Mark

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