Markus 12:1-6

The Parable of the Tenants

12:1 Then ¹  he began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard. ²  He put a fence around it, dug a pit for its winepress, and built a watchtower. Then ³  he leased it to tenant farmers ⁴  and went on a journey. 12:2 At harvest time he sent a slave ⁵  to the tenants to collect from them ⁶  his portion of the crop. ⁷  12:3 But ⁸  those tenants ⁹  seized his slave, ¹⁰  beat him, ¹¹  and sent him away empty-handed. ¹²  12:4 So ¹³  he sent another slave to them again. This one they struck on the head and treated outrageously. 12:5 He sent another, and that one they killed. This happened to many others, some of whom were beaten, others killed. 12:6 He had one left, his one dear son. ¹⁴  Finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’

[12:1]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[12:1]  ² sn The vineyard is a figure for Israel in the OT (Isa 5:1-7). The nation and its leaders are the tenants, so the vineyard here may well refer to the promise that resides within the nation. The imagery is like that in Rom 11:11-24.

[12:1]  ³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[12:1]  ⁴ sn The leasing of land to tenant farmers was common in this period.

[12:2]  ⁵ tn See the note on the word “slave” in 10:44.

[12:2]  sn This slave (along with the others) represent the prophets God sent to the nation, who were mistreated and rejected.

[12:2]  ⁶ tn Grk “from the tenants,” but this is redundant in English, so the pronoun (“them”) was used in the translation.

[12:2]  ⁷ tn Grk “from the fruits of the vineyard.”

[12:3]  ⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[12:3]  ⁹ tn Grk “But they”; the referent (the tenants, v. 1) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:3]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “seizing him, they beat and sent away empty-handed.” The referent of the direct object of “seizing” (the slave sent by the owner) has been specified in the translation for clarity. The objects of the verbs “beat” and “sent away” have been supplied in the translation to conform to English style. Greek often omits direct objects when they are clear from the context.

[12:3]  ¹¹ sn The image of the tenants beating up the owner’s slave pictures the nation’s rejection of the prophets and their message.

[12:3]  ¹² sn The slaves being sent empty-handed suggests that the vineyard was not producing any fruit – and thus neither was the nation of Israel.

[12:4]  ¹³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the tenants’ mistreatment of the first slave.

[12:6]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “one beloved son.” See comment at Mark 1:11.

[12:6]  sn The owner’s decision to send his one dear son represents God sending Jesus.