Mark 12

¹Then [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.

²At harvest time, he sent a servant to the tenants to collect [his share] of the fruit of the vineyard.

³But they seized [the servant], beat [him], and sent [him] away empty-handed.

⁴Then he sent them another servant, and they struck {him} over the head and treated [him] shamefully.

⁵He sent still another, and this one they killed. [He sent] many others; some they beat and [others] they killed.

⁶Finally, having one beloved son, he sent him to them.‘ They will respect my son,’ he said.

⁷But [the] tenants said to one another,‘ This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’

⁸So they seized [the son], killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.

⁹What then {will} the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill [those] tenants and give the vineyard to others.

¹⁰Have you never read this Scripture:‘ [The] stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.

¹¹This is from [the] Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes ’?”

¹²At 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.

¹³Later, they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to catch [Jesus] in [His] words.

¹⁴“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?”

¹⁵But [Jesus] saw through their hypocrisy [and] said, “Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a denarius to inspect.

¹⁶[So] they brought [it], and He asked them, “Whose image [is] this? And [whose] inscription? “Caesar’s,” they answered.

¹⁷Then Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s. And they marveled at Him.

¹⁸Then the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to [Jesus] and questioned Him:

¹⁹“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[Now] there were seven brothers. The first [one] married and died, leaving no children.

²¹Then the second [one] married [the widow], [but] he also died [and] left no children. And the third [did] likewise.

²²In this way, none of the seven left [any] children. And last of all, the woman died.

²³In the resurrection, [then], whose wife will she be? For [all] seven were married to her.”

²⁴Jesus said to them, “Aren’t you mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures [or] the power of God?

²⁵When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage. Instead, they will be like [the] angels in heaven.

²⁶But 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 ’?

²⁷He is not [the] God of [the] dead, but of [the] living. You are badly mistaken!”

²⁸Now 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?”

²⁹Jesus replied, “This is the most important:‘ Hear, O Israel, [the] Lord our God, [the] Lord is One.

³⁰Love [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:‘ Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.

³²“Right, Teacher,” the scribe replied. “You have stated correctly that [God] is One and there is no other but Him,

³³and to love Him with all [your] heart and with all [your] understanding and with all [your] strength, and to love [your] neighbor as yourself. This is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

³⁴When 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.

³⁵While [Jesus] was teaching in the temple [courts], [He] asked, “How {can} the scribes say that the Christ is [the] Son of David?

³⁶Speaking 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.”’

³⁷David himself calls Him ‘ Lord.’ So how can He be [David’s] son?” And the large crowd listened to Him with delight.

³⁸In His teaching [Jesus] also said, “Watch out for the scribes. They like to walk around in long robes, [to receive] greetings in the marketplaces,

³⁹and [to have] the chief seats in the synagogues and [the] places of honor at banquets.

⁴⁰They defraud widows [of their] houses, and for a show make lengthy prayers. These [men] will receive greater condemnation.

⁴¹As [Jesus] was sitting opposite the treasury, He watched the crowd putting money into [it]. And many rich [people] put in large amounts.

⁴²Then one poor widow came [and] put [in] two small copper coins, which amounted to a small fraction of a denarius.

⁴³[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.

⁴⁴For they all contributed out of their surplus, but she out of her poverty has put [in] all she had to live on.