Mark 12
1 And he began to speak to them in parables: A man planted a vineyard, and set a hedge about it, and dug a wine-vat, and built a tower; and let it out to husbandmen, and went abroad.
Then Jesus began to speak to them using illustrated stories. “Once there was a man who planted a vineyard. He put a fence around it, dug a pit for a winepress, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to some farmers, and left on a journey.
2 And at the season he sent to the husbandmen a servant, that he might receive from the husbandmen of the fruits of the vineyard.
When harvest-time came, he sent one of his servants to the tenant farmers to collect some of the grapes from the vineyard.
3 And they took him, and beat him, and sent him away empty-handed.
But they grabbed hold of him, beat him up, and sent him away with nothing.
4 And again he sent to them another servant; and him they wounded in the head, and treated shamefully.
So the man sent another servant. They hit him over the head and abused him.
5 And he sent another; and him they killed; and many others, beating some, and killing some.
He sent another servant, and this one they killed. He sent many other servants, and they beat some of them and killed others.
6 Still he had one beloved son; he sent him last to them, saying, They will respect my son.
In the end the only one left was his son whom he loved, and eventually he sent him, thinking ‘they will respect my son.’
7 But those husbandmen said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.
But the farmers said to themselves, ‘Here's the owner's heir—if we kill him, we can get what he would have inherited!’
8 And they took him and killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard.
So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.
9 What will the lord of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the husbandmen, and will give the vineyard to others.
Now what is the owner of the vineyard going to do? He will come and kill those farmers, and then he will lease the vineyard to others.
10 And have ye not read this scripture: “The stone which the builders rejected, the same hath become the cornerstone;
Haven't you even read this Scripture: ‘The stone rejected by the builders has become the chief cornerstone.
11 from the Lord did this come, and it is marvelous in our eyes”?
This is from the Lord, and it's marvelous to see!’?”
12 And they sought to seize him, but feared the multitude; for they knew that he spoke the parable against them. And they left him, and went away.
The Jewish leaders tried to have him arrested because they realized that the illustration was directed at them, but they were afraid of the crowd. So they left him alone and went away.
13 And they send to him some of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, to ensnare him in speech.
Later they sent some Pharisees with some of Herod's supporters to Jesus in an attempt to catch him out by what he said.
14 And they come and say to him, Teacher, we know that thou art true, and carest for no one; for thou regardest not the person of men, but teachest the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not?
They arrived and said, “Teacher, we know you are a truthful person and you don't look for approval, because you don't care about status or position. Instead you teach God's way in accordance with the truth. So is it right to pay tribute to Caesar or not?
15 Shall we give, or shall we not give? But he, seeing their hypocrisy, said to them, Why are ye trying me? Bring me a denary, that I may see it.
Should we pay up, or should we refuse?” Jesus, realizing how hypocritical they were, asked them, “Why are you trying to catch me out? Bring me a coin to look at.”
16 And they brought one. And he saith to them, Whose is this image and inscription? And they said to him, Caesar's.
They gave him a coin. “Whose is this image, and whose inscription?” Jesus asked them. “Caesar's,” they replied.
17 And Jesus said to them, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. And they marveled at him exceedingly.
“Then give back to Caesar what belongs to him, and give back to God what belongs to him,” Jesus told them. They were amazed at his reply.
18 Then come to him Sadducees, who say that there is no resurrection; and they asked him, saying,
Then the Sadducees, who deny the resurrection, came and asked a question:
19 Teacher, Moses wrote to us, “If a man's brother die, and leave a wife and no child, his brother shall take his wife, and raise up seed to his brother.”
“Teacher, Moses instructed us that if a man dies, leaving his widow childless, then his brother should marry his wife, and have children by her on his behalf.
20 There were seven brothers; and the first took a wife, and dying left no seed.
Once there were seven brothers. The first one got married, and then died without having children.
21 And the second took her and died, leaving no seed; and the third likewise.
The second married his widow, and then died, childless. The third did the same.
22 And the seven left no seed. Last of all, the woman also died.
In fact all seven died without having children. In the end the woman died too.
23 In the resurrection, when they have risen, of which of them will she be wife? for the seven had her for a wife.
In the resurrection, whose wife will she be, because she was the wife of all seven brothers?”
24 Jesus said to them, Do ye not err on this account, that ye know not the Scriptures, nor the power of God?
Jesus told them, “This proves you're mistaken, and that you don't know the Scriptures or the power of God.
25 For when they have risen from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels in heaven.
When the dead rise, they don't marry, and aren't given in marriage. They're like the angels in heaven.
26 And concerning the dead, that they are raised, have ye not read in the book 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 concerning the resurrection, haven't you read in Moses' writings the story of the burning bush, where God spoke to Moses and told him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?’
27 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. Ye err greatly.
He's not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are completely mistaken!”
28 And one of the scribes came up, having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which commandment is first of all?
One of the religious teachers came and heard them arguing. He recognized that Jesus had given them a good answer. So he asked him, “Which is the most important commandment of all?”
29 Jesus answered, The first is, “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord;
Jesus replied, “The first commandment is, ‘Hear, Israel, the Lord our God is one.
30 and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength.”
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your spirit, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’
31 The second is this: “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” There is no other commandment greater than these.
The second is ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There's no more important commandment than these.”
32 And the scribe said to him, In truth, Teacher, thou hast well said, that He is one, and that there is no other but he;
“That's right, Teacher,” the man replied. “It's true as you said that God is one, and there is no other.
33 and to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as one's self, is more than all the whole burnt-offerings and the sacrifices.
We are to love him with all our heart, all our understanding, and all our strength, and we are to love our neighbor as ourselves. This is far more important than offerings and sacrifices.”
34 And Jesus, perceiving that he answered wisely, said to him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And after this no one dared to question him.
Jesus saw that he gave a thoughtful answer, and said, “You're not far from the kingdom of God.” After this no one was brave enough to ask him any more questions.
35 And Jesus answered and said, while he was teaching in the temple, How is it that the scribes say, that the Christ is David's son?
While Jesus was teaching in the Temple, he asked, “Why do the religious teachers state that Christ is the son of David?
36 David himself said in the Holy Spirit, “The Lord said to my lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool.”
As David himself declared, inspired by the Holy Spirit, that the Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.’
37 David himself calleth him lord; and how can he be his son? And the great multitude heard him gladly.
Since David himself calls him Lord, how can he be David's son?” The large crowd listened to what Jesus said with great delight.
38 And he said in his teaching, Beware of the scribes, who like to walk about in long robes, and love salutations in the markets,
Jesus continued to teach them, saying, “Beware of religious leaders! They love to walk around in long robes, to be greeted respectfully in the marketplaces.
39 and the chief seats in the synagogues, and the first places at feasts;
They love to have the most important seats in the synagogues, and the best places at banquets.
40 who devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayers. These will receive a far greater condemnation.
They cheat widows out of what they own, and cover up the kind of people they really are with long-winded prayers. They will receive severe condemnation in the judgment.”
41 And he sat over against the treasury, and was beholding how the people cast money into the treasury. And many that were rich were casting in much.
Jesus sat down opposite the treasury collection box, watching people tossing in coins. Many of the rich were extravagantly throwing in a lot of money.
42 And a certain poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a farthing.
Then a poor widow came along and put in just two small coins.
43 And he called to him his disciples, and said to them, Truly do I say to you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than all those who are casting into the treasury.
He called his disciples together and told them, “I tell you the truth: this poor widow has put in more than all the rest together.
44 For they all threw in of their abundance; but she out of her penury threw in all that she had, her whole living.
All of them gave from their wealth what they had, but she gave from her poverty what she didn't have. She put in all she had to live on.”
