Mark 12
1 And He began to speak to them in allegories: “A man planted a vineyard, and put a hedge around, and dug a wine vat, and built a tower, and gave it out to farmers, and went abroad;
Then Jesus told [those Jewish leaders] a parable. [He wanted to show what God would do to those who rejected the former prophets and himself. He said], “A certain man planted a vineyard. He built a fence around it [in order to protect it]. He made a stone tank [to collect the juice that] they would press [out of the grapes]. He also built a tower [for someone to sit in to guard his vineyard]. Then he leased the vineyard to some men to care for it and [to] give him some of the [grapes] in return. Then he went away to another country.
2 and he sent to the farmers at the due time a servant, that from the farmers he may receive from the fruit of the vineyard,
When the time came to harvest the [grapes], he sent a servant to the men [who were taking care of the vineyard] in order to receive from them his share of the grapes that the vineyard had produced.
3 and they, having taken him, severely beat [him], and sent him away empty.
But [after the servant arrived], they grabbed him and beat him, and they did not give him any fruit. Then they sent him away.
4 And again he sent to them another servant, and having cast stones at that one, they wounded [him] in the head, and sent [him] away—dishonored.
Later the one who owned the vineyard sent another servant to them. But they beat that one on his head, and they insulted him.
5 And again he sent another, and that one they killed; and many others, some beating, and some killing.
Later he sent another servant. That man they killed. They mistreated many other servants [whom he sent]. Some they beat and some they killed.
6 Having yet therefore one son—his beloved—he also sent him to them last, saying, They will respect my son;
The man still had one other [person with him]. It was his son. He loved him very much. So, finally he sent his son to them because he thought that they would respect him [and give him some of the grapes].
7 and those farmers said among themselves, This is the heir, come, we may kill him, and the inheritance will be ours;
But [when they saw his son coming], those men who were looking after the vineyard said to each other, ‘Look! Here comes the man who will some day inherit the vineyard! So let’s kill him in order that this vineyard will be ours!’
8 and having taken him, they killed, and cast [him] forth outside the vineyard.
They seized him and killed him. Then they threw his body outside the vineyard.
9 What therefore will the lord of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the farmers, and will give the vineyard to others.
So (do you know what the man who owns the vineyard will do?/I will tell you what the man who owns the vineyard will do [RHQ]). He will come, and he will kill those evil men who were taking care of his vineyard. Then he will arrange for other people to take care of it.
10 And this Writing you did not read: A stone that the builders rejected, it became the head of a corner;
[Now think carefully about these words], which you have read [in] the Scriptures: The men who were building the building rejected one stone. But others [put that same stone in its proper place, and] it has become the most important stone in the building [MET]!
11 this was from the LORD, and it is wonderful in our eyes.”
The Lord has done this, and we marvel as we look at it.”
12 And they were seeking to lay hold on Him, and they feared the multitude, for they knew that He spoke the allegory against them, and having left Him, they went away;
Then [the Jewish leaders] realized that he was accusing them when he told this story [about what those wicked people did]. So they wanted to seize him. But they were afraid of what the crowds [would do if they did that]. So they left him and went away.
13 and they send to Him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, that they may ensnare Him in discourse,
The [Jewish leaders] sent to [Jesus] some Pharisees [who thought that the Jews should pay only the tax that their own Jewish authorities required people to pay]. They also sent some members of the party that supported Herod [Antipas and the Roman government]. They wanted to make Jesus say something wrong [that would make one of those groups very angry with him].
14 and they having come, say to Him, “Teacher, we have known that You are true, and You are not caring for anyone, for You do not look to the face of men, but in truth teach the way of God; is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar or not? May we give, or may we not give?”
After they arrived, they said to him [deceivingly], “Teacher, we know that you [teach] the truth. We also know that you are not concerned about [what] people [say about you, even if an important person does not like what you say]. Instead, you teach truthfully what God wants [us to do]. So [tell us what you think about this matter: ] Is it right that we pay taxes to the Roman government, or not [MTY]? Should we pay the taxes, or should we not pay them?”
15 And He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why do you tempt Me? Bring Me a denarius, that I may see”;
Jesus knew that they did not really want to know [what God wanted them to do]. So he said to them, “(I [know that] you are [just] trying to make me say something wrong for which you can arrest me./Why are you [just] trying to make me say something wrong for which you can arrest me?) [RHQ] [But I will answer your question anyway]. Bring me a coin so that I might [ask you something after] I look at it.”
16 and they brought, and He says to them, “Whose [is] this image, and the inscription?” And they said to Him, “Caesar’s”;
After they brought him a coin, he asked them, “Whose picture is [on] this [coin]? And [whose] name [is on it]?” They replied, “It is a picture and the name of Caesar, [the man who rules the Roman government].”
17 and Jesus answering said to them, “Give back the things of Caesar to Caesar, and the things of God to God”; and they wondered at Him.
Then Jesus said to them, “[That is correct, so] give to the government [MTY] what they [require], and give to God what he [requires].” They were [frustrated at his answer but] amazed at what he said, [because they were not able to accuse him of anything because of what he said].
18 And the Sadducees come to Him, who say there is not a resurrection, and they questioned Him, saying,
[Men who belong to the] Sadducee [sect] deny that people become alive again after they die. [In order to discredit] Jesus [by ridiculing the idea that people will live again, some of] them came to him and asked him,
19 “Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if anyone’s brother may die, and may leave a wife, and may leave no children, that his brother may take his wife, and raise up seed to his brother.
“Teacher, Moses wrote for us [Jews] that if a man who has no children dies, his brother should marry the dead man’s widow. [Then if those two bear children, everyone will consider that those children are the] children of the man who died, [and in that way the dead man will continue to have descendants].
20 There were then seven brothers, and the first took a wife, and dying, he left no seed;
[So here is an example]. There were seven boys [in one family]. The oldest one married [a woman], but [he and his wife] did not bear any children. Then he [later] died.
21 and the second took her, and died, not having left seed, and the third in like manner,
The second [brother followed this law and] married that woman and he, too, did not bear any children. Then he [later] died. The third [brother did] like [his other brothers did. But he also did not bear any children, and later died].
22 and the seven took her, and left no seed, last of all the woman also died;
Eventually all seven [brothers married that woman, one by one], but they had no children, and one by one they died. Afterwards the woman died, too.
23 in the resurrection, then, whenever they may rise, of which of them will she be wife—for the seven had her as wife?”
Therefore, [if it were true what some people say, that people will become alive again after they die], whose wife do you think that woman will be when people become alive again? ([Keep in mind that] she was married to all seven [brothers]!/She was married to all seven [brothers, so how can anyone decide] [RHQ]?)”
24 And Jesus answering said to them, “Do you not go astray because of this, not knowing the Writings, nor the power of God?
Jesus replied to them, “You are certainly wrong [RHQ]. You do not know [what they have written in] the Scriptures [about this]. You also do not understand God’s power [to make people alive again].
25 For when they may rise out of the dead, they neither marry nor are they given in marriage, but are as messengers who are in the heavens.
[That woman will not be the wife of any of them], because when people have become alive again, instead of men having wives and women having husbands, they will be like the angels in heaven, [who do not marry].
26 And concerning the dead, that they rise: have you not read in the Scroll of Moses (at the bush), how God spoke to him, saying, I [am] the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob;
But as to people becoming alive again after they die, in the book that Moses [wrote, he said something about people who have died] that I am sure that you have read [RHQ]. When Moses [was looking at] the bush [that was burning], God said to him, ‘I am the God whom Abraham [worships] and the God whom Isaac [worships] and the God whom Jacob [worships].’
27 He is not the God of dead men, but a God of living men; you then go greatly astray.”
It is not dead people who worship God. It is living people who worship him. [Abraham, Isaac and Jacob died long before Moses lived, but God said that they were still worshipping him, so we know their spirits were still alive]! So your [claim that dead people do not become alive again] is very wrong.”
28 And one of the scribes having come near, having heard them disputing, knowing that He answered them well, questioned Him, “Which is the first command of all?”
A man who taught the [Jewish] laws heard their discussion. He knew that Jesus answered the question well. So he stepped forward and asked Jesus, “Which commandment is the most important?”
29 And Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commands—Hear, O Israel: The LORD is our God, the LORD is one;
Jesus answered, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, [you people of] Israel! [You must worship] the Lord, our God, our only Lord.
30 and you will love the LORD your God out of all your heart, and out of all your soul, and out of all your understanding, and out of all your strength—this [is] the first command;
[You must show that you love him in all the ways that you live] Show it in all that you want and feel, in all that you think, and in all that you do!’
31 and the second [is] like [it], this, You will love your neighbor as yourself—there is no other command greater than these.”
The next [most important commandment] is: ‘You must love people you come in contact with as much as you love yourself.’ No other commandment is more important than these two!”
32 And the scribe said to Him, “Well, Teacher, in truth You have spoken that there is one God, and there is none other but He;
The man said to Jesus, “Teacher, [you have answered] well. You correctly said that he is the only [God] and that there is no other God [we must worship/obey].
33 and to love Him out of all the heart, and out of all the understanding, and out of all the soul, and out of all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as one’s self, is more than all the whole burnt-offerings and the sacrifices.”
You have also said correctly that we ([should/must show that we]) love God by all that we are, by all that we think, and by the way that we live. And you have said correctly that we must love (people with whom we come in contact/others) as much as we love ourselves. And you have also implied that doing these things [pleases God] more than offering/giving animals to him or burning [other] sacrifices.”
34 And Jesus, having seen him that he answered with understanding, said to him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God”; and no one dared question Him anymore.
Jesus realized that this man had answered wisely. So he said to him, “[I perceive that] you will soon [decide to let] God rule your life.” After that, [the Jewish leaders] were afraid to ask him any more questions [like that to try to trap him].
35 And Jesus answering said, teaching in the temple, “How do the scribes say that the Christ is son of David?
[Later], while he was teaching in the Temple [courtyard], Jesus said [to the people], “These men who teach the [Jewish] laws, (they must be wrong when they say that the Messiah is [merely] a descendant of [King] David!/why do they say that the Messiah is [merely] a descendant of [King] David?) [RHQ]
36 For David himself said in the Holy Spirit, The LORD said to my Lord, Sit on My right hand, Until I place Your enemies—Your footstool;
The Holy Spirit caused David himself to say [about the Messiah], God said to my Lord, ‘Sit here beside me at the place where I will highly honor you! Sit here while I completely defeat your enemies! [MTY]’
37 therefore David himself calls Him Lord, and from where is He his son?” And the great multitude were hearing Him gladly,
Therefore, [because] David himself calls [the Messiah] ‘my Lord,’ (the Messiah cannot be [just] a man who descended [from King David!]/how can the Messiah be [just] a man who descended [from King David]?) [RHQ] [He must be much greater than David]”! Many people listened to him gladly [as he taught those things].
38 and He was saying to them in His teaching, “Beware of the scribes who will to walk in long robes, and love salutations in the marketplaces,
While Jesus was teaching [the people], he said to them, “Beware that you [do not act like] the men who teach our [Jewish] laws. They [like people to honor them, so] they put on long robes and walk around [in order to show people how important they are]. They also like people to greet them [respectfully] in the marketplaces.
39 and first seats in the synagogues, and first couches at the banquets,
[They like to sit] in the most important seats in our (synagogue/Jewish meeting place). At festivals, [they like to sit in] the seats where the most honored people sit.
40 who are devouring the widows’ houses, and for a pretense are making long prayers; these will receive more abundant judgment.”
They (swindle/take for themselves) the houses [and property] of widows by cheating them. [Then] they pretend [that they are good] by praying long prayers [publicly. God] will certainly punish them severely!”
41 And Jesus having sat down opposite the treasury, was beholding how the multitude puts brass into the treasury, and many rich were putting in much,
[Later], Jesus sat down [in the Temple courtyard opposite the boxes in which people put offerings. As he was sitting there], he watched as all the people put money in the box. Many rich people put in large amounts [of money].
42 and having come, a poor widow put in two mites, which are a penny.
Then a poor widow came along and put in two small copper coins, which had a very small value.
43 And having called near His disciples, He says to them, “Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those putting into the treasury;
He gathered his disciples around him and said to them, “The truth is that these other people have a lot of money, [but] they gave [only a small part of it]. But this woman, who is very poor, has put in all the money that she had to pay for the things she needs. [So God considers that] this poor widow has put more money into the box than all the other people!”
44 for all, out of their abundance, put in, but she, out of her want, put in all that she had—all her living.”
