< Mark 12 >

1 And Jesus began to speak to them in parables: “A man once planted a vineyard, put a fence round it, dug a wine-press, built a tower, and then let it out to tenants and went abroad.
Then Jesus began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a wine vat, and built a watchtower. Then he rented it out to some tenants and went away on a journey.
2 At the proper time he sent a servant to the tenants, to receive from them a share of the produce of the vintage;
At harvest time, he sent a servant to the tenants to collect his share of the fruit of the vineyard.
3 but they seized him, and beat him, and sent him away empty-handed.
But they seized the servant, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed.
4 A second time the owner sent a servant to them; this man, too, the tenants struck on the head, and insulted.
Then he sent them another servant, and they struck him over the head and treated him shamefully.
5 He sent another, but him they killed; and so with many others — some they beat and some they killed.
He sent still another, and this one they killed. He sent many others; some they beat and others they killed.
6 He had still one son, who was very dear to him; and him he sent to them last of all. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.
Finally, having one beloved son, he sent him to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.
7 But those tenants said to one another ‘Here is the heir! Come, let us kill him, and his inheritance will be ours.’
But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’
8 So they seized him, and killed him, and threw his body outside the vineyard.
So they seized the son, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.
9 What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and put the tenants to death, and he will let the vineyard to others.
What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants, and will give the vineyard to others.
10 ‘Have you never read this passage of Scripture? — ‘The very stone which the builders despised has now itself become the corner-stone;
Have you never read this Scripture: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
11 this corner-stone has come from the Lord, and is marvellous in our eyes.’”
This is from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?”
12 After this his enemies were eager to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd; for they saw that it was at them that he had aimed the parable. So they let him alone, and went away.
At this, the leaders sought to arrest Jesus, for they knew that He had spoken this parable against them. But fearing the crowd, they left Him and went away.
13 Afterwards they sent to Jesus some of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, to set a trap for him in the course of conversation.
Later, they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to catch Jesus in His words.
14 These men came to him and said: “Teacher, we know that you are an honest man, and are not afraid of any one, for you pay no regard to a person’s position, but teach the Way of God honestly; are we right in paying taxes to the Emperor, or not?
“Teacher,” they said, “we know that You are honest and seek favor from no one. Indeed, You are impartial and teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay them or not?”
15 Should we pay, or should we not pay?” Knowing their hypocrisy, Jesus said to them: “Why are you testing me? Bring me a florin to look at.”
But Jesus saw through their hypocrisy and said, “Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a denarius to inspect.”
16 And, when they had brought it, he asked: “Whose head and title are these?” “The Emperor’s,” they said;
So they brought it, and He asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?” “Caesar’s,” they answered.
17 and Jesus replied: “Pay to the Emperor what belongs to the Emperor, and to God what belongs to God.” And they wondered at him.
Then Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” And they marveled at Him.
18 Next came some Sadducees — the men who maintain that there is no resurrection. Their question was this —
Then the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus and questioned Him:
19 “Teacher, in our Scriptures Moses decreed that, should a man’s brother die, leaving a widow but no child, the man should take the widow as his wife, and raise up a family for his brother.
“Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man is to marry his brother’s widow and raise up offspring for him.
20 There were once seven brothers; of whom the eldest took a wife, but died and left no family;
Now there were seven brothers. The first one married and died, leaving no children.
21 and the second took her, and died without family; and so did the third.
Then the second one married the widow, but he also died and left no children. And the third did likewise.
22 All the seven died and left no family. The woman herself died last of all.
In this way, none of the seven left any children. And last of all, the woman died.
23 At the resurrection whose wife will she be, all seven brothers having had her as their wife?”
In the resurrection, then, whose wife will she be? For all seven were married to her.”
24 “Is not the reason of your mistake,” answered Jesus, “your ignorance of the Scriptures and of the power of God?
Jesus said to them, “Aren’t you mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God?
25 When men rise from the dead, there is no marrying or being married; but they are as angels in Heaven.
When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage. Instead, they will be like the angels in heaven.
26 “As to the dead, and the fact that they rise, have you never read in the Book of Moses, in the passage about the Bush, how God spoke to him thus — ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’?
But concerning the dead rising, have you not read about the burning bush in the Book of Moses, how God told him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’?
27 He is not God of dead men, but of living. You are greatly mistaken.”
He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken!”
28 Then came up one of the Teachers of the Law who had heard their discussions. Knowing that Jesus had answered them wisely, he asked him this question: “What is the first of all the commandments?”
Now one of the scribes had come up and heard their debate. Noticing how well Jesus had answered them, he asked Him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?”
29 “The first,” answered Jesus, “is — ‘Hear, O Israel; the Lord our God is the one Lord;
Jesus replied, “This is the most important: ‘Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord 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 and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’
31 The second is this — ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thou dost love thyself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”
32 “Wisely answered, Teacher!” exclaimed the Teacher of the Law. “It is true, as you say, that ‘there is one God,’ and that ‘there is no other besides him’;
“Right, Teacher,” the scribe replied. “You have stated correctly that God is One and there is no other but Him,
33 and to ‘love him with all one’s heart, and with all one’s understanding, and with all one’s strength,’ and to ‘love one’s neighbour as one loves oneself’ is far beyond all ‘burnt-offerings and sacrifices.’”
and to love Him with all your heart and with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself, which is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
34 Seeing that he had answered with discernment, Jesus said to him: “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” After that no one ventured to question him further.
When Jesus saw that the man had answered wisely, He said, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And no one dared to question Him any further.
35 While Jesus was teaching in the Temple Courts, he asked: “How is it that the Teachers of the Law say that the Christ is to be David’s son?
While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, He asked, “How can the scribes say that the Christ is the Son of David?
36 David said himself, speaking under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit — ‘The Lord said to my lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I put thy enemies beneath thy feet.’”
Speaking by the Holy Spirit, David himself declared: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand until I put Your enemies under Your feet.”’
37 David himself calls him ‘lord,’ how comes it, then, that he is to be his son?” The mass of the people listened to Jesus with delight.
David himself calls Him ‘Lord.’ So how can He be David’s son?” And the large crowd listened to Him with delight.
38 In the course of his teaching, Jesus said: “See that you are on your guard against the Teachers of the Law, who delight to walk about in long robes, and to be greeted in the streets with respect,
In His teaching Jesus also said, “Watch out for the scribes. They like to walk around in long robes, to receive greetings in the marketplaces,
39 and to have the best seats in the Synagogues, and places of honour at dinner.
and to have the chief seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets.
40 They are the men that rob widows of their homes, and make a pretence of saying long prayers. Their sentence will be all the heavier.”
They defraud widows of their houses, and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will receive greater condemnation.”
41 Then Jesus sat down opposite the chests for the Temple offerings, and watched how the people put money into them. Many rich people were putting in large sums;
As Jesus was sitting opposite the treasury, He watched the crowd putting money into it. And many rich people put in large amounts.
42 but one poor widow came and put in two farthings, which make a half-penny.
Then one poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amounted to a small fraction of a denarius.
43 On this, calling his disciples to him, Jesus said: “I tell you that this poor widow has put in more than all the others who were putting money into the chests;
Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more than all the others into the treasury.
44 for every one else put in something from what he had to spare, while she, in her need, put in all she had — everything that she had to live on.”
For they all contributed out of their surplus, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on.”

< Mark 12 >