MARK 12:10 Interlinear View

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 12:1–12: Jesus told a parable about some evil grape farmers

In 11:28 the Jewish religious leaders asked Jesus two questions about his authority. In this section Jesus used a parable to answer those question in an indirect way. The Jewish leaders showed that they understood this parable by the way they responded in 12:12.

Jesus’ parable was about a man who owned a grape farm. He told some men to farm it for him and to give him a share of the profit. However, the men refused to give the owner his share. They even mistreated his servants who came to collect the money. When the owner sent his own son, they killed him.

Jesus used the people in the parable to represent the Jewish religious leaders and their actions toward God and toward himself, God’s son. Here are the most likely meanings of the different people and things in the parable:See Ray Summers, Commentary on Luke: Jesus, the Universal Savior, 1972, on the parallel passage in Luke 20:9–19.

The owner of the grape farm	represents	God
The grape farm	represents	Israel and its people
The grape farmers	represent	the Jewish religious leaders
The servants	represent	God’s messengers or prophets
The son	represents	Jesus

It is good to translate this section before you decide on a heading for it.

Here are some other possible headings for this section:

The parable of the vineyard and its farmers

The Parable of the Tenants in the Vineyard (GNT)

There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 21:33–46 and Luke 20:9–19.

12:10a–11

In these verses Jesus quoted Psalm 118:22–23. He quoted this Scripture to refer to himself. The stone was a metaphor that referred to him. The Jewish leaders were like the builders who rejected the stone. They rejected Jesus, but God would reveal that Jesus was the Messiah, like the stone that would make the building stand.

It may be helpful to include a footnote in your translation to explain that Jesus compared himself to the stone in this verse.

Have you never read this Scripture…?: This clause introduces a rhetorical question. Jesus used this clause in two ways:

He used it to introduce a Scripture that illustrated the meaning of his story.
He used it to rebuke the leaders for whom he told his story. The question implied that the leaders should have thought about what this Scripture meant. Their actions implied that they did not understand it or accept its meaning.

There are at least two ways to translate this rhetorical question:

As a rhetorical question. For example:
Didn’t you ever read this in the Scriptures? (NLT)
Why have you never understood this that is written in the Word of God?
As a statement. For example, the NCV says:
Surely you have read this Scripture:

Use the form that is most natural in your language for this context.

this Scripture: The Greek word that the BSB translates as Scripture is used in a special way in the New Testament. It refers to words that God directed someone to write. Such writings had authority because God guided a person to write them. In the New Testament the word Scripture almost always refers to something that was written in the Old Testament.

Here are some other ways to translate the phrase this Scripture:

this statement from God’s written words

this word/message of God that they/someone wrote

The word Scripture is similar to the phrase “it is written” in 9:13c.

12:10a

Have you never read this Scripture:

Have you not read what is written in this scripture? It says,
Surely you have read this scripture. It reads,

12:10b

‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.

‘The stone that the builders refused to use has become the cornerstone of the building.
‘The stone that the builders rejected as not good enough for the building has become the most important stone in it.
‘God has made the rock that the builders did not want the most important rock for making the house strong.

The stone the builders rejected: The word builders refers in general to people who construct a building.Some scholars have suggested that the stone refers to a stone in the temple. Since the text does not specify the type of building, it is good to use a general word in your translation. However, if you must make it explicit, you can use a word for “house.” The temple is sometimes referred to as “God’s house.” The builders in this verse used stones as building material. They thought that one of the stones was not good to use in the building, so they rejected it.

Here is another way to say this:

When the builders were choosing stones to build with, they rejected one of the stones

The stone: The Jews used stones to build most of their houses. It was the most common building material. It may be difficult to translate this verse if people in your area do not use stones to build houses. In that case, you may need to write a footnote to explain that people commonly used stones to build houses in Jesus’ country. You could also make it explicit in the translation that stones were used for building houses. For example:

While they were building a house, the builders decided not to use a certain stone. That very stone became the most important one in the house.

An illustration that shows men building a house with stones and a stone foundation could also be helpful to readers. Because the New Testament writers often referred to Jesus as a “stone,” it is good to maintain this metaphor in your translation.

the builders rejected: The builders chose only the stones that they thought were good quality. But they did not realize that they rejected the best stone. Jesus implied that the Jewish leaders, who rejected him as their Messiah, were acting like the foolish builders.

has become the cornerstone: The Greek text does not say how the rejected stone became the most important stone in the building. In some languages it may be necessary to supply that information. If that is true in your language, you should indicate that God did it.

the cornerstone: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as the cornerstone literally means “head of the corner.” Scholars interpret this phrase in different ways:

It refers to a stone in the corner of the foundation. For example, the NJB says:
the cornerstone (BSB, NLT, KJV, NASB, RSV, REB, NET, GW, NCV, ESV, NJB, JBP)
It refers to a capstone, a stone at the top center of an arched door. For example, the NIV says:
the capstone (NIV)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). However, both interpretations indicate that the stone was a vitally important one. This was the stone that made the whole building strong. In some languages it may therefore be good to indicate that point clearly. Here are some other ways to translate this:

the most important stone of all (CEV)

the stone that makes the whole building strong

the stone that supports the rest of the building

See also 12:10 in the GNT.

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / rquestion

οὐδὲ τὴν Γραφὴν ταύτην ἀνέγνωτε:

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Οὐδέ τήν Γραφήν ταύτην ἀνέγνωτε Λίθον ὅν ἀπεδοκίμασαν οἱ οἰκοδομοῦντες οὗτος ἐγενήθη εἰς κεφαλήν γωνίας)

Jesus is using the question form to rebuke and teach the Jewish leaders. If you would not use the question form for this purpose in your language, you could translate this as a statement or an exclamation. Alternate translation: [I know that you have read this scripture:] or [Surely you have read this scripture!]

Note 2 topic: writing-quotations

οὐδὲ τὴν Γραφὴν ταύτην ἀνέγνωτε

Here Jesus introduces a quotation from an important text, in this case, the Old Testament book of Psalms (see [Psalm 118:22–23](../psa/118/22.md)). If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a comparable phrase that indicates that Jesus is quoting from an important text. Alternate translation: [And have you not read this in the book of Psalms] or [And have you never read what someone wrote in our Scriptures]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / yousingular

οὐδὲ & ἀνέγνωτε

Because Jesus is speaking to the Jewish leaders, the word you here is singular.

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

λίθον ὃν ἀπεδοκίμασαν οἱ οἰκοδομοῦντες, οὗτος ἐγενήθη εἰς κεφαλὴν γωνίας

Here the author of the quotation speaks of a person whom others reject as if he were a stone that builders rejected. He speaks of this person gaining power and respect as if he became the head of the corner. Jesus is applying this quotation to himself, identifying himself with the stone. However, if possible, preserve the metaphor in your translation, or if that is not possible, express the idea in simile form. Alternate translation: [A person who is like a stone that the builders rejected, that person has become like the head of the corner]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

λίθον ὃν ἀπεδοκίμασαν οἱ οἰκοδομοῦντες

Here the author of the quotation is referring to the way people in this culture used stones to build the walls of houses and other buildings. In this case, the people do not want to use the stone for building. If it would be helpful in your language, you could make that idea more explicit. Alternate translation: [A stone that the builders thought was not good enough to use for building]

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

κεφαλὴν γωνίας

The phrase the head of the corner refers to a specific stone that is especially key or important for a structure. It could be a stone at the corner of a wall, a stone at the top of an arch, or another important stone. You could use a term for one of these kinds of stones, or you could refer generally to an important or essential stone. Alternate translation: [the cornerstone] or [the capstone] or [the most important stone]

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)

Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.

Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.

OET interlinear MARK 12:10

SR Greek word order (including unused variant words in grey)

Section 12:1–12: Jesus told a parable about some evil grape farmers

12:10a–11

12:10a

12:10b

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)