Κατα Ματθαιον 22
1 Καὶ ἀποκριθεὶς ὁ Ἰησοῦς πάλιν εἶπεν αὐτοῖς ἐν παραβολαῖς, λέγων,
Jesus spoke to them using more illustrated stories.
2 Ὡμοιώθη ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν ἀνθρώπῳ βασιλεῖ, ὅστις ἐποίησε γάμους τῷ υἱῷ αὐτοῦ·
“The kingdom of heaven is like a king who organized a wedding celebration for his son,” Jesus explained.
3 καὶ ἀπέστειλε τοὺς δούλους αὐτοῦ καλέσαι τοὺς κεκλημένους εἰς τοὺς γάμους, καὶ οὐκ ἤθελον ἐλθεῖν.
“He sent out his servants to everyone who was invited to the wedding to tell them to come, but they refused.
4 Πάλιν ἀπέστειλεν ἄλλους δούλους, λέγων, Εἴπατε τοῖς κεκλημένοις. Ἰδού, τὸ ἄριστόν μου ἡτοίμασα, οἱ ταῦροί μου καὶ τὰ σιτιστὰ τεθυμένα, καὶ πάντα ἕτοιμα· δεῦτε εἰς τοὺς γάμους.
So he sent out more servants, with the instructions, ‘Tell those who are invited that I've prepared the wedding banquet. The bulls and fattened calves have been killed—everything's ready. So come to the wedding!’
5 Οἱ δὲ ἀμελήσαντες ἀπῆλθον, ὁ μὲν εἰς τὸν ἴδιον ἀγρόν, ὁ δὲ εἰς τὴν ἐμπορίαν αὐτοῦ·
But they ignored the invitation and left. One went to his fields; another to take care of his business.
6 οἱ δὲ λοιποὶ κρατήσαντες τοὺς δούλους αὐτοῦ ὕβρισαν καὶ ἀπέκτειναν.
The rest grabbed the king's servants, mistreated them, and killed them.
7 Καὶ ἀκούσας ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐκεῖνος ὠργίσθη, καὶ πέμψας τὰ στρατεύματα αὐτοῦ ἀπώλεσε τοὺς φονεῖς ἐκείνους, καὶ τὴν πόλιν αὐτῶν ἐνέπρησε.
The king became furious. He sent his soldiers to destroy those murderers and burn down their town.
8 Τότε λέγει τοῖς δούλοις αὐτοῦ, Ὁ μὲν γάμος ἕτοιμός ἐστιν, οἱ δὲ κεκλημένοι οὐκ ἦσαν ἄξιοι.
Then the king said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those who were invited didn't deserve to attend.
9 Πορεύεσθε οὖν ἐπὶ τὰς διεξόδους τῶν ὁδῶν, καὶ ὅσους ἂν εὕρητε, καλέσατε εἰς τοὺς γάμους.
Go into the streets and invite everyone you find to come to the wedding.’
10 Καὶ ἐξελθόντες οἱ δοῦλοι ἐκεῖνοι εἰς τὰς ὁδοὺς συνήγαγον πάντας ὅσους εὗρον, πονηρούς τε καὶ ἀγαθούς· καὶ ἐπλήσθη ὁ γάμος ἀνακειμένων.
So the servants went out into the streets and brought back everyone they could find, both the good and the bad. The wedding hall was full.
11 Εἰσελθὼν δὲ ὁ βασιλεὺς θεάσασθαι τοὺς ἀνακειμένους εἶδεν ἐκεῖ ἄνθρωπον οὐκ ἐνδεδυμένον ἔνδυμα γάμου·
But when the king came in to meet the guests, he noticed a man who didn't have a wedding robe on.
12 καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ, Ἑταῖρε, πῶς εἰσῆλθες ὧδε μὴ ἔχων ἔνδυμα γάμου; Ὁ δὲ ἐφιμώθη.
He asked him, ‘My friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?’ The man had nothing to say.
13 Τότε εἶπεν ὁ βασιλεὺς τοῖς διακόνοις, Δήσαντες αὐτοῦ πόδας καὶ χεῖρας, ἄρατε αὐτὸν καὶ ἐκβάλετε εἰς τὸ σκότος τὸ ἐξώτερον· ἐκεῖ ἔσται ὁ κλαυθμὸς καὶ ὁ βρυγμὸς τῶν ὀδόντων.
Then the king told his servants, ‘Bind his hands and feet, and throw him out into the dark, where there'll be crying and grinding of teeth.’
14 Πολλοὶ γάρ εἰσι κλητοί, ὀλίγοι δὲ ἐκλεκτοί.
For many are invited, but few are chosen.”
15 Τότε πορευθέντες οἱ Φαρισαῖοι συμβούλιον ἔλαβον ὅπως αὐτὸν παγιδεύσωσιν ἐν λόγῳ.
Then the Pharisees left and met together to plot how they could trap him by what he said.
16 Καὶ ἀποστέλλουσιν αὐτῷ τοὺς μαθητὰς αὐτῶν μετὰ τῶν Ἡρῳδιανῶν, λέγοντες, Διδάσκαλε, οἴδαμεν ὅτι ἀληθὴς εἶ, καὶ τὴν ὁδὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐν ἀληθείᾳ διδάσκεις, καὶ οὐ μέλει σοι περὶ οὐδενός· οὐ γὰρ βλέπεις εἰς πρόσωπον ἀνθρώπων.
They sent their disciples to him, together with some of Herod's supporters. “Teacher, we know you are a honest man, and that you teach God's way is the truth,” they began. “You don't allow yourself to be influenced by anyone, and you don't care about rank or status.
17 Εἰπὲ οὖν ἡμῖν, τί σοι δοκεῖ; Ἔξεστι δοῦναι κῆνσον Καίσαρι, ἢ οὔ;
So let us know your opinion. Is it right to pay Caesar's taxes, or not?”
18 Γνοὺς δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς τὴν πονηρίαν αὐτῶν εἶπε, Τί με πειράζετε, ὑποκριταί;
Jesus knew their motives were evil. He asked them, “Why are you trying to trap me, you hypocrites?
19 Ἐπιδείξατέ μοι τὸ νόμισμα τοῦ κήνσου. Οἱ δὲ προσήνεγκαν αὐτῷ δηνάριον.
Show me the coin that is used to pay the tax.” They brought a denarius coin to him.
20 Καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς, Τίνος ἡ εἰκὼν αὕτη καὶ ἡ ἐπιγραφή;
“Whose image and whose title is inscribed here?” he asked them.
21 Λέγουσιν αὐτῷ, Καίσαρος. Τότε λέγει αὐτοῖς, Ἀπόδοτε οὖν τὰ Καίσαρος Καίσαρι, καὶ τὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ τῷ Θεῷ.
“Caesar's,” they replied. “You should give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and to God what belongs to God,” he told them.
22 Καὶ ἀκούσαντες ἐθαύμασαν· καὶ ἀφέντες αὐτὸν ἀπῆλθον.
When they heard Jesus' answer they were stunned. They went away and left him.
23 Ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ προσῆλθον αὐτῷ Σαδδουκαῖοι, οἱ λέγοντες μὴ εἶναι ἀνάστασιν, καὶ ἐπηρώτησαν αὐτόν,
Later the same day some Sadducees came to see him. (They are the ones who say there's no resurrection.)
24 λέγοντες, Διδάσκαλε, Μωσῆς εἶπεν, Ἐάν τις ἀποθάνῃ μὴ ἔχων τέκνα, ἐπιγαμβρεύσει ὁ ἀδελφὸς αὐτοῦ τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἀναστήσει σπέρμα τῷ ἀδελφῷ αὐτοῦ.
They asked him, “Teacher, Moses said that if a married man dies without having children, his brother should marry his widow and have children on behalf of his brother.
25 Ἦσαν δὲ παρ᾽ ἡμῖν ἑπτὰ ἀδελφοί· καὶ ὁ πρῶτος γαμήσας ἐτελεύτησε· καὶ μὴ ἔχων σπέρμα, ἀφῆκε τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ τῷ ἀδελφῷ αὐτοῦ.
Well, once there were seven brothers here with us. The first married, and died, and since he had no children he left his widow to his brother.
26 Ὁμοίως καὶ ὁ δεύτερος, καὶ ὁ τρίτος, ἕως τῶν ἑπτά.
The same thing happened to the second and third husband, right up to the seventh.
27 Ὕστερον δὲ πάντων ἀπέθανε καὶ ἡ γυνή.
In the end the woman died too.
28 Ἐν τῇ οὖν ἀναστάσει, τίνος τῶν ἑπτὰ ἔσται γυνή; Πάντες γὰρ ἔσχον αὐτήν.
So when the resurrection takes place, whose wife of the seven brothers will she be, for she married all of them?”
29 Ἀποκριθεὶς δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς, Πλανᾶσθε, μὴ εἰδότες τὰς γραφάς, μηδὲ τὴν δύναμιν τοῦ Θεοῦ.
Jesus replied, “Your mistake is you don't know Scripture or what God can do.
30 Ἐν γὰρ τῇ ἀναστάσει οὔτε γαμοῦσιν, οὔτε ἐκγαμίζονται, ἀλλ᾽ ὡς ἄγγελοι τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐν οὐρανῷ εἰσι.
For in the resurrection people don't marry, and they aren't given in marriage either—they're like the angels in heaven.
31 Περὶ δὲ τῆς ἀναστάσεως τῶν νεκρῶν, οὐκ ἀνέγνωτε τὸ ῥηθὲν ὑμῖν ὑπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ, λέγοντος,
As for the resurrection of the dead—haven't you read what God said to you,
32 Ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ Θεὸς Ἀβραάμ, καὶ ὁ Θεὸς Ἰσαάκ, καὶ ὁ Θεὸς Ἰακώβ; Οὐκ ἔστιν ὁ Θεὸς Θεὸς νεκρῶν, ἀλλὰ ζώντων.
‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He's not the God of the dead, but of the living.”
33 Καὶ ἀκούσαντες οἱ ὄχλοι ἐξεπλήσσοντο ἐπὶ τῇ διδαχῇ αὐτοῦ.
When the crowds heard what he said, they were amazed at his teaching.
34 Οἱ δὲ Φαρισαῖοι, ἀκούσαντες ὅτι ἐφίμωσε τοὺς Σαδδουκαίους, συνήχθησαν ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτό.
When the Pharisees heard that he'd left the Sadducees speechless, they got together and went to ask some more questions.
35 Καὶ ἐπηρώτησεν εἷς ἐξ αὐτῶν νομικός, πειράζων αὐτόν, καὶ λέγων,
One of them, who was a legal expert, asked him a question to try to trap him:
36 Διδάσκαλε, ποία ἐντολὴ μεγάλη ἐν τῷ νόμῳ;
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?”
37 Ὁ δὲ Ἰησοῦς ἔφη αὐτῷ, Ἀγαπήσεις Κύριον τὸν Θεόν σου, ἐν ὅλῃ καρδίᾳ σου, καὶ ἐν ὅλῃ ψυχῇ σου, καὶ ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ διανοίᾳ σου.
Jesus told them, “‘Love the Lord your God in all you think, in all you feel, and in all you do.’
38 Αὕτη ἐστὶ πρώτη καὶ μεγάλη ἐντολή.
This is the greatest commandment, the first commandment.
39 Δευτέρα δὲ ὁμοία αὐτῇ, Ἀγαπήσεις τὸν πλησίον σου ὡς σεαυτόν.
The second is just like it, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
40 Ἐν ταύταις ταῖς δυσὶν ἐντολαῖς ὅλος ὁ νόμος καὶ οἱ προφῆται κρέμανται.
All biblical law and the writings of the prophets depend on these two commandments.”
41 Συνηγμένων δὲ τῶν Φαρισαίων, ἐπηρώτησεν αὐτοὺς ὁ Ἰησοῦς,
While the Pharisees were gathered there, Jesus asked them a question.
42 λέγων, Τί ὑμῖν δοκεῖ περὶ τοῦ Χριστοῦ; Τίνος υἱός ἐστι; Λέγουσιν αὐτῷ, Τοῦ Δαυίδ.
“What do you think about the Messiah?” he asked. “Whose son is he?” “The son of David,” they replied.
43 Λέγει αὐτοῖς, Πῶς οὖν Δαυὶδ ἐν πνεύματι Κύριον αὐτὸν καλεῖ, λέγων,
“But how can David under inspiration call him ‘Lord’?” Jesus asked them. “He says,
44 Εἶπεν ὁ Κύριος τῷ Κυρίῳ μου, Κάθου ἐκ δεξιῶν μου, ἕως ἂν θῶ τοὺς ἐχθρούς σου ὑποπόδιον τῶν ποδῶν σου;
‘The Lord said to my Lord, sit down at my right hand until I defeat all your enemies.’
45 Εἰ οὖν Δαυὶδ καλεῖ αὐτὸν Κύριον, πῶς υἱὸς αὐτοῦ ἐστι;
If David called him Lord, how can he be his son?”
46 Καὶ οὐδεὶς ἐδύνατο αὐτῷ ἀποκριθῆναι λόγον· οὐδὲ ἐτόλμησέ τις ἀπ᾽ ἐκείνης τῆς ἡμέρας ἐπερωτῆσαι αὐτὸν οὐκέτι.
Nobody could answer him, and from then on nobody dared to ask him any more questions.
