Mark 12:1-9 ▼

1 Then 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 slave to the farmers to collect some of the fruit of the vineyard from the farmers.

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

4 Again he sent another slave 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; they beat some and they killed some.

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 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 of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the farmers and give the vineyard to others.