Mark 12:1

“And he began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower, and leased it to tenant farmers and went away on a journey.”

Mark 12:1 · direct translation from the Greek
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With the Greek beneath

1

Allusion · Isaiah 5:1-2

Go to Isaiah 5:1-2

The parable begins like the song of the vineyard in Isaiah 5:1-2: planting a vineyard, building a tower and digging a winepress.

They share words that are rare in the original, without a quotation.

  • ἈμπελῶναAmpelōnaG290כַרְמjarmH3754“vineyard”
  • ἐφύτευσενephyteusenG5452יִּטָּעֵyitaeH5193“plant”
  • ὑπολήνιονhypolēnionG5276יֶקֶבyekevH3342“winepress vat”
  • πύργονpyrgonG4444מִגְדָּלmigdalH4026“tower”

Mark 12:1, word by word

he beganἤρξατοērxato

begin

To start doing something.

Where else “ērxato” appears
to speakλαλεῖνlalein

speak

To use voice and words to communicate with others.

Where else “lalein” appears
parablesπαραβολαῖςparabolais

parable

A story from daily life that teaches about God.

Where else “parabolais” appears
“A manἄνθρωποςanthrōpos

someone

Any person, without saying who, as in the parables.

Where else “anthrōpos” appears
plantedἐφύτευσενephyteusen

plant

Plant.

Where else “ephyteusen” appears
a vineyardἈμπελῶναAmpelōna

vineyard

Vineyard.

Where else “Ampelōna” appears
put a fence around itπεριέθηκενperiethēken

put around

Put around, place on.

Where else “periethēken” appears
put a fence around itφραγμὸνphragmon

fence

What surrounds a plot to protect it.

Where else “phragmon” appears
dugὤρυξενōryxen

dig

Dig.

Where else “ōryxen” appears
a pit for the winepressὑπολήνιονhypolēnion

winepress pit

The pit under the winepress, where the grape juice ran down.

Where else “hypolēnion” appears
builtᾠκοδόμησενōikodomēsen

build

To raise a house, a tower or another structure, stone upon stone.

Where else “ōikodomēsen” appears
a towerπύργονpyrgon

tower

Tower, watchtower.

Where else “pyrgon” appears
leasedἐξέδετοexedeto

lease

Lease out, rent to tenants.

Where else “exedeto” appears
to tenant farmersγεωργοῖςgeōrgois

farmer, vinedresser

Farmer, one who works the land.

Where else “geōrgois” appears
went away on a journeyἀπεδήμησενapedēmēsen

go abroad

Go on a journey, be away from home.

Where else “apedēmēsen” appears

Translation note

It recalls the song of the vineyard in Isaiah 5:1-2.

Parallel passages

Other books that tell the same thing or quote these words.

The wicked tenants

Matthew 21:33-46Luke 20:9-19

See them side by side

Mark 12:1-12

1And he began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower, and leased it to tenant farmers and went away on a journey. 2And at the season he sent a slave to the tenants, so that he might receive from the tenants some of the fruit of the vineyard. 3And they took him, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. 4And again he sent to them another slave; and that one they struck on the head and treated shamefully. 5And he sent another, and that one they killed; and many others, some beating and some killing. 6He still had one, a beloved son; he sent him last to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 7But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8And they took him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. 9What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others. 10Have you not even read this Scripture: ‘The stone that the builders rejected, this has become the head of the corner; 11this came about from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?” 12And they were seeking to seize him, and they feared the crowd; for they knew that he had told the parable against them. And leaving him, they went away.

Matthew 21:33-46

33Hear another parable. There was a man, a master of a house, who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower, and leased it to tenant farmers and went away on a journey. 34And when the season of fruit drew near, he sent his slaves to the tenant farmers to receive his fruit. 35And the tenant farmers took his slaves and one they beat, another they killed, another they stoned. 36Again he sent other slaves, more than the first, and they did to them the same. 37And finally he sent to them his son, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38But the tenant farmers, seeing the son, said among themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ 39And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40So when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenant farmers?” 41They say to him, “He will destroy those wretches wretchedly, and lease the vineyard to other tenant farmers who will give him the fruits in their seasons.” 42Jesus says to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures, ‘The stone that the builders rejected, this has become the head of the corner; this came about from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? 43Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation producing its fruits. 44And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and on whomever it falls, it will crush him.” 45And when the high priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they knew that he was speaking about them. 46And although they were seeking to seize him, they feared the crowds, because they held him to be a prophet.

Luke 20:9-19

9And he began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard and leased it to tenant farmers and went abroad for a long time. 10And at the harvest time he sent a slave to the tenants, so that they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard; but the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 11And he went on to send another slave; but they beat that one too and treated him shamefully and sent him away empty-handed. 12And he went on to send a third; but they wounded this one also and threw him out. 13And the master of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’ 14But when the tenants saw him, they reasoned with one another, saying, ‘This is the heir; let us kill him, so that the inheritance may become ours.’ 15And they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What, then, will the master of the vineyard do to them? 16He will come and destroy these tenants and give the vineyard to others.” And when they heard this, they said, “By no means!” 17But he looked at them and said, “What then is this that is written: ‘The stone that the builders rejected, this has become the head of the corner’? 18Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; and on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.” 19And the scribes and the high priests sought to lay hands on him in that very hour, but they feared the people; for they knew that he had told this parable against them.

The context

1 · This verse (above)

2And at the season he sent a slave to the tenants, so that he might receive from the tenants some of the fruit of the vineyard.

Read all of Mark 12

To study Mark 12 in a group

  1. 1. What it says

    What did Jesus answer about paying tribute to Caesar (vv. 15–17)?

  2. 2. What it means

    Why did Jesus say the poor widow put in more than all the others (vv. 41–44)?

  3. 3. How I live it

    Jesus said the first commandment is to love the Lord, and the second to love your neighbor (vv. 29–31). How will you make this concrete today?

How to use it