Mark 12:1-3

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Mark 12:1 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
2. Mark 12:1 sn The vineyard is a figure for Israel in the OT (Isa 5:1-7). The nation and its leaders are the tenants, so the vineyard here may well refer to the promise that resides within the nation. The imagery is like that in Rom 11:11-24.
3. Mark 12:1 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
4. Mark 12:1 sn The leasing of land to tenant farmers was common in this period.
5. Mark 12:2 tn See the note on the word “slave” in 10:44.sn This slave (along with the others) represent the prophets God sent to the nation, who were mistreated and rejected.
6. Mark 12:2 tn Grk “from the tenants,” but this is redundant in English, so the pronoun (“them”) was used in the translation.
7. Mark 12:2 tn Grk “from the fruits of the vineyard.”
8. Mark 12:3 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
9. Mark 12:3 tn Grk “But they”; the referent (the tenants, v. 1) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
10. Mark 12:3 tn Grk “seizing him, they beat and sent away empty-handed.” The referent of the direct object of “seizing” (the slave sent by the owner) has been specified in the translation for clarity. The objects of the verbs “beat” and “sent away” have been supplied in the translation to conform to English style. Greek often omits direct objects when they are clear from the context.
11. Mark 12:3 sn The image of the tenants beating up the owner’s slave pictures the nation’s rejection of the prophets and their message.
12. Mark 12:3 sn The slaves being sent empty-handed suggests that the vineyard was not producing any fruit—and thus neither was the nation of Israel.