Mark 12
1 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.
Presently Jesus began to speak to them in parables. "There was once a man," he said, "who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a pit for the wine-press, built a tower, rented it to tenants, and went abroad.
2 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.
At vintage-time he sent a slave to the vine-dressers to collect some of the proceeds of the vineyard;
3 But [after the servant arrived], they grabbed him and beat him, and they did not give him any fruit. Then they sent him away.
but they seized him, and flogged him, and sent him away empty-handed.
4 Later the one who owned the vineyard sent another servant to them. But they beat that one on his head, and they insulted him.
Then he sent another slave to them; and this man they knocked over the head and handled shamefully.
5 Later he sent another servant. That man they killed. They mistreated many other servants [whom he sent]. Some they beat and some they killed.
And he sent another; and him they killed; and many others; beating some, and killing some.
6 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].
He had still one, a Son beloved, He sent him last to them, saying, "‘They will reverence my Son.’
7 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!’
"But those tenants said to themselves. ‘Here is the heir! Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’
8 They seized him and killed him. Then they threw his body outside the vineyard.
"So they took him and killed him, and threw his body out of the vineyard.
9 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.
What will the owner of the Vineyard do?" "He will come and put the tenants to death," they said, "and will give the vineyard to others."
10 [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]!
"Have you not read this Scripture?" (he continued) "The very stone which the builders rejected Has now become the corner-stone;
11 The Lord has done this, and we marvel as we look at it.”
This is the Lord’s doing; It is marvelous in our eyes."
12 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.
And they kept seeking to lay hold on him, but were afraid of the crowd, for they knew well that he had spoken this parable about them; so they left him and went away.
13 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].
But they sent some of the Pharisees to Jesus afterward, and some of the Herodians to entrap him in conversation.
14 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?”
So when they came, they said. "Teacher, we know that you are sincere and are not afraid of any one, for you do not regard the face of men; nay, but you reach the way of God in truth. Is it right to pay poll- tax to Caesar or not?
15 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.”
Shall we pay, or not pay?" But he, knowing well their hypocrisy, said to them. "Why are you testing me? Bring me a dollar for me to look at."
16 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].”
And they brought it. "Whose likeness and inscription is this?" "Caesar’s," they answered.
17 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].
And Jesus said, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God, the things that are God’s." They were amazed at him.
18 [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,
Then came up some Sadducees, men who say there is no resurrection. They too questioned him, saying.
19 “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].
"Teacher, Moses taught us that if a man’s brother die, and leave a wife behind him, but no child, that his brother is to marry the widow and to raise up a family for his brother.
20 [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.
There were once seven brothers, the eldest of whom married a wife, and died leaving no family.
21 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].
The second married her, and died without offspring; the third likewise;
22 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.
and the seven had her, and died without issue.
23 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]?)”
And last of all the woman too died. In the resurrection whose wife shall she be? For the seven had her as wife."
24 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].
"Is not this the reason for your error," Jesus answered them, "that you know not the Scripture nor the power of God?
25 [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].
When they rise from the dead men do not marry, and women are not given in marriage, but they are as the angels are in heaven.
26 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].’
But in regard to the rising again of the dead, have you never read in the Book of Moses, in the passage about the Bush, how God spoke to him, saying, "I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?
27 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.”
God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are in grave error."
28 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?”
Just then up came one of the Scribes who had heard them arguing, and realized that Jesus had answered them admirably. "What commandment," he asked, "is the first of all?"
29 Jesus answered, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, [you people of] Israel! [You must worship] the Lord, our God, our only Lord.
Jesus replied. "The first is. "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord;
30 [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!’
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.
31 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!”
"The second is this, "Thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself. Other command greater than these there is none."
32 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].
"Admirably said, O Teacher," exclaimed the Scribe. "You have truthfully said that He is one,
33 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.”
and that beside him there is none other, and to love him with all one’s heart and with all one’s understanding and with all one’s might, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself is far beyond all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices."
34 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].
Jesus saw that he had answered with discrimination, and said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." After that no one ventured to question him.
35 [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]
While he was teaching in the Temple courts, Jesus in his turn asked. "How is it that the Scribes say that the Christ is the son of David?
36 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]’
David himself said in the Holy Spirit, "The Lord said to my Lord,’Sit at my right hand until I make thy foes the footstool of thy feet.’
37 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].
"David himself then calls him Lord; so how can he be his son?" Now the great mass of the people were wont to listen to him with delight;
38 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.
and in his teaching he said. "Look out for the Scribes who like to walk about in long robes, and to receive salutations in the street, and to have prominent places in the synagogues,
39 [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.
and seats of honor at dinner-parties;
40 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!”
they who consume the property of widows and make long, pretentious prayers. The greater shall their condemnation be."
41 [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].
Then Jesus took his seat opposite the treasury and watched the people putting their offerings into the chest. Many rich people were putting in large sums.
42 Then a poor widow came along and put in two small copper coins, which had a very small value.
There came also a poor widow who dropped in two little coins, worth a cent.
43 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!”
On this he called his disciples to him, and said. "I tell you solemnly that this poor widow has put in more than all who have put their offerings into the treasury;
for they have all put in what they could spare out of their surplus, but she, out of her penury, has put in all that she possessed, her whole living."
