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Mark12:1–12

The Parable of the Wicked Tenants

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Mark 12:1–12 — The Parable of the Wicked Tenants. Each verse below carries the full apparatus: the Berean Standard Bible, the vocalized original (tap any word), and a parsed breakdown of every term transcribed from the interlinear. Synthesized commentary, canonical threads, and the reading of Christ gather at the end, over the whole unit.

1

Then Jesus began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a wine vat, and built a watchtower. Then he rented it out to some tenants and went away on a journey.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

Kai ērxato lalein autois en parabolais anthrōpos ephyteusen Ampelōna kai periethēken phragmon kai ōryxen hypolēnion kai ōkodomēsen pyrgon kai exedeto auton geōrgois kai apedēmēsen

Word by word24 · parsed
ΚαὶKaiThenG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἤρξατοērxato[Jesus] beganG756
√ ἄρχομαι — to commence (in order of time)VerbAorist Indicative Middle3rd Person Singular
λαλεῖνlaleinto speakG2980
√ λαλέω — to talk, iVerbPresent Infinitive Active
αὐτοῖςautoisto themG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounDative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
ἐνeninG1722
√ ἐν — "in," at, (up-)on, by, etcPreposition
παραβολαῖςparabolaisparablesG3850
√ παραβολή — a similitude ("parable"), iNounDative Feminine Plural
parabolē: a similitude, a parable Geneva's marginal note refuses the reduction of parabolē to illustration: it covers "speeches and allegories with hidden meaning." That is exactly the function here. Maclaren: "The veil of parable is transparent," and v. 12 proves it, since the hearers decode it at once and reach for an arrest.
ἄνθρωποςanthrōposA manG444
√ ἄνθρωπος — from G3700 (ὀπτάνομαι))NounNominative Masculine Singular
ἐφύτευσενephyteusenplantedG5452
√ φυτεύω — to set out in the earth, iVerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
phyteuō: to set out in the earth, to plant Cambridge presses the verb: "The householder not merely possessed, he 'planted' the vineyard." The whole indictment rests on this, that the owner made what he later asks a return from. The long exposition carried in the brief under the [JFB] tag names the planting from Psalm 80:8-11, God bringing a vine out of Egypt and casting out the heathen to make room for it.
ἈμπελῶναAmpelōnaa vineyardG290
√ ἀμπελών — a vineyardNounAccusative Masculine Singular
ampelōn: a vineyard The identification is disputed among the commentators and the brief records both sides honestly. Gill and JFB read the vineyard as the Jewish church, "the men of Israel, Isaiah 5:1." Maclaren distinguishes: in Isaiah the vineyard is the nation, but in the parable it is "rather the theocracy as an institution." Pulpit and Cambridge go further still, to "the Kingdom of God in its idea and conception." The tenants and the vineyard cannot both be simply the nation without confusion, which is Maclaren's own stated difficulty.
καὶkaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
περιέθηκενperiethēkenHe putG4060
√ περιτίθημι — to place aroundVerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
φραγμὸνphragmona wall {around it}G5418
√ φραγμός — a fence, or inclosing barrier (literally or figuratively)NounAccusative Masculine Singular
phragmos: a fence, an enclosing barrier Cambridge: "Not a hedge of thorns, but a stone wall to keep out wild boars (Psalm 80:13), jackals, and foxes," and he observes the noun occurs only here, in the Matthew parallel, at Luke 14:23, and at Ephesians 2:14, "the middle wall of partition." That last occurrence is what lets Pulpit read the fence figuratively as the separation of Israel from the nations. Maclaren declines to press such meanings at all, and the honest report is that the text itself assigns none.
καὶkaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ὤρυξενōryxendugG3736
√ ὀρύσσω — to "burrow" in the ground, iVerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
ὑπολήνιονhypolēniona wine vatG5276
√ ὑπολήνιον — vessel or receptacle under the press, iNounAccusative Neuter Singular
hypolēnion: the vessel under the press The rarest noun in the verse. Cambridge sets out the two-part apparatus: the upper trough (gath) where the grapes were trodden, and the smaller trough (yekeb) into which the juice ran through a spout, "often hollowed ('digged') out of the earth or native rock and then lined with masonry." Gill, characteristically, allegorizes it as the altar where the drink offerings were poured out; that is his reading, not the text's claim.
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ᾠκοδόμησενōkodomēsenbuiltG3618
√ οἰκοδομέω — to be a house-builder, iVerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
πύργονpyrgona watchtowerG4444
√ πύργος — a tower or castleNounAccusative Masculine Singular
pyrgos: a tower or castle A rare lexeme (the Verifier finds it in four verses). Pulpit: "the watch-tower, where a watchman was placed to guard the vineyard from plunderers," and cites the rabbinic specification of ten cubits high and four cubits square, "a high place, where the vine-dresser stands to overlook the vineyard." Gill reads it of Jerusalem or of the temple watch-house. The tower is the point at which the picture stops being ornament: a watched vineyard is one whose owner expects an account.
καὶkaiThenG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἐξέδετοexedetohe rented it outG1554
√ ἐκδίδωμι — to give forth, iVerbAorist Indicative Middle3rd Person Singular
ekdidōmi: to give forth, to let out Maclaren draws the doctrine out of the transaction: the letting "means the committal to Israel and its rulers of these divine institutions, and the holding them responsible for their fruitfulness," and he notes "the strong expressions for man's quasi-independence and responsibility. The Jew was invested with full possession of the vineyard." The tenants sin, not from want of trust, but inside it.
αὐτὸνauton. . .G846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
γεωργοῖςgeōrgoisto [some] tenantsG1092
√ γεωργός — a land-worker, iNounDative Masculine Plural
geōrgos: a land-worker, a tenant farmer Cambridge identifies them as "the spiritual leaders and teachers of the Jewish nation (Malachi 2:7; Ezekiel 34:2)," and Gill as "the priests and Levites, to whom were committed the care of the people." Maclaren alone registers the strain: if the tenants are only the rulers, the vineyard would have to be the nation, "which confuses all," so Matthew's threat that the vineyard passes to another nation "obliges us to regard the nation as included in the husbandmen, though primarily the expression is addressed to the rulers."
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἀπεδήμησενapedēmēsenwent away on a journeyG589
√ ἀποδημέω — to go abroad, iVerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
apodēmeō: to go abroad, to travel from home The owner's absence is what makes the tenants' claim thinkable. Maclaren: "God, as it were, draws somewhat apart." The parable will end by cancelling the absence (v. 9, he will come), which is the hinge on which its threat turns.
2

At harvest time, he sent a servant to the tenants to collect his share of the fruit of the vineyard.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

Kai tō kairō apesteilen doulon pros tous geōrgous hina labē para tōn geōrgōn apo tōn karpōn tou ampelōnos

Word by word18 · parsed
ΚαὶKaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
τῷtōG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Masculine Singular
καιρῷkairōAt harvest timeG2540
√ καιρός — an occasion, iNounDative Masculine Singular
kairos: an occasion, an appointed season The owner does not come at random. Cambridge fixes the rent arrangement: "The rent not being paid in money, but in a stipulated portion of the produce," so the season is also the audit. Behind the figure, Cambridge says, stand "the prophets and other eminent messengers of God raised up at particular periods for particular purposes."
ἀπέστειλενapesteilenhe sentG649
√ ἀποστέλλω — set apart, iVerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
δοῦλονdoulona servantG1401
√ δοῦλος — a slave (literal or figurative, involuntary or voluntaryNounAccusative Masculine Singular
doulos: a slave Gill insists the singular is representative, not individual: "not a single person, but a set of men, are here designed," Matthew having "servants" in the plural. Ellicott makes the complementary point about Mark's method, that he keeps them one by one for vividness where Matthew groups them.
πρὸςprostoG4314
√ πρός — a preposition of directionPreposition
τοὺςtoustheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Masculine Plural
γεωργοὺςgeōrgoustenantsG1092
√ γεωργός — a land-worker, iNounAccusative Masculine Plural
ἵναhinatoG2443
√ ἵνα — compare G3588 (ὁ))Conjunction
λάβῃlabēcollectG2983
√ λαμβάνω — while G138 (αἱρέομαι) is more violent, to seize or remove))VerbAorist Subjunctive Active3rd Person Singular
lambanō: to take, to receive The verb of the errand. In v. 3 and v. 8 the same root describes what the tenants do to the messenger and to the son. The parable's whole reversal sits in one lexeme: the owner seeks to receive fruit, the tenants seize men instead.
παρὰparaG3844
√ παρά — properly, nearPreposition
τῶνtōnG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Masculine Plural
γεωργῶνgeōrgōnG1092
√ γεωργός — a land-worker, iNounGenitive Masculine Plural
ἀπὸapo[his share] ofG575
√ ἀπό — "off," iPreposition
τῶνtōntheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Masculine Plural
καρπῶνkarpōnfruitG2590
√ καρπός — fruit (as plucked), literally or figurativelyNounGenitive Masculine Plural
karpos: fruit The rent is produce, not coin, so failure to pay is failure to be fruitful. Cambridge names what was owed behind the figure: "the repentance and the inward longing after true inward righteousness, which the Law was unable to bring about." Gill points to Isaiah 5:7 for the content, righteousness and judgment where God looked for grapes.
τοῦtouof theG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Masculine Singular
ἀμπελῶνοςampelōnosvineyardG290
√ ἀμπελών — a vineyardNounGenitive Masculine Singular
3

But they seized the servant, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

kai labontes auton edeiran kai apesteilan kenon

Word by word7 · parsed
καὶkaiButG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
λαβόντεςlabontesthey seizedG2983
√ λαμβάνω — while G138 (αἱρέομαι) is more violent, to seize or remove))VerbAorist Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Plural
lambanō: to take, to seize The aorist participle is coordinate with the beating: the taking is the first act of possession, and the parable will repeat it exactly at v. 8 of the son (λαβόντες again). Mark builds his climax out of the same three words each time.
αὐτὸνauton[the servant]G846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
ἔδειρανedeiranbeat [him]G1194
√ δέρω — properly, to flay, iVerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
derō: properly to flay, to thrash Cambridge traces the escalation as a deliberate ladder: the first servant they "caught, beat, and sent away empty," the second they wounded in the head, "the third they killed." Maclaren reads the ladder morally, that "all evil is an inclined plane, a steady, downward progress."
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἀπέστειλανapesteilansent [him] awayG649
√ ἀποστέλλω — set apart, iVerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
κενόνkenonempty-handedG2756
√ κενός — empty (literally or figuratively)AdjectiveAccusative Masculine Singular
kenos: empty The word answers καρπῶν in v. 2. The owner asked for fruit and received emptiness, which is the precise definition of the indictment in Isaiah 5:2, where he looked for grapes and it brought forth wild grapes.
4

Then he sent them another servant, and they struck him over the head and treated him shamefully.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

Kai palin apesteilen pros autous allon doulon kakeinon ekephaliōsan kai ētimasan

Word by word11 · parsed
ΚαὶKaiThenG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
πάλινpalinG3825
√ πάλιν — (adverbially) anew, iAdverb
ἀπέστειλενapesteilenhe sentG649
√ ἀποστέλλω — set apart, iVerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
πρὸςprosG4314
√ πρός — a preposition of directionPreposition
αὐτοὺςautousthemG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
ἄλλονallonanotherG243
√ ἄλλος — "else," iAdjectiveAccusative Masculine Singular
allos: another of the same sort Not a different kind of envoy, but one more of the same. Maclaren reads the sequence as the measure of divine patience against rising hatred: "How beautifully the opposite principle of the divine love and patience is represented as striving with the increasing hate and resistance!"
δοῦλονdoulonservantG1401
√ δοῦλος — a slave (literal or figurative, involuntary or voluntaryNounAccusative Masculine Singular
κἀκεῖνονkakeinonandG2548
√ κἀκεῖνος — likewise that (or those)Demonstrative PronounAccusative Masculine Singular
ἐκεφαλίωσανekephaliōsanthey struck {him} over the headG2775
√ κεφαλαιόω — (specially) to strike on the headVerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
kephalaioō: to strike on the head A word used nowhere else in the New Testament in this sense (Cambridge), and the textual tradition is unsettled around it: Ellicott notes that the participle "they cast stones" in the received text is "wanting in the best MSS." The stem κεφαλ- will sound once more in this unit, at the head of the corner in v. 10, though there the noun is κεφαλή (G2776), a cognate and not the same word.
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἠτίμασανētimasantreated [him] shamefullyG818
√ ἀτιμάζω — to render infamous, iVerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
atimazō: to render infamous, to dishonor The verb states the tenants' real offense against the owner: not merely injury to a slave but the public stripping of the sender's honor. Cambridge lines up the historical roll behind it, Micaiah in the dungeon, Zechariah stoned at the commandment of Joash, Jeremiah stoned by the exiles in Egypt.
5

He sent still another, and this one they killed. He sent many others; some they beat and others they killed.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

kai apesteilen allon kakeinon apekteinan kai pollous allous men hous derontes de hous apoktennontes

Word by word14 · parsed
καὶkaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἀπέστειλενapesteilenHe sentG649
√ ἀποστέλλω — set apart, iVerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
ἄλλονallonstill anotherG243
√ ἄλλος — "else," iAdjectiveAccusative Masculine Singular
κἀκεῖνονkakeinonand this oneG2548
√ κἀκεῖνος — likewise that (or those)Demonstrative PronounAccusative Masculine Singular
ἀπέκτεινανapekteinanthey killedG615
√ ἀποκτείνω — to kill outrightVerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
apokteinō: to kill outright The third stage of Cambridge's ladder and the point at which the parable stops being about rent. JFB names the historical referent flatly: "The servants sent to receive the fruit, so abused by the husbandmen, were the prophets. 2 Chronicles 36:16 is a compendious exposition of these verses."
καὶkai[He sent]G2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
πολλοὺςpollousmanyG4183
√ πολύς — (singular) much (in any respect) or (plural) manyAdjectiveAccusative Masculine Plural
polys: many The unnumbered plural is the parable's admission that the record is longer than any list. Gill suggests the later stages fall "in the times of the Maccabees," which is his historical guess and not a claim of the text.
ἄλλουςallousothersG243
√ ἄλλος — "else," iAdjectiveAccusative Masculine Plural
μὲνmenG3303
√ μέν — properly, indicative of affirmation or concession (in fact)Conjunction
οὓςhoussomeG3739
√ ὅς — the relatively (sometimes demonstrative) pronoun, who, which, what, thatPersonal / Relative PronounAccusative Masculine Plural
δέροντεςderontesthey beatG1194
√ δέρω — properly, to flay, iVerbPresent Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Plural
derō: to flay, to beat Present participle: the beating is characteristic, not episodic. Maclaren draws out why the sequence worsens rather than exhausts itself: "The terrible Nemesis of evil is that it ever tends to reproduce itself in aggravated forms," and "impunity leads to greater sin."
δὲdeandG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
οὓςhous[others]G3739
√ ὅς — the relatively (sometimes demonstrative) pronoun, who, which, what, thatPersonal / Relative PronounAccusative Masculine Plural
ἀποκτέννοντεςapoktennontesthey killedG615
√ ἀποκτείνω — to kill outrightVerbPresent Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Plural
6

Finally, having one beloved son, he sent him to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

Eti eschaton eichen hena agapēton huion apesteilen auton pros autous Entrapēsontai mou ton huion legōn hoti

Word by word16 · parsed
ἜτιEtivvvG2089
√ ἔτι — "yet," still (of time or degree)Adverb
ἔσχατονeschatonFinallyG2078
√ ἔσχατος — farthest, final (of place or time)AdjectiveAccusative Masculine Singular
eschatos: farthest, final The adjective, not an adverb, and it governs the theology of the verse: this sending has no successor. Cambridge sets the same claim in Hebrews 1:1-2, where God spoke of old by the prophets and last of all by a Son "whom He hath appointed heir of all things."
εἶχενeichenhavingG2192
√ ἔχω — to hold (used in very various applications, literally or figuratively, direct or remoteVerbImperfect Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
ἕναhenaoneG1520
√ εἷς — oneAdjectiveAccusative Masculine Singular
ἀγαπητόνagapētonbelovedG27
√ ἀγαπητός — belovedAdjectiveAccusative Masculine Singular
agapētos: beloved The single most loaded word in the unit. Maclaren argues it carries more than messianic office: it "clearly involves kindred to the divine in a far other and higher sense than any prophet ever had it. It involves pre-existence." Gill grounds it in the Father's declared testimony "both at his baptism, and at his transfiguration upon the mount, by a voice from heaven." Cambridge measures the same word structurally, as marking "as strongly as possible the difference of rank between Christ and the prophets."
υἱὸνhuionsonG5207
√ υἱός — a "son" (sometimes of animals), used very widely of immediate, remote or figuratively, kinshipNounAccusative Masculine Singular
huios: a son The parable has moved from slaves (δοῦλοι) to a son, and the change of noun is the change of dispensation. In v. 7 the tenants will use a third noun for him, κληρονόμος, heir, which is what they see and what they resent.
ἀπέστειλενapesteilenhe sentG649
√ ἀποστέλλω — set apart, iVerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
αὐτὸνautonhimG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
πρὸςprostoG4314
√ πρός — a preposition of directionPreposition
αὐτοὺςautousthemG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
ἘντραπήσονταιEntrapēsontaiThey will respectG1788
√ ἐντρέπω — to invert, iVerbFuture Indicative Passive3rd Person Plural
entrepō: to turn inward, to be made ashamed, so to reverence Future passive: the expected response is not politeness but the inward turn that shame produces. Gill notes the Syriac, Arabic and Persic versions read "perhaps they will reverence my son," as at Luke 20:13, which would soften the owner's confidence into hope; Mark's Greek as it stands does not hedge.
μουmoumyG1473
√ ἐγώ — I, mePersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive 1st Person Singular
τὸνtonG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Masculine Singular
υἱόνhuionsonG5207
√ υἱός — a "son" (sometimes of animals), used very widely of immediate, remote or figuratively, kinshipNounAccusative Masculine Singular
λέγωνlegōnhe saidG3004
√ λέγω — properly, to "lay" forth, iVerbPresent Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Singular
ὅτιhotiG3754
√ ὅτι — demonstrative, that (sometimes redundant)Conjunction
7

But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

de Ekeinoi hoi geōrgoi eipan pros heautous hoti Houtos estin ho klēronomos deute apokteinōmen auton kai hē klēronomia estai hēmōn

Word by word20 · parsed
δὲdeButG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
ἘκεῖνοιEkeinoi[the]G1565
√ ἐκεῖνος — that one (or (neuter) thing)Demonstrative PronounNominative Masculine Plural
οἱhoiG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Plural
γεωργοὶgeōrgoitenantsG1092
√ γεωργός — a land-worker, iNounNominative Masculine Plural
εἶπανeipansaidG2036
√ ἔπω — to speak or say (by word or writing)VerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
πρὸςprostoG4314
√ πρός — a preposition of directionPreposition
ἑαυτοὺςheautousone anotherG1438
√ ἑαυτοῦ — him- (her-, it-, them-, also (in conjunction with the personal pronoun of the other persons) my-, thy-, our-, your-) self (selves), etcReflexive PronounAccusative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
ὅτιhotiG3754
√ ὅτι — demonstrative, that (sometimes redundant)Conjunction
ΟὗτόςHoutosThisG3778
√ οὗτος — the he (she or it), iDemonstrative PronounNominative Masculine Singular
ἐστινestinisG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
ὁhotheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
κληρονόμοςklēronomosheirG2818
√ κληρονόμος — a sharer by lot, iNounNominative Masculine Singular
klēronomos: a sharer by lot, an heir Cambridge defines the term with care: "he for whom the inheritance is meant, and to whom it will in due course rightfully arrive, not as in earthly relations, by the death, but by the free appointment, of the actual possessor," and adds that Christ is heir of all things "not as He is the Son of God, but as He is the Son of Man." That distinction is Cambridge's, and it is worth weighing rather than assuming.
δεῦτεdeuteComeG1205
√ δεῦτε — come hither!VerbImperative2nd Person Plural
deute: come hither! A summons, not a step. It opens the only speech the tenants are given, and the speech is a conspiracy: identification, summons, resolve, motive, all in one breath.
ἀποκτείνωμενapokteinōmenlet us killG615
√ ἀποκτείνω — to kill outrightVerbAorist Subjunctive Active1st Person Plural
apokteinō: to kill outright Hortatory subjunctive. The verb that had fallen on the slaves in v. 5 is now chosen deliberately for the son. Their logic is that possession follows the removal of the claimant, which is exactly the logic the owner overturns in v. 9.
αὐτόνautonhimG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἡhētheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Feminine Singular
κληρονομίαklēronomiainheritanceG2817
√ κληρονομία — heirship, iNounNominative Feminine Singular
klēronomia: heirship, an inheritance The last word of their speech and the first thing they lose. Gill names the historical calculation behind it, that the rulers meant to "continue in the quiet possession of their nation, temple, and worship," citing John 11:47.
ἔσταιestaiwill beG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbFuture Indicative Middle3rd Person Singular
ἡμῶνhēmōnoursG1473
√ ἐγώ — I, mePersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive 1st Person Plural
8

So they seized the son, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

kai labontes apekteinan auton kai exebalon auton exō tou ampelōnos

Word by word10 · parsed
καὶkaiSoG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
λαβόντεςlabontesthey seized [the son]G2983
√ λαμβάνω — while G138 (αἱρέομαι) is more violent, to seize or remove))VerbAorist Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Plural
lambanō: to take, to seize The third and last occurrence of the root in the unit, after the owner's purpose to receive fruit (v. 2) and the seizing of the first slave (v. 3). Mark's vocabulary makes the murder of the son the end point of a single continuous act, not a new crime.
ἀπέκτεινανapekteinankilledG615
√ ἀποκτείνω — to kill outrightVerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
αὐτόνautonhimG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἐξέβαλονexebalonthrewG1544
√ ἐκβάλλω — to eject (literally or figuratively)VerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
ekballō: to eject, to cast out Gill takes the expulsion historically: "they delivered him to the Gentiles, who were without the vineyard, and by whom, at their instigation, he was put to death." That is an application of the figure, not the parable's statement; within the story the tenants themselves do the killing.
αὐτὸνautonhimG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
ἔξωexōoutG1854
√ ἔξω — out(-side, of doors), literally or figurativelyPreposition
τοῦtouof theG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Masculine Singular
ἀμπελῶνοςampelōnosvineyardG290
√ ἀμπελών — a vineyardNounGenitive Masculine Singular
ampelōn: a vineyard The word closes the action where it opened it. Everything the parable has described has happened inside the owner's own enclosure, by men holding it on his terms, which is why v. 9 speaks of the owner coming rather than of an outside remedy.
9

What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

Ti oun ho kyrios tou ampelōnos poiēsei eleusetai kai apolesei tous geōrgous kai dōsei ton ampelōna allois

Word by word17 · parsed
ΤίTiWhatG5101
√ τίς — an interrogative pronoun, who, which or what (in direct or indirect questions)Interrogative / Indefinite PronounAccusative Neuter Singular
οὖνounthenG3767
√ οὖν — (adverbially) certainly, or (conjunctionally) accordinglyConjunction
ὁho{will} theG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
κύριοςkyriosownerG2962
√ κύριος — supreme in authority, iNounNominative Masculine Singular
kyrios: supreme in authority, lord The title arrives at the moment of judgment, and it recurs two verses later of the LORD whose doing the exaltation is. The parable has been about an owner's rights; Mark's noun quietly makes it about the Lord's.
τοῦtouof theG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Masculine Singular
ἀμπελῶνοςampelōnosvineyardG290
√ ἀμπελών — a vineyardNounGenitive Masculine Singular
ποιήσειpoiēseidoG4160
√ ποιέω — to make or do (in a very wide application, more or less direct)VerbFuture Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
poieō: to make, to do The question is rhetorical in form but was evidently answered aloud. Ellicott: in Matthew the words are spoken by the bystanders, "Here they form part of the parable itself." Cambridge thinks the Pharisees answered, "either, before they were aware, pronouncing sentence against themselves, or pretending in the hardness of their hearts not to see the drift of the Parable." Pulpit proposes that they answered and Jesus then repeated and confirmed it.
ἐλεύσεταιeleusetaiHe will comeG2064
√ ἔρχομαι — to come or go (in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively)VerbFuture Indicative Middle3rd Person Singular
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἀπολέσειapoleseikillG622
√ ἀπόλλυμι — to destroy fully (reflexively, to perish, or lose), literally or figurativelyVerbFuture Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
apollymi: to destroy fully The verb of ruin, not merely of killing. JFB reads the whole latter half of the parable as "prophetical, foretelling what they should do unto him, and also of the ruin of the Jewish nation and church, and the passing of the gospel to the Gentiles."
τοὺςtous[those]G3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Masculine Plural
γεωργούςgeōrgoustenantsG1092
√ γεωργός — a land-worker, iNounAccusative Masculine Plural
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
δώσειdōseigiveG1325
√ δίδωμι — to give (used in a very wide application, properly, or by implication, literally or figurativelyVerbFuture Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
τὸνtontheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Masculine Singular
ἀμπελῶναampelōnavineyardG290
√ ἀμπελών — a vineyardNounAccusative Masculine Singular
ἄλλοιςalloisto othersG243
√ ἄλλος — "else," iAdjectiveDative Masculine Plural
allos: another of the same kind The vineyard is not destroyed with the tenants; it is re-let. That is the precise form of the threat: the stewardship changes hands, and JFB summarizes the parable's burden as "the reprobation of the Jews, and the calling of the Gentiles."
10

Have you never read this Scripture: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

oude anegnōte tautēn tēn graphēn Lithon hon hoi oikodomountes apedokimasan Houtos egenēthē eis kephalēn gōnias

Word by word15 · parsed
οὐδὲoudevvvG3761
√ οὐδέ — not however, iAdverb
ἀνέγνωτεanegnōteHave you never readG314
√ ἀναγινώσκω — to know again, iVerbAorist Indicative Active2nd Person Plural
anaginōskō: to know again, to read The taunt lands on men whose office was the text. Cambridge adds from Luke 20:17 that "our Lord fastened His eyes upon His wondering hearers, while He directed their attention to this ancient prophecy respecting Himself."
ταύτηνtautēnthisG3778
√ οὗτος — the he (she or it), iDemonstrative PronounAccusative Feminine Singular
τὴνtēnG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Feminine Singular
γραφὴνgraphēnScriptureG1124
√ γραφή — a document, iNounAccusative Feminine Singular
graphē: a writing, a Scripture Mark labels the quotation as Scripture before giving it, which is why the citation of Psalm 118:22-23 in vv. 10-11 is a formal appeal and not an allusion. Cambridge notes the Jews themselves applied the Psalm to the Messiah, and that Peter twice applies it to Christ (Acts 4:11; 1 Peter 2:7).
ΛίθονLithon[The] stoneG3037
√ λίθος — a stone (literally or figuratively)NounAccusative Masculine Singular
ὃνhonG3739
√ ὅς — the relatively (sometimes demonstrative) pronoun, who, which, what, thatPersonal / Relative PronounAccusative Masculine Singular
οἱhoitheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Plural
οἰκοδομοῦντεςoikodomountesbuildersG3618
√ οἰκοδομέω — to be a house-builder, iVerbPresent Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Plural
oikodomeō: to build The verb that built the tower in v. 1 now names the men who rejected the stone. Within this unit the owner builds and the tenants build, and what the tenants reject is what the Lord makes the binding point of the whole structure.
ἀπεδοκίμασανapedokimasanrejectedG593
√ ἀποδοκιμάζω — to disapprove, iVerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
apodokimazō: to reject after testing Assay, then refusal. Gill maps the figure onto the parable: the stone is "the same with the son and heir in the parable," the builders are "the chief priests, Scribes, and elders," and the rejection is their seizing, casting out and killing of him.
ΟὗτοςHoutosG3778
√ οὗτος — the he (she or it), iDemonstrative PronounNominative Masculine Singular
ἐγενήθηegenēthēhas becomeG1096
√ γίνομαι — to cause to be ("gen"-erate), iVerbAorist Indicative Passive3rd Person Singular
εἰςeistheG1519
√ εἰς — to or into (indicating the point reached or entered), of place, time, or (figuratively) purpose (result, etcPreposition
κεφαλὴνkephalēnvvvG2776
√ κεφαλή — the head (as the part most readily taken hold of), literally or figurativelyNounAccusative Feminine Singular
kephalē: the head, the chief part Cognate in stem with the rare verb of v. 4, where the tenants struck the second slave on the head (κεφαλαιόω, G2775). Mark does not comment on the echo and the two are distinct words; the resonance is worth hearing and not worth building on.
γωνίαςgōniascornerstoneG1137
√ γωνία — an angleNounGenitive Feminine Singular
11

This is from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

hautē egeneto Para Kyriou Kai estin thaumastē en hēmōn ophthalmois

Word by word10 · parsed
αὕτηhautēThisG3778
√ οὗτος — the he (she or it), iDemonstrative PronounNominative Feminine Singular
ἐγένετοegenetoisG1096
√ γίνομαι — to cause to be ("gen"-erate), iVerbAorist Indicative Middle3rd Person Singular
ΠαρὰParafromG3844
√ παρά — properly, nearPreposition
para: from beside, from With the genitive Κυρίου it marks origin: the reversal proceeds from the Lord. This is the only agent named in the citation, and it is set against the builders, who are the only agents named in v. 10.
ΚυρίουKyriou[the] LordG2962
√ κύριος — supreme in authority, iNounGenitive Masculine Singular
kyrios: lord, the LORD The same noun as the vineyard's owner in v. 9, here rendering the divine name of Psalm 118. Whatever else the parable leaves open, Greek has made the owner who comes to destroy and the LORD who exalts the stone the same word two verses apart.
ΚαὶKaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἔστινestinit isG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
θαυμαστὴthaumastēmarvelousG2298
√ θαυμαστός — wondered at, iAdjectiveNominative Feminine Singular
thaumastos: wondered at, marvelous Feminine, agreeing with the head of the corner (Ellicott). What is called marvelous is one specific act: the lifting up of the stone that was assayed and thrown away.
ἐνeninG1722
√ ἐν — "in," at, (up-)on, by, etcPreposition
ἡμῶνhēmōnourG1473
√ ἐγώ — I, mePersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive 1st Person Plural
ὀφθαλμοῖςophthalmoiseyesG3788
√ ὀφθαλμός — the eye (literally or figuratively)NounDative Masculine Plural
12

At this, the leaders sought to arrest Jesus, for they knew that He had spoken this parable against them. But fearing the crowd, they left Him and went away.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

Kai ezētoun kratēsai auton gar egnōsan hoti eipen tēn parabolēn pros autous kai ephobēthēsan ton ochlon kai aphentes auton apēlthon

Word by word20 · parsed
ΚαὶKaiAt thisG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἐζήτουνezētoun[the leaders] soughtG2212
√ ζητέω — to seek (literally or figuratively)VerbImperfect Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
zēteō: to seek Imperfect, and it is the hinge of the passion narrative: Mark has already used the same construction of the chief priests and scribes seeking how to destroy him. The parable did not create their intention; it hardened it.
κρατῆσαιkratēsaito arrestG2902
√ κρατέω — to use strength, iVerbAorist Infinitive Active
αὐτὸνauton[Jesus]G846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
γὰρgarforG1063
√ γάρ — properly, assigning a reason (used in argument, explanation or intensificationConjunction
ἔγνωσανegnōsanthey knewG1097
√ γινώσκω — to "know" (absolutely) in a great variety of applications and with many implications (as follow, with others not thus clearly expressed)VerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
ginōskō: to know The most important verb in the verse. The rulers are not condemned for missing the point. Cambridge: "All three Evangelists take note of the exasperation of our Lord's hearers at words which they now clearly perceived were directed against themselves."
ὅτιhotithatG3754
√ ὅτι — demonstrative, that (sometimes redundant)Conjunction
εἶπενeipenHe had spokenG2036
√ ἔπω — to speak or say (by word or writing)VerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
τὴνtēn[this]G3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Feminine Singular
παραβολὴνparabolēnparableG3850
√ παραβολή — a similitude ("parable"), iNounAccusative Feminine Singular
πρὸςprosagainstG4314
√ πρός — a preposition of directionPreposition
αὐτοὺςautousthemG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
καὶkaiButG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἐφοβήθησανephobēthēsanfearingG5399
√ φοβέω — to frighten, iVerbAorist Indicative Passive3rd Person Plural
phobeō: to fear Benson turns the standoff into providence: "Generally the multitude is restrained from tearing them in pieces, only by the fear of their rulers. And here, the rulers themselves are restrained, through fear of the multitude!" Cambridge adds from Matthew 21:46 that the crowd still regarded him as a prophet.
τὸνtontheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Masculine Singular
ὄχλονochloncrowdG3793
√ ὄχλος — a throng (as borne along)NounAccusative Masculine Singular
καὶkaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἀφέντεςaphentesthey leftG863
√ ἀφίημι — an intensive form of , to go)VerbAorist Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Plural
aphiēmi: to send away, to leave The last act of the hearers is withdrawal, and it is the parable's own verdict in miniature: they leave the one they have judged and go to consult. Pulpit: by this rebuke "he prepared the way for that death which, within three days, they brought upon him."
αὐτὸνautonHimG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
ἀπῆλθονapēlthon[and] went awayG565
√ ἀπέρχομαι — to go off (iVerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Plural

The verse-by-verse work is done. What follows gathers the whole unit. All three layers below are machine-generated (⚙). Weigh them; they have no authority.

⚙

Grand Commentary — the unit, read whole

synthesis · verify

AI synthesis — woven from the public-domain voices above and the original text; generated and fallible.

i. A vineyard made before it is let — 12:1

Mark opens with four aorists of construction: he planted, he put around, he dug, he built. Cambridge presses the first of them: "The householder not merely possessed, he 'planted' the vineyard." Every commentator in the brief hears Isaiah 5 underneath, and none of them claims Jesus is citing it: Maclaren says "the picture is based upon Isaiah's lovely apologue," Benson (quoting Macknight) says Christ "couched them under the veil of a parable, which he formed upon one made use of long before, by the Prophet Isaiah 5:1," and Cambridge that "Our Lord seems to take up the words of the prophet Isaiah." ⚙ The word Mark chooses for the vat, ὑπολήνιον, occurs nowhere else in the New Testament, and Ellicott corrects the old rendering to "simply, a vine vat"; the detail is too specific to be decorative, which is why Maclaren warns that "it would probably be going too far to press special meanings on the wall, the wine-press, and the watchman's tower" while Gill and Pulpit press them anyway, to altar, temple, and the middle wall of partition. The brief preserves both practices, and the honest position is Maclaren's: the text assigns no meanings to the fittings, only to the fact that nothing was lacking.

ii. The slaves, and the slope that evil runs down — 12:2-5

Four times Mark writes ἀπέστειλεν, and each time the answer is worse. Cambridge traces the rungs exactly: the first "caught, beat, and sent away empty," the second wounded in the head, "the third they killed." Maclaren gives the reason: "The terrible Nemesis of evil is that it ever tends to reproduce itself in aggravated forms... impunity leads to greater sin." JFB identifies the slaves flatly with the prophets and offers a single cross-reference as the whole exposition: "2 Chronicles 36:16 is a compendious exposition of these verses." Cambridge fills the roll in: Micaiah in the dungeon, Zechariah stoned at the commandment of Joash, Jeremiah stoned by the exiles in Egypt. ⚙ Two grammatical facts carry the movement. First, in v. 5 Mark drops from aorists into present participles (δέροντες, ἀποκτέννοντες) and the sentence loses its main verb altogether; Pulpit notes that "the construction here is incomplete," and the incompleteness reads like a list too long to finish. Second, the verb of the owner's purpose in v. 2, λάβῃ, is the verb of the tenants' violence in v. 3, λαβόντες. He sent to receive fruit; they received the man.

iii. One left, and him beloved — 12:6-8

Pulpit prefers the reading "he had yet one, a beloved son," and calls it "very touching"; Ellicott records that ἀγαπητόν is Mark's own addition to Matthew's briefer form. Maclaren will not let the word be reduced: "This saying is one which occurs in all the Synoptics, and is as full a declaration of Sonship as any in John's Gospel... It involves pre-existence." Cambridge keeps the same point structural rather than metaphysical, that the word marks "as strongly as possible the difference of rank between Christ and the prophets." ⚙ Then the tenants speak, and their speech is not a mistake. Οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ κληρονόμος is a correct identification; Gill says "they knew him by the prophecies of the Old Testament which had described him." The murder is a conclusion drawn from accurate premises, resolved in the hortatory subjunctive ἀποκτείνωμεν, the grammar of a committee. Mark alone kills the son inside the vineyard and throws the body out; Cambridge notes the reversal against Matthew and Luke and reads it as "denying it the ordinary rites of sepulture," while Pulpit, preferring the harmonized order, speaks of one "whom the Jews put to death without the city." On Mark's own wording Cambridge is the more careful reader.

iv. The owner's question and the builders' stone — 12:9-11

The question Τί οὖν ποιήσει ὁ κύριος τοῦ ἀμπελῶνος; is answered in Mark by the speaker himself, and the commentators disagree about the voice. Ellicott: "St. Matthew reports the words as having been spoken by 'the by-standers. Here they form part of the parable itself." Cambridge thinks the Pharisees answered, "either, before they were aware, pronouncing sentence against themselves, or pretending in the hardness of their hearts not to see the drift of the Parable," and Luke 20:16 adds their recoil. Pulpit proposes the harmonizing solution, that they answered and Jesus repeated it. ⚙ Then the figure changes without warning: Cambridge notes that "the image of the vineyard is for a moment abandoned for that of a building." The seam is not arbitrary. Mark's verb in v. 1 was ᾠκοδόμησεν, he built a tower; the men in the citation are οἱ οἰκοδομοῦντες, the ones building, and the Verifier records the same lexeme G3618 in both places. The tenants who would not render fruit are the builders who tested the stone and threw it out, ἀπεδοκίμασαν, a verb Pulpit reads precisely: "the stone was first examined and then deliberately refused." Cambridge observes that the Psalm quoted is the one "whence had been taken the loud Hosannas of Palm Sunday," days earlier in Mark 11:9.

v. They understood, and that was the trouble — 12:12

Mark's imperfect ἐζήτουν keeps them at it, and his γὰρ gives the reason: ἔγνωσαν, they knew. Cambridge: "All three Evangelists take note of the exasperation of our Lord's hearers at words which they now clearly perceived were directed against themselves." Ellicott anchors the pronoun: it "carries us back to the 'chief priests and scribes and elders' of Mark 11:27." Benson finds the providence in the standoff: "Generally the multitude is restrained from tearing them in pieces, only by the fear of their rulers. And here, the rulers themselves are restrained, through fear of the multitude!" Gill adds the closing picture, that they left him "in the temple, not daring to do any thing to him," and went off to consult. ⚙ The unit ends where the parable said it would: the hearers, having understood perfectly, proceed to do the thing the parable accused them of. Pulpit says as much: by this rebuke "he prepared the way for that death which, within three days, they brought upon him."

Read under Sola Scriptura — this tool’s own fallible reading (⚙)

⚙ Reading this under Scripture alone, and offering the reading to be tested: the parable's sharpest point is not ignorance but knowledge. The tenants' one speech opens with a correct sentence, Οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ κληρονόμος, and Gill is right that they knew him from the prophecies. The murder follows from the recognition, not despite it; that is why the unit closes with ἔγνωσαν, they knew that he spoke the parable against them, and reached for an arrest. Understanding the word of God is not the same as submitting to it, and Mark has arranged his verbs so that the two cannot be confused. There is a second thing I think the text says and the commentators mostly pass over. The owner's complaint is never that the vineyard failed; it is that he received nothing from it. The tenants are condemned for a claim, not for a crop failure: the inheritance will be ours. Whatever the vineyard is (and the brief honestly records that Maclaren, Cambridge and Gill do not agree), what is taken from the tenants is stewardship, not the vineyard's own life. And I would hold the judgment of v. 9 with the fear the text itself models: it is Jesus, or the hearers, who pronounce it, and Luke records that some of them answered it with "God forbid." The parable leaves no third position between rendering fruit and seizing the inheritance, and it does not tell the hearers which they have chosen. It tells them they already know.

They did not kill the heir by mistake; they killed him because they had correctly identified him.

⚙

Canonical Threads — out to the whole of Scripture

cross-refs · verify

AI-generated connections. Each carries a verification badge with a recorded basis; contested links are flagged.

The vineyard song Jesus builds on structural / thematic: confirmed

The opening clauses follow Isaiah 5:1-7 almost item by item: a vineyard planted, a fence set round it, a pit dug for the wine, a tower built, and an owner who comes looking for fruit. Every voice in the brief hears it. Maclaren: "The picture is based upon Isaiah's lovely apologue, which was, no doubt, familiar to the learned officials," though he notes the application shifts, since "in Isaiah" the vineyard "means the nation, and in the parable is rather the theocracy as an institution." Benson, quoting Macknight, says Christ "formed" his parable "upon one made use of long before, by the Prophet Isaiah 5:1." Cambridge: "Our Lord seems to take up the words of the prophet Isaiah." ⚙ Note that Mark does not introduce it as Scripture, and the wording is not quoted; the debt is structural, and the shift Maclaren observes is real.

Isaiah 5:1-7

basis: Cross-Testament (Greek Gospel to Hebrew prophet), so no shared Strong's lexeme can be computed and the Verifier offers none; the recorded basis is the clause-by-clause correspondence of the vineyard's furnishing, attested independently by Maclaren, Benson (citing Macknight), Cambridge, Pulpit and JFB. Not tiered verbal: Mark presents it as imagery taken up, not as a citation.

The stone the builders tested and threw out structural / thematic: confirmed

Verses 10-11 quote Psalm 118:22-23 in full and introduce it as γραφὴν, Scripture. Cambridge notes that the Psalm was one "which the Jews applied to the Messiah, and which is actually twice applied to Him by St Peter, in Acts 4:11; 1 Peter 2:7," and that it is the very Psalm "whence had been taken the loud Hosannas of Palm Sunday." ⚙ Mark's own vocabulary prepares the citation: the owner ᾠκοδόμησεν a tower in v. 1, and the rejecters are οἱ οἰκοδομοῦντες in v. 10, the same lexeme G3618, so the change of image from vineyard to building (Cambridge) runs on a word already in the parable. Pulpit weighs ἀπεδοκίμασαν: the stone "was first examined and then deliberately refused."

Psalm 118:22-23 · Acts 4:11 · 1 Peter 2:7

basis: An explicit citation, but cross-Testament (Greek quoting Hebrew), so shared Strong's numbers cannot be computed and the link may not be tiered verbal; the recorded basis is Mark's own introduction of the words as γραφήν plus their full reproduction, with the same Psalm applied to Christ at Acts 4:11 and 1 Peter 2:7 (Cambridge). The Acts and 1 Peter references are Greek-to-Greek but were not returned among the Verifier's candidates, so they are cited on Cambridge's authority, not on a computed lexeme.

The same parable in three Gospels verbal / quotation: confirmed

Ellicott observes that this parable, "like that of the Sower, and like that only, is related in all the first three Gospels," and was "reproduced by independent reporters with an almost textual exactness." The Verifier bears him out at the level of vocabulary. ⚙ Where the accounts diverge, the brief records it rather than harmonizing: Ellicott notes Mark alone sends the slaves singly where Matthew groups them and Mark alone adds "beloved"; Cambridge notes Mark alone kills the son inside the vineyard before casting the body out; Ellicott and Pulpit note that the answer in v. 9 is assigned to bystanders in Matthew and to Jesus in Mark and Luke.

Matthew 21:33 · Matthew 21:41 · Luke 20:9 · Luke 20:10

basis: Verifier, all Greek to Greek within the New Testament: Matthew 21:33 shares G4444 πύργος (rare, in 4 vv), G3618 οἰκοδομέω (39 vv) and G5452 φυτεύω (11 vv); Matthew 21:41 shares G1554 ἐκδίδωμι (rare, in 4 vv), G1092 γεωργός (17 vv) and G290 ἀμπελών (21 vv); Luke 20:9 shares G5452 φυτεύω and G3850 παραβολή; Luke 20:10 shares G1092 γεωργός and G290 ἀμπελών. Two rare lexemes (πύργος, ἐκδίδωμι) carry the verbal tier.

Israel as the Lord's vine structural / thematic: confirmed

The figure of a vine brought, planted and tended by God is older than Isaiah's song and wider than it. JFB quotes Psalm 80:8-11 at length as the exposition of "the man planting a vineyard": God "brought a vine out of Egypt, and cast out the heathen, and planted it in the land of Canaan," and adds Jeremiah 2:21, "It was a noble vine, a right seed." Cambridge gathers Deuteronomy 32:32, Psalm 80:8-16, Ezekiel 15:1-6 and Hosea 10:1, and Maclaren cites Psalm 80:12-13 for the boar out of the wood that the fence keeps out. Ezekiel 19:10-14 tells the same figure as a lament over a vine plucked up and burned. ⚙ The cluster shows that Mark's opening is not one allusion but a standing prophetic idiom, which is why the hearers need no key.

Psalm 80:8-16 · Jeremiah 2:21 · Ezekiel 19:10-14

basis: Cross-Testament, so no shared Strong's lexeme is computable and none was returned; the recorded basis is the shared figure of a vine planted and fenced by God and then ruined, cited for this passage by JFB (Psalm 80, Jeremiah 2:21), Cambridge (Psalm 80:8-16 among others) and Maclaren (Psalm 80:12-13). Ezekiel 19:10-14 is added here for the same figure and is not named by a voice in the brief.

They mocked the messengers of God structural / thematic: confirmed

JFB makes one verse the whole exposition of vv. 2-5: "2 Chronicles 36:16 is a compendious exposition of these verses. They mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words and misused his prophets." Cambridge cites 2 Chronicles 24:21 and 36:15-16 with the individual cases: Jezebel slaying the prophets of the Lord, Micaiah thrown into a dungeon by Ahab, Zechariah stoned at the commandment of Joash, Jeremiah stoned by the exiles in Egypt. Nehemiah 9:26 and Jeremiah 7:25-26 and 25:4 state the same charge as a summary of the nation's history: God sent his servants, rising early and sending them, and they would not hear. ⚙ Mark's escalation (beaten, struck on the head, killed) is a narrative compression of that recorded pattern, not an allusion to any one episode.

2 Chronicles 36:15-16 · Nehemiah 9:26 · Jeremiah 7:25-26 · Jeremiah 25:4

basis: Cross-Testament, no computable shared lexeme and none returned by the Verifier; the recorded basis is the shared pattern of sent servants beaten, mocked and killed, named for this passage by JFB (2 Chronicles 36:16) and Cambridge (2 Chronicles 24:21; 36:15-16). Jeremiah 7:25-26, Jeremiah 25:4 and Nehemiah 9:26 state the same charge and are added here without a voice in the brief naming them.

Killed and cast outside structural / thematic: confirmed

Mark's order in v. 8 is unique: they killed the son and then threw him out of the vineyard, where Matthew and Luke cast out first. Cambridge registers both the difference and its resonance: the Matthew and Luke order recalls Naboth, whom they "carried forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones that he died" (1 Kings 21:13), and "Him, Who suffered without the gate" (Hebrews 13:12-13; John 19:17), while "the second Evangelist represents them as first killing the son, and then flinging forth the body and denying it the ordinary rites of sepulture." ⚙ On Mark's own wording the outrage is posthumous and the Hebrews parallel fits Matthew and Luke better than it fits Mark. Pulpit nonetheless reads Mark through the harmonized order, which is worth flagging as harmonization rather than exegesis.

1 Kings 21:13 · Hebrews 13:12-13 · John 19:17

basis: The 1 Kings link is cross-Testament and cannot be verbal; the Hebrews and John links are Greek to Greek but were not returned among the Verifier's candidates, so no shared lexeme is recorded for them either. The basis is the motif of a death outside the enclosure, cited for this verse by Cambridge. Stated limit: Cambridge attaches the motif to the Matthew and Luke order, not to Mark's.

The stone in the prophets: foundation, snare, and mountain typological

Cambridge sends the reader from the head of the corner to Isaiah 28:16 and Daniel 2:44, and to Ephesians 2:20 for the apostolic application. Isaiah 8:14-15 supplies the darker half of the figure, a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense over which many fall and are broken, and Cambridge notes that "the penalties of rejecting Him are more fully brought out in Matthew 21:43-44; Luke 20:18," which is where that half of the figure surfaces in the Gospels. Daniel 2:34-35 adds the stone cut without hands that breaks the image and fills the earth. ⚙ These are read together as one figure by the commentators, but they are three distinct images (foundation, snare, smiting stone) and only the Psalm is quoted by Mark. The Daniel connection is the least secure member of the cluster and is offered as a figural reading, not a demonstrated citation.

Isaiah 28:16 · Isaiah 8:14-15 · Daniel 2:34-35

basis: Cross-Testament and therefore never verbal; the reading of the messianic stone as one figure across Psalm 118, Isaiah 28:16, Isaiah 8:14-15 and Daniel 2 is ancient and widely held (Cambridge cites Isaiah 28:16 and Daniel 2:44 on this verse, with Ephesians 2:20), but Mark quotes only Psalm 118 and the figural unity is the interpreters' and this tool's, not the text's own claim.

Beaten, stoned, sawn asunder: how far the record can be pressed flagged: verify source

Cambridge closes his list of persecuted prophets with a line that needs marking: "Isaiah, according to Jewish tradition, was sawn asunder (Hebrews 11:37-38; 2 Chronicles 36:15-16)." ⚙ Hebrews 11:37 says "they were sawn asunder" without naming anyone; the identification with Isaiah comes from later Jewish tradition (the Ascension of Isaiah), not from Scripture. Gill's placing of v. 5 "in the times of the Maccabees" is a comparable inference. Both are recorded here because they are in the sourced commentary, and both are flagged because the canon does not state them.

Hebrews 11:37-38 · 2 Chronicles 24:21

basis: Provenance disputed. Cambridge's link between Hebrews 11:37 and Isaiah rests on extra-canonical Jewish tradition, which Cambridge himself labels as tradition; the Verifier returns no shared lexeme for either reference. 2 Chronicles 24:21 (Zechariah stoned) is the one securely scriptural member and is cross-Testament in any case.

⚙Christ in the Unittypology · verify

AI-generated reading; weigh it against the text.

The beloved Son, last and not another servant ancient/widely-held

⚙ The parable changes category when it changes nouns. Slaves are sent four times; then ἕνα ἀγαπητὸν υἱόν, one beloved son, and Mark's adjective is the word spoken over Jesus at the Jordan and on the mountain. Ellicott records that the adjective is Mark's own, added to Matthew's briefer "he sent unto them his son"; Gill grounds it in the Father's declaration "both at his baptism, and at his transfiguration upon the mount, by a voice from heaven." Maclaren argues that such a saying "clearly involves kindred to the divine in a far other and higher sense than any prophet ever had it. It involves pre-existence," and that "you cannot relieve the New Testament Christ of the responsibility of having made such assertions." Cambridge reads the same word through Hebrews 1:1-2, where God spoke of old by the prophets and last by a Son appointed heir of all things. ἔσχατον is the load-bearing adjective: there is no further envoy in reserve.

Mark 1:11 · Mark 9:7 · Hebrews 1:1-2

The rejected stone made head of the corner ancient/widely-held

⚙ Jesus applies Psalm 118:22-23 to himself in the hearing of the men the parable has just accused, and the application became the standard apostolic one. Cambridge notes the Psalm "is actually twice applied to Him by St Peter, in Acts 4:11; 1 Peter 2:7," and sends the reader to Ephesians 2:20 for the corner stone. Gill states the identification without hedging: "by 'the stone' is meant the same with the son and heir in the parable, even himself, the true Messiah; and by 'the builders', the chief priests, Scribes, and elders." Pulpit adds that the rejection was informed: the verb "implies that the stone was first examined and then deliberately refused," and observes that the image here is the stone of the cornice rather than of the foundation, "uniting and binding together all in one." Henry turns it inward: "it is his doing to exalt him in our hearts, and to set up his throne there."

Psalm 118:22-23 · Acts 4:11 · 1 Peter 2:7 · Ephesians 2:20

The heir killed for his heirship ancient/widely-held

⚙ The tenants name him correctly (ὁ κληρονόμος) and kill him because the name is correct. Cambridge sets the definition against the ordinary human case: he is heir "not as in earthly relations, by the death, but by the free appointment, of the actual possessor," and compares John 11:47-53, where the historical counsel gives as its motive the fear of losing "both their place and nation," which is the tenants' own reasoning transcribed. Gill says the same of the rulers. The irony the parable does not state but arranges: the inheritance they meant to secure by the murder is precisely what v. 9 transfers to others, and Hebrews 1:2 names the murdered Son heir of all things.

John 11:47-53 · Hebrews 1:2

Thrown out of the vineyard ancient/widely-held

⚙ Mark's sequence is his own: killed inside, cast out after. Cambridge reads it as the final indignity, "denying it the ordinary rites of sepulture," and hears behind the Matthew and Luke order both Naboth carried out of the city and the one who "suffered without the gate" (Hebrews 13:12-13; John 19:17). Held honestly, that resonance belongs first to the other two Gospels; in Mark the corpse, not the condemned man, goes outside. Either way the parable tells the hearers the manner of a death that had not yet happened, and Pulpit draws the consequence: by this rebuke "he prepared the way for that death which, within three days, they brought upon him."

Hebrews 13:12-13 · John 19:17

Apparatus & Provenance

The biblical text is the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain (CC0). Hebrew/Greek text, transliteration, morphology and Strong’s are transcribed from the Berean interlinear (CC0) + Strong’s lexicons (PD); the literal renderings, divergence notes, word notes and all synthesis are this tool’s own work (⚙) — fallible; verify them.

Named voices, quoted verbatim from public-domain works:

  • Alexander Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (c. 1905)
  • Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges, — (1880s)
  • Charles Ellicott, Commentary for English Readers (1878)
  • Geneva Study Bible, Marginal Notes (1599)
  • John Gill, Exposition of the Entire Bible (1746–63)
  • Joseph Benson, Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1810s)
  • Matthew Henry, Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible (1706)
  • The Pulpit Commentary, Spence & Exell, eds. (1880s)

Text: BSB with the Berean interlinear and Strong's numbers; the commentary is verbatim public domain, quoted by anchor and named. Three text-critical points in this unit are recorded rather than resolved. (1) In v. 4 the participle rendered "at him they cast stones" is, Ellicott says, "wanting in the best MSS., and probably originated in a marginal note"; Pulpit agrees that λιθοβολήσαντες "is not to be found in the best authorities." The BSB text printed here omits it. (2) Also in v. 4, the verb ἐκεφαλίωσαν (G2775) is genuinely obscure: Cambridge says the word "is nowhere else used in this sense," Pulpit calls the reading "a very unusual word," and Gill preserves Lightfoot's quite different proposal that it means to make up a reckoning. "Struck him over the head" is the contextual sense, not a certain lexical one. (3) In v. 6 Pulpit prefers the reading ἔτι ἕνα εἶχεν υἱὸν ἀγαπητόν, "he had yet one, a beloved son."

Sources: several commentators in the brief carry only cross-references for this unit. Barnes says merely "See this parable explained in the notes at Matthew 21:33-46"; every [Poole] entry in this unit says only "See Poole on Mark 12:1," and Poole's own note on Mark 12:1 is not separately supplied, so Poole is never quoted here. The one substantial entry for that group of commentators is tagged [JFB] at Mark 12:1: it opens with the Jamieson, Fausset and Brown cross-reference to Matthew and then runs on into a long exposition (Psalm 80:8-11, Jeremiah 2:21, Isaiah 5:1-2, 2 Chronicles 36:16, Psalm 118:22) that ends "See Poole on Matthew 21:33." That block is quoted in this synthesis as [JFB] because that is how the brief tags it; a reader should know the tag may be carrying more than one editor's work. Matthew Henry's entry is a single note on 12:1-12 repeated at every verse, so it is quoted once. Maclaren's two entries (at 12:1 and 12:6) and Cambridge's are capped in the brief; the quotations used were taken from within the supplied text.

What is uncertain: the referent of the vineyard is not agreed among the sources, and the synthesis does not settle it. Maclaren reads the theocracy as an institution, Cambridge and Pulpit the Kingdom of God, Gill and Poole the Jewish church and nation; Maclaren himself notes that reading the tenants as the rulers alone "confuses all" if the vineyard is the nation. Allegorical identifications of the fence, the vat and the tower (Gill: law, altar, temple; Pulpit: the middle wall of partition) are recorded as those commentators' readings; Maclaren's caution that it would "probably be going too far to press special meanings" is the position this synthesis takes. The speaker of the answer in v. 9 differs between the Gospels and Pulpit's harmonization is labeled as such. Finally, Cambridge's identification of Isaiah as the prophet "sawn asunder" of Hebrews 11:37 rests on post-biblical Jewish tradition and is flagged in the threads for that reason.

✦ = human, public-domain source, quoted and named. ⚙ = machine synthesis, to be verified. Flagged cross-references are left visible on purpose — the verifier working in the open. “Search the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:11)