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What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants, and will give the vineyard to others.
Mark 12:9 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB What therefore will the lord of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the farmers, and will give the vineyard to others.
  • KJV What shall therefore the lord of the vineyard do? he will come and destroy the husbandmen, and will give the vineyard unto others.
  • NKJV “Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the vinedressers, and give the vineyard to others.
  • NASB What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and put the vine-growers to death, and give the vineyard to others.
  • NLT “What do you suppose the owner of the vineyard will do?” Jesus asked. “I’ll tell you—he will come and kill those farmers and lease the vineyard to others.

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

Jesus declares that the owner will destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others.

Overview

The owner's judgment falls on the wicked tenants, and stewardship passes to others. This points to judgment on the unfaithful leaders and the inclusion of all who, including the Gentiles, bear the fruit of faith. God's purposes advance despite human rebellion, and His kingdom is entrusted to a faithful people.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 29

  • Rom 10:20And Isaiah boldly says: “I was found by those who did not seek Me; I revealed Myself to those who did not ask for Me.”
  • Matt 21:43Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.
  • Rom 9:30–33What then will we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith;
  • Luke 19:27And these enemies of mine who were unwilling for me to rule over them, bring them here and slay them in front of me.’”
  • Isa 29:17In a very short time, will not Lebanon become an orchard, and the orchard seem like a forest?
  • Luke 20:15–16So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them?
  • Zech 13:7–9Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, against the man who is My Companion, declares the LORD of Hosts. Strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn My hand against the little ones.
  • Matt 21:40–41Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard returns, what will he do to those tenants?”
  • Lev 26:23–24And if in spite of these things you do not accept My discipline, but continue to walk in hostility toward Me,
  • Jer 17:3O My mountain in the countryside, I will give over your wealth and all your treasures as plunder, because of the sin of your high places, within all your borders.
  • Isa 32:15–16until the Spirit is poured out upon us from on high. Then the desert will be an orchard, and the orchard will seem like a forest.
  • Deut 4:26–27I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you this day that you will quickly perish from the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess. You will not live long upon it, but will be utterly destroyed.
  • Isa 65:15You will leave behind your name as a curse for My chosen ones, and the Lord GOD will slay you; but to His servants He will give another name.
  • Matt 12:45Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and dwell there; and the final plight of that man is worse than the first. So will it be with this wicked generation.”
  • Luke 19:41–44As Jesus approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He wept over it
  • Matt 3:9–12And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.
  • Lev 26:15–18and if you reject My statutes, despise My ordinances, and neglect to carry out all My commandments, and so break My covenant,
  • Isa 5:5–7Now I will tell you what I am about to do to My vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it will be consumed; I will tear down its wall, and it will be trampled.
  • Matt 23:34–38Because of this, I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and others you will flog in your synagogues and persecute in town after town.
  • Lev 26:27–28But if in spite of all this you do not obey Me, but continue to walk in hostility toward Me,
  • Matt 22:7The king was enraged, and he sent his troops to destroy those murderers and burn their city.
  • Acts 28:23–28So they set a day to meet with Paul, and many people came to the place he was staying. He expounded to them from morning to evening, testifying about the kingdom of God and persuading them about Jesus from the Law of Moses and the Prophets.
  • Mal 1:11For My name will be great among the nations, from where the sun rises to where it sets. In every place, incense and pure offerings will be presented in My name, because My name will be great among the nations,” says the LORD of Hosts.
  • Acts 13:46–48Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “It was necessary to speak the word of God to you first. But since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles.
  • Dan 9:26–27Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and will have nothing. Then the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood, and until the end there will be war; desolations have been decreed.
  • Matt 8:11–13I say to you that many will come from the east and the west to share the banquet with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.
  • Prov 1:24–31Because you refused my call, and no one took my outstretched hand,
  • Josh 23:15But just as every good thing the LORD your God promised you has come to pass, likewise the LORD will bring upon you the calamity He has threatened, until He has destroyed you from this good land He has given you.
  • Deut 28:15–68If, however, you do not obey the LORD your God by carefully following all His commandments and statutes I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (7)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Mark videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Mark 12:9YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on MarkMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 12:9 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.