Mark 12:1-12

Evangelical Heritage Version

The Parable of the Wicked Tenants

12 Jesus began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a pit for the winepress, and built a watchtower. Then he rented it out to some tenant farmers and went on a journey. ² When it was time, he sent a servant to the tenants to receive his share of the vineyard’s produce. ³ They took him, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. ⁴ Again, he sent another servant to them. But they hit him on the head and treated him shamefully. ⁵ Then he sent another servant, but they killed that one. He also sent many others; some they beat, and others they killed. ⁶ He still had one left, a dearly loved son. Finally, he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ ⁷ But those tenant farmers said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come on, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ ⁸ They seized him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. ⁹ So what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenant farmers and give the vineyard to others. ¹⁰ Have you not read this Scripture:

¹² They were looking for a way to arrest him, because they knew that he had spoken the parable against them. But they feared the crowd, so they left him and went away.