then is [the meaning of] this that is written:

The [very] Stone which the builders rejected,
this became the chief Cornerstone’?(B)

18 Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken and shattered in pieces; and on whomever it falls, it will crush him.”(C)

Tribute to Caesar

19 The scribes and the chief priests tried to [find a way to] arrest Him at that very hour, but they were afraid of the people; because they understood that He spoke this parable against them.

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