Mark 12:1–17

The Parable of the Vineyard Owner

12Then ⁱHe began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard, ^jput 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. ²At harvest time he sent ^ka ^•slave ^lto the farmers to collect some of the fruit ^mof the vineyard from the farmers. ³But they took him, beat ⁿhim, and sent him away empty-handed. ^o4Again he sent another slave to them, and they ^phit him on the head and treated him shamefully. ^q5Then 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 ^rson. Finally ^she 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!’ ⁸So they seized him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.

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

The ^wstone that the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone. ^xy

¹¹This came from the Lord ^z

and is wonderful in our eyes?” ^a

¹²Because 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.

God and Caesar

¹³Then ^bthey sent some of the Pharisees ^cand the Herodians ^dto Him to trap Him by what He said. ^ef14When they came, they said to Him, “Teacher, we know You are truthful and defer to no one, for You don’t show partiality ^ghbut teach truthfully the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes ⁱto Caesar or not? ¹⁵Should we pay, or should we not pay?”

But knowing their hypocrisy, ^jHe said to them, “Why are you testing ^kMe? Bring Me a ^•denarius ^lto look at.” ¹⁶So they brought one. “Whose image ^mand inscription ⁿis this?” He asked them.

“Caesar’s,” they said.

¹⁷Then Jesus told them, “Give back to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” ^oAnd they were amazed ^pat Him.