Mark 12:7 (ASV)

Passage

But those husbandmen said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours.

Nearby Context

Mark 12:5 And he sent another; and him they killed: and many others; beating some, and killing some.

Mark 12:6 He had yet one, a beloved son: he sent him last unto them, saying, They will reverence my son.

Mark 12:7 But those husbandmen said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours.

Mark 12:8 And they took him, and killed him, and cast him forth out of the vineyard.

Mark 12:9 What therefore will the lord of the vineyard do? he will come and destroy the husbandmen, and will give the vineyard unto others.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "husbandmen", "said", "themselves", "heir", "come", "kill", "inheritance", and "shall". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "husbandmen" and "said", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 6's "He had yet one a beloved son..." into verse 8's "And they took him and killed him...", so "husbandmen" and "said" belong inside that flow. In Mark context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "husbandmen" and "said" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.