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12 ¶ And he began to speak unto them by parables. A certain man planted a vineyard and set a hedge about it and dug a place for the winefat {Place where grapes are tread} and built a tower and let it out to husbandmen and went far away.

And at the season he sent to the husbandmen a slave that he might receive from the husbandmen of the fruit of the vineyard.

And taking him, they beat him and sent him away empty.

And again he sent unto them another slave, and casting stones at him, they wounded him in the head and sent him away shamefully handled.

And again he sent another, and him they killed and many others, beating some and killing some.

Having yet therefore one son, his wellbeloved, he sent him also last unto them, saying, They will reverence my son.

But those husbandmen said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the place shall be ours.

And taking hold of him, they killed him and cast him out of the vineyard.

What, therefore, shall the lord of the vineyard do? He shall come and destroy those husbandmen and shall give his vineyard unto others.

10 And have ye not read this scripture: The stone which the builders rejected is placed as the head of the corner;

11 This was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?

12 And they sought to lay hold on him but feared the multitude, for they understood that he had spoken the parable against them, and leaving him, they went away.

13 ¶ And they send unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians to catch him in his words.

14 And when they were come, they say unto him, Master, we know that thou art a man of truth who regards no man; for thou dost not look upon the appearance of men, but dost with truth teach the way of God; is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar or not?

15 Shall we give or shall we not give? Then he, understanding their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why tempt ye me? Bring me the coin that I may see it.

16 And they brought it. And he said unto them, Of whom is this image and inscription? And they said unto him, Of Caesar.

17 And Jesus, answering, said unto them, Render that which is of Caesar unto Caesar, and that which is of God unto God. And they marvelled at this.

18 ¶ Then come unto him the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection; and they asked him, saying,

19 Master, Moses wrote unto us, If a man’s brother dies and leaves his wife behind him and leaves no children, that his brother should take his wife and raise up seed unto his brother.

20 Now there were seven brethren, and the first took a wife and dying left no seed.

21 And the second took her, and died, neither left he any seed; and the third likewise.

22 And the seven had her and left no seed; last of all the woman died also.

23 In the resurrection, therefore, when they shall rise, whose wife shall she be of them? for the seven had her to wife.

24 Then Jesus, answering, said unto them, Do ye not therefore err because ye know not the scriptures, neither the power of God?

25 For when they shall rise from the dead, neither shall they marry nor husbands take women nor women, husbands; but are as the angels who are in the heavens.

26 And regarding the dead who are to rise, have ye not read in the book of Moses how in the bush God spoke unto him, saying, I Am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob?

27 He is not God of the dead, but God of the living; ye therefore do greatly err.

28 ¶ And one of the scribes came, having heard their dispute and knowing that he had given a good response unto them, asked him, Which is the principal commandment of all?

29 And Jesus responded unto him, The principal of all the commandments is, 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 thought and with all thy strength: this is the principal commandment.

31 And the second is like it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is no other commandment greater than these.

32 Then the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth, that God is one, and there is none other outside of him;

33 and to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the soul and with all the strength and to love his neighbour as himself is more than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.

34 Then Jesus, seeing that he responded wisely, said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that dared ask him any question.

35 ¶ And answering, Jesus said, while he taught in the temple, How do the scribes say that the Christ is Son of David?

36 For David himself said by the Holy Spirit, The LORD said to my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.

37 David therefore himself calls him Lord, and where then is he his son? And the many people heard him gladly.

38 And he said unto them in his doctrine, Beware of the scribes, who love to go in long clothing and love the salutations in the marketplaces

39 and the first chairs in the synagogues and the first seats at the suppers,

40 which devour widows’ houses and for a pretence make long prayers: these shall receive greater judgment.

41 ¶ And with Jesus sitting in front of the ark of the offering, he beheld how the people cast money into the ark and many that were rich cast in much.

42 And as there came a certain poor widow, she threw in two mites, which make a farthing.

43 Then calling his disciples, he said unto them, Verily I say unto you that this poor widow has cast more in than all those who have cast into the treasury,

44 for they all did cast in of their abundance, but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.

The Parable of the Tenants(A)

12 Jesus then began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard.(B) He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. But they seized him, beat him and sent him away empty-handed. Then he sent another servant to them; they struck this man on the head and treated him shamefully. He sent still another, and that one they killed. He sent many others; some of them they beat, others they killed.

“He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all,(C) saying, ‘They will respect my son.’

“But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.

“What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others. 10 Haven’t you read this passage of Scripture:

“‘The stone the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone;(D)
11 the Lord has done this,
    and it is marvelous in our eyes’[a]?”(E)

12 Then the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders looked for a way to arrest him because they knew he had spoken the parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd;(F) so they left him and went away.(G)

Paying the Imperial Tax to Caesar(H)

13 Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians(I) to Jesus to catch him(J) in his words. 14 They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know that you are a man of integrity. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay the imperial tax[b] to Caesar or not? 15 Should we pay or shouldn’t we?”

But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. “Why are you trying to trap me?” he asked. “Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” 16 They brought the coin, and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”

“Caesar’s,” they replied.

17 Then Jesus said to them, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.”(K)

And they were amazed at him.

Marriage at the Resurrection(L)

18 Then the Sadducees,(M) who say there is no resurrection,(N) came to him with a question. 19 “Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.(O) 20 Now there were seven brothers. The first one married and died without leaving any children. 21 The second one married the widow, but he also died, leaving no child. It was the same with the third. 22 In fact, none of the seven left any children. Last of all, the woman died too. 23 At the resurrection[c] whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?”

24 Jesus replied, “Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures(P) or the power of God? 25 When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven.(Q) 26 Now about the dead rising—have you not read in the Book of Moses, in the account of the burning bush, how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’[d]?(R) 27 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken!”

The Greatest Commandment(S)

28 One of the teachers of the law(T) came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.[e] 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’[f](U) 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[g](V) There is no commandment greater than these.”

32 “Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him.(W) 33 To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”(X)

34 When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”(Y) And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.(Z)

Whose Son Is the Messiah?(AA)(AB)

35 While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts,(AC) he asked, “Why do the teachers of the law say that the Messiah is the son of David?(AD) 36 David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit,(AE) declared:

“‘The Lord said to my Lord:
    “Sit at my right hand
until I put your enemies
    under your feet.”’[h](AF)

37 David himself calls him ‘Lord.’ How then can he be his son?”

The large crowd(AG) listened to him with delight.

Warning Against the Teachers of the Law

38 As he taught, Jesus said, “Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, 39 and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets.(AH) 40 They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.”

The Widow’s Offering(AI)

41 Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put(AJ) and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.

43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”(AK)

Footnotes

  1. Mark 12:11 Psalm 118:22,23
  2. Mark 12:14 A special tax levied on subject peoples, not on Roman citizens
  3. Mark 12:23 Some manuscripts resurrection, when people rise from the dead,
  4. Mark 12:26 Exodus 3:6
  5. Mark 12:29 Or The Lord our God is one Lord
  6. Mark 12:30 Deut. 6:4,5
  7. Mark 12:31 Lev. 19:18
  8. Mark 12:36 Psalm 110:1