“But the tenant farmers said to one another, ‘Here comes the heir to this estate. Let’s kill him and get the estate for ourselves!’
Parallel translations
- WEB But those farmers said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’
- KJV But those husbandmen said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be our’s.
- BSB But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’
- NKJV But those vinedressers said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’
- NASB But those vine-growers said to one another, ‘This is the heir; come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours!’
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The tenants plot to kill the heir so they can seize the inheritance.
Overview
The tenants' murderous scheme exposes the depth of their rebellion and greed. By recognizing him as the heir yet resolving to kill him, they sin against full knowledge. The plot mirrors the religious leaders' own plan to put Jesus to death.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Gen 3:15I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will bruise your head, and you will bruise his heel.”
- Isa 53:7–8He was oppressed, yet when he was afflicted he didn’t open his mouth. As a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and as a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he didn’t open his mouth.
- Gen 37:20Come now therefore, and let’s kill him, and cast him into one of the pits, and we will say, ‘An evil animal has devoured him.’ We will see what will become of his dreams.”
- Acts 7:52Which of the prophets didn’t your fathers persecute? They killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One, of whom you have now become betrayers and murderers.
- Matt 2:16Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked by the wise men, was exceedingly angry, and sent out, and killed all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all the surrounding countryside, from two years old and under, according to the exact time which he had learned from the wise men.
- John 11:47–50The chief priests therefore and the Pharisees gathered a council, and said, “What are we doing? For this man does many signs.
- Acts 2:23him, being delivered up by the determined counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by the hand of lawless men, crucified and killed;
- Acts 13:27–28For those who dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they didn’t know him, nor the voices of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning him.
- Isa 49:7Yahweh, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, says to him whom man despises, to him whom the nation abhors, to a servant of rulers: “Kings shall see and rise up; princes, and they shall worship; because of Yahweh who is faithful, even the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”
- Matt 2:3–13When King Herod heard it, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
- Ps 2:2–3The kings of the earth take a stand, and the rulers take counsel together, against Yahweh, and against his Anointed, saying,
- Acts 5:28saying, “Didn’t we strictly command you not to teach in this name? Behold, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and intend to bring this man’s blood on us.”
- Ps 22:12–15Many bulls have surrounded me. Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me.
- Mark 12:12They tried to seize him, but they feared the multitude; for they perceived that he spoke the parable against them. They left him, and went away.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Mark drives urgently to the cross, showing Jesus the Son of God as the suffering Servant who 'came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'
How Mark 12:7 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.