Mark 12:1-9 ▼

1 He began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard, 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 a servant to the farmers to collect some of the fruit of the vineyard from them.

3 But they took him, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed.

4 Again he sent another servant to them, and they hit him on the head and treated him shamefully.

5 Then he sent another, and they killed that one. He also sent many others; some they beat, and others they killed.

6 He still had one to send, a beloved 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, 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 What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill the farmers and give the vineyard to others.