Mark 12:7 (DRB)

Passage

But the husbandmen said one to another: This is the heir. Come let us kill him and the inheritance shall be ours.

Nearby Context

Mark 12:5 And again he sent another, and him they killed: and many others, of whom some they beat, and others they killed.

Mark 12:6 Therefore, having yet one son, most dear to him, he also sent him unto them last of all, saying: They will reverence my son.

Mark 12:7 But the husbandmen said one to another: This is the heir. Come let us kill him and the inheritance shall be ours.

Mark 12:8 And laying hold on him, they killed him and cast him out of the vineyard.

Mark 12:9 What therefore will the lord of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy those husbandmen and will give the vineyard to others.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "husbandmen", "said", "another", "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 "Therefore having yet one son most dear..." into verse 8's "And laying hold on him they killed...", 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.