Mark 12:1
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The Parable of the Wicked Tenants
12 Then he 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 leased it to tenants and went away.(A)
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Mark 13:34
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34 It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his slaves in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch.(A)
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Isaiah 5:1-4
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The Song of the Unfruitful Vineyard
5 I will sing for my beloved
my love song concerning his vineyard:
My beloved had a vineyard
on a very fertile hill.(A)
2 He dug it and cleared it of stones
and planted it with choice vines;
he built a watchtower in the midst of it
and hewed out a wine vat in it;
he expected it to yield grapes,
but it yielded rotten grapes.(B)
3 And now, inhabitants of Jerusalem
and people of Judah,
judge between me
and my vineyard.(C)
4 What more was there to do for my vineyard
that I have not done in it?
When I expected it to yield grapes,
why did it yield rotten grapes?(D)
Mark 4:2
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2 He began to teach them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them:(A)
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Matthew 25:14
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The Parable of the Talents
14 “For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them;(A)
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Romans 11:17-24
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17 But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, were grafted among the others to share the rich root[a] of the olive tree, 18 do not boast over the branches. If you do boast, remember: you do not support the root, but the root supports you. 19 You will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” 20 That is true. They were broken off on account of unbelief,[b] but you stand on account of belief.[c] So do not become arrogant, but be afraid.(A) 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you.[d] 22 Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen but God’s kindness toward you, if you continue in his kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off.(B) 23 And even those of Israel,[e] if they do not continue in unbelief,[f] will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again.(C) 24 For if you have been cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these natural branches be grafted back into their own olive tree.
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Mark 4:33-34
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The Use of Parables
33 With many such parables he spoke the word to them as they were able to hear it;(A) 34 he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples.(B)
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Psalm 80:8-16
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8 You brought a vine out of Egypt;
you drove out the nations and planted it.(A)
9 You cleared the ground for it;
it took deep root and filled the land.(B)
10 The mountains were covered with its shade,
the mighty cedars with its branches;
11 it sent out its branches to the sea
and its shoots to the River.
12 Why then have you broken down its walls,
so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit?(C)
13 The boar from the forest ravages it,
and all that move in the field feed on it.(D)
14 Turn again, O God of hosts;
look down from heaven and see;
have regard for this vine,(E)
15 the stock that your right hand planted.[a]
16 It has been burned with fire; it has been cut down;
may they perish at the rebuke of your countenance.(F)
Romans 9:4-5
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4 They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises;(A) 5 to them belong the patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh, comes the Christ, who is over all, God blessed forever.[a] Amen.(B)
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- 9.5 Or Messiah, who is God over all, blessed forever; or Messiah. May he who is God over all be blessed forever
Romans 3:1-2
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3 Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? 2 Much, in every way. For in the first place, the Jews[a] were entrusted with the oracles of God.(A)
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- 3.2 Gk they
Acts 7:46-47
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46 who found favor with God and asked that he might find a dwelling place for the house of Jacob.[a](A) 47 But it was Solomon who built a house for him.
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- 7.46 Other ancient authorities read for the God of Jacob
Acts 7:38
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38 He is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai and with our ancestors, and he received living oracles to give to us.(A)
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Luke 20:9-19
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The Parable of the Wicked Tenants
9 He began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard and leased it to tenants and went away for a long time.(A) 10 When the season came, he sent a slave to the tenants in order that they might give him his share of the produce of the vineyard, but the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 11 Next he sent another slave; that one also they beat and insulted and sent away empty-handed. 12 And he sent still a third; this one also they wounded and threw out. 13 Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’ 14 But when the tenants saw him, they discussed it among themselves and said, ‘This is the heir; let us kill him so that the inheritance may be ours.’ 15 So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16 He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” When they heard this, they said, “Heaven forbid!”(B) 17 But he looked at them and said, “What then does this text mean:
18 “Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.”(D) 19 When the scribes and chief priests realized that he had told this parable against them, they wanted to lay hands on him at that very hour, but they feared the people.(E)
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- 20.17 Or keystone (in an arch)
John 15:1-8
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Jesus the True Vine
15 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. 2 He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes[a] to make it bear more fruit. 3 You have already been cleansed[b] by the word that I have spoken to you.(A) 4 Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.(B) 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. 6 Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.(C) 8 My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become[c] my disciples.(D)
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Luke 19:12
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12 So he said, “A nobleman went to a distant region to receive royal power for himself and then return.(A)
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Luke 15:13
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13 A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant region, and there he squandered his wealth in dissolute living.
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Luke 13:6-9
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The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree
6 Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came looking for fruit on it and found none.(A) 7 So he said to the man working the vineyard, ‘See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?’(B) 8 He replied, ‘Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. 9 If it bears fruit next year, well and good, but if not, you can cut it down.’ ”
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Luke 8:10
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10 He said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets[a] of the kingdom of God, but to others I speak[b] in parables, so that
‘looking they may not perceive
and hearing they may not understand.’
Mark 12:1-12
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Parable of the Wicked Tenants
12 Then he 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 leased it to tenants and went away.(A) 2 When the season came, he sent a slave to the tenants to collect from them his share of the produce of the vineyard. 3 But they seized him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4 And again he sent another slave to them; this one they beat over the head and insulted. 5 Then he sent another, and that one they killed. And so it was with many others; some they beat, and others they killed. 6 He had still one other, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 7 But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8 So they seized him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. 9 What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others. 10 Have you not read this scripture:
‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;[a](B)
11 this was the Lord’s doing,
and it is amazing in our eyes’?”
12 When they realized that he had told this parable against them, they wanted to arrest him, but they feared the crowd. So they left him and went away.(C)
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- 12.10 Or keystone (in an arch)
Mark 4:11-13
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11 And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret[a] of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything comes in parables,(A) 12 in order that
‘they may indeed look but not perceive,
and may indeed hear but not understand;
so that they may not turn again and be forgiven.’ ”(B)
13 And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand all the parables?
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- 4.11 Or mystery
Matthew 21:28-22:14
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The Parable of the Two Sons
28 “What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’(A) 29 He answered, ‘I will not,’ but later he changed his mind and went. 30 The father[a] went to the second and said the same, and he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but he did not go. 31 Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you.(B) 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him, and even after you saw it you did not change your minds and believe him.(C)
The Parable of the Wicked Tenants
33 “Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenants and went away.(D) 34 When the harvest time had come, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his produce.(E) 35 But the tenants seized his slaves and beat one, killed another, and stoned another.(F) 36 Again he sent other slaves, more than the first, and they treated them in the same way. 37 Then he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him and get his inheritance.’(G) 39 So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. 40 Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” 41 They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest time.”(H)
42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the scriptures:
‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;[b]
this was the Lord’s doing,
and it is amazing in our eyes’?(I)
43 “Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces its fruits.(J) 44 The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.”[c]
45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them. 46 They wanted to arrest him, but they feared the crowds, because they regarded him as a prophet.(K)
The Parable of the Wedding Banquet
22 Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying: 2 “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son.(L) 3 He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come.(M) 4 Again he sent other slaves, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet.’(N) 5 But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business, 6 while the rest seized his slaves, mistreated them, and killed them. 7 The king was enraged. He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city.(O) 8 Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy.(P) 9 Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.’ 10 Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad, so the wedding hall was filled with guests.(Q)
11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe,(R) 12 and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?’ And he was speechless.(S) 13 Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’(T) 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.”
Matthew 13:34-35
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Use of Parables
34 Jesus told the crowds all these things in parables; without a parable he told them nothing.(A) 35 This was to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet:[a]
“I will open my mouth to speak in parables;
I will proclaim what has been hidden since the foundation.”[b](B)
Matthew 13:10-15
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Purpose of the Parables
10 Then the disciples came and asked him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 11 He answered, “To you it has been given to know the secrets[a] of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.(A) 12 For to those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance, but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.(B) 13 The reason I speak to them in parables is that ‘seeing they do not perceive, and hearing they do not listen, nor do they understand.’(C) 14 With them indeed is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah that says:
‘You will indeed listen but never understand,
and you will indeed look but never perceive.(D)
15 For this people’s heart has grown dull,
and their ears are hard of hearing,
and they have shut their eyes,
so that they might not look with their eyes,
and hear with their ears
and understand with their heart and turn—
and I would heal them.’(E)
Footnotes
- 13.11 Or mysteries
Ezekiel 20:49
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49 Then I said, “Ah Lord God! They are saying of me, ‘Is he not a maker of allegories?’ ”(A)
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