Mark 12:12 (DBY)

Passage

And they sought to lay hold of him, and they feared the crowd; for they knew that he had spoken the parable of them. And they left him and went away.

Nearby Context

Mark 12:10 Have ye not even read this scripture, The stone which they that builded rejected, this has become the corner-stone:

Mark 12:11 this is of [the] Lord, and it is wonderful in our eyes?

Mark 12:12 And they sought to lay hold of him, and they feared the crowd; for they knew that he had spoken the parable of them. And they left him and went away.

Mark 12:13 And they send to him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, that they might catch him in speaking.

Mark 12:14 And they come and say to him, Teacher, we know that thou art true, and carest not for any one; for thou regardest not men's person, but teachest the way of God with truth: Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar or not?

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "sought", "hold", "feared", "crowd", "knew", "spoken", "parable", and "left". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "sought" and "hold", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 11's "this is of the Lord and it..." into verse 13's "And they send to him certain of...", so "sought" and "hold" 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 "sought" and "hold" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.