Mark 12:1–12

The Parable of the Vineyard Owner

12 Then i He began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard, j put a fence around it, dug out a pit for a winepress, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenant farmers and went away. 2 At harvest time he sent k a * slave l to the farmers to collect some of the fruit m of the vineyard from the farmers. 3 But they took him, beat n him, and sent him away empty-handed. o 4 Again he sent another slave to them, and they p hit him on the head and treated him shamefully. q 5 Then he sent another, and they killed that one. He also sent many others; they beat some and they killed some.

6 “He still had one to send, a beloved r son. Finally s he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’

7 “But those tenant farmers said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours!’ 8 So they seized him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.

9 “Therefore, what will the owner t u of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the farmers and give the vineyard to others. 10 Haven’t you read this Scripture: v

The w stone that the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone. x y

11 This came from the Lord z

and is wonderful in our eyes?” a

12 Because they knew He had said this parable against them, they were looking for a way to arrest Him, but they were afraid of the crowd. So they left Him and went away.