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Mk 12:1b ... "A vineyard a man planted, and around it he put a stone wall, ..."

The 2nd and 3rd phrases have these these 6 dialog words, ... Ampelona anthropos efuteusen, kai perietheken fragmon ("A vineyard a man planted, and around it he put a stonewall, ...").

The 6 dialog words are bottom up starting from the two vines planted next to the wall and ending tangent to the top half of the stonewall. This parable is paraphrased from the Vineyard Song of Isaiah. It begins: "Let me sing of my friend's song concerning his vineyard. My friend had a vineyard on a fertile hillside. He dug it up, cleared it of stones, and planted the choicest vines. He built a watchtower and cut out a winepress. Then he looked for the crop of grapes, but it yielded only wild fruit." (Isaiah 5:1-2)

The song refers to Israel, the builder of the vineyard (ampelon), the friend of Jesus (God). The stones cleared from the yard were used to build a "fragmon" (a stonewall). The vineyard is Jerusalem, the "House of Israel," and the grapes are the men of Judah, his cherished fruit. Isaiah 5:7. The object of Mk 12:1 is to build the "House of Israel."

12:1a < Verses > 12:1c