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Mark 12
New International Version
Mark 12
New International Version
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. 2 At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. 3 But they seized him, beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4 Then he sent another servant to them; they struck this man on the head and treated him shamefully. 5 He sent still another, and that one they killed. He sent many others; some of them they beat, others they killed.
6 “He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all,(C) saying, ‘They will respect my son.’
7 “But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8 So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.
9 “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:
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
- Mark 12:11 Psalm 118:22,23
- Mark 12:14 A special tax levied on subject peoples, not on Roman citizens
- Mark 12:23 Some manuscripts resurrection, when people rise from the dead,
- Mark 12:26 Exodus 3:6
- Mark 12:29 Or The Lord our God is one Lord
- Mark 12:30 Deut. 6:4,5
- Mark 12:31 Lev. 19:18
- Mark 12:36 Psalm 110:1
Mark 12
The Message
Mark 12
The Message
The Story About a Vineyard
12 1-2 Then Jesus started telling them stories. “A man planted a vineyard. He fenced it, dug a winepress, erected a watchtower, turned it over to the farmhands, and went off on a trip. At the time for harvest, he sent a servant back to the farmhands to collect his profits.
3-5 “They grabbed him, beat him up, and sent him off empty-handed. So he sent another servant. That one they tarred and feathered. He sent another and that one they killed. And on and on, many others. Some they beat up, some they killed.
6 “Finally there was only one left: a beloved son. In a last-ditch effort, he sent him, thinking, ‘Surely they will respect my son.’
7-8 “But those farmhands saw their chance. They rubbed their hands together in greed and said, ‘This is the heir! Let’s kill him and have it all for ourselves.’ They grabbed him, killed him, and threw him over the fence.
9-11 “What do you think the owner of the vineyard will do? Right. He’ll come and get rid of everyone. Then he’ll assign the care of the vineyard to others. Read it for yourselves in Scripture:
That stone the masons threw out
is now the cornerstone!
This is God’s work;
we rub our eyes—we can hardly believe it!”
12 They wanted to lynch him then and there but, intimidated by public opinion, held back. They knew the story was about them. They got away from there as fast as they could.
Paying Taxes to Caesar
13-14 They sent some Pharisees and followers of Herod to bait him, hoping to catch him saying something incriminating. They came up and said, “Teacher, we know you have integrity, that you are indifferent to public opinion, don’t pander to your students, and teach the way of God accurately. Tell us: Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”
15-16 He knew it was a trick question, and said, “Why are you playing these games with me? Bring me a coin and let me look at it.” They handed him one.
“This engraving—who does it look like? And whose name is on it?”
“Caesar,” they said.
17 Jesus said, “Give Caesar what is his, and give God what is his.”
Their mouths hung open, speechless.
Our Intimacies Will Be with God
18-23 Some Sadducees, the party that denies any possibility of resurrection, came up and asked, “Teacher, Moses wrote that if a man dies and leaves a wife but no child, his brother is obligated to marry the widow and have children. Well, there once were seven brothers. The first took a wife. He died childless. The second married her. He died, and still no child. The same with the third. All seven took their turn, but no child. Finally the wife died. When they are raised at the resurrection, whose wife is she? All seven were her husband.”
24-27 Jesus said, “You’re way off base, and here’s why: One, you don’t know what God said; two, you don’t know how God works. After the dead are raised up, we’re past the marriage business. As it is with angels now, all our ecstasies and intimacies then will be with God. And regarding the dead, whether or not they are raised, don’t you ever read the Bible? How God at the bush said to Moses, ‘I am—not was—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? The living God is God of the living, not the dead. You’re way, way off base.”
The Most Important Commandment
28 One of the religion scholars came up. Hearing the lively exchanges of question and answer and seeing how sharp Jesus was in his answers, he put in his question: “Which is most important of all the commandments?”
29-31 Jesus said, “The first in importance is, ‘Listen, Israel: The Lord your God is one; so love the Lord God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence and energy.’ And here is the second: ‘Love others as well as you love yourself.’ There is no other commandment that ranks with these.”
32-33 The religion scholar said, “A wonderful answer, Teacher! So clear-cut and accurate—that God is one and there is no other. And loving him with all passion and intelligence and energy, and loving others as well as you love yourself. Why, that’s better than all offerings and sacrifices put together!”
34 When Jesus realized how insightful he was, he said, “You’re almost there, right on the border of God’s kingdom.”
After that, no one else dared ask a question.
* * *
35-37 While he was teaching in the Temple, Jesus asked, “How is it that the religion scholars say that the Messiah is David’s ‘son,’ when we all know that David, inspired by the Holy Spirit, said,
God said to my Master,
“Sit here at my right hand
until I put your enemies under your feet.”
“David here designates the Messiah ‘my Master’—so how can the Messiah also be his ‘son’?”
The large crowd was delighted with what they heard.
38-40 He continued teaching. “Watch out for the religion scholars. They love to walk around in academic gowns, preening in the radiance of public flattery, basking in prominent positions, sitting at the head table at every church function. And all the time they are exploiting the weak and helpless. The longer their prayers, the worse they get. But they’ll pay for it in the end.”
41-44 Sitting across from the offering box, he was observing how the crowd tossed money in for the collection. Many of the rich were making large contributions. One poor widow came up and put in two small coins—a measly two cents. Jesus called his disciples over and said, “The truth is that this poor widow gave more to the collection than all the others put together. All the others gave what they’ll never miss; she gave extravagantly what she couldn’t afford—she gave her all.”
Mark 12
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
Mark 12
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
12 And he began to speak to them in parables: A certain man planted a vineyard and made a hedge about it, and dug a place for the winefat, and built a tower, and let it to husbandmen; and went into a far country.
2 And at the season he sent to the husbandmen a servant to receive of the husbandmen of the fruit of the vineyard.
3 Who having laid hands on him, beat him, and sent him away empty.
4 And again he sent to them another servant; and him they wounded in the head, and used him reproachfully.
5 And again he sent another, and him they killed: and many others, of whom some they beat, and others they killed.
6 Therefore having yet one son, most dear to him; he also sent him unto them last of all, saying: They will reverence my son.
7 But the husbandmen said one to another: This is the heir; come let us kill him; and the inheritance shall be ours.
8 And laying hold on him, they killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard.
9 What therefore will the lord of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy those husbandmen; and will give the vineyard to others.
10 And have you not read this scripture, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is made the head of the corner:
11 By the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes.
12 And they sought to lay hands on him, but they feared the people. For they knew that he spoke this parable to them. And leaving him, they went their way.
13 And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and of the Herodians; that they should catch him in his words.
14 Who coming, say to him: Master, we know that thou art a true speaker, and carest not for any man; for thou regardest not the person of men, but teachest the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar; or shall we not give it?
15 Who knowing their wiliness, saith to them: Why tempt you me? bring me a penny that I may see it.
16 And they brought it him. And he saith to them: Whose is this image and inscription? They say to him, Caesar's.
17 And Jesus answering, said to them: Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. And they marvelled at him.
18 And there came to him the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection; and they asked him, saying:
19 Master, Moses wrote unto us, that if any man's brother die, and leave his wife behind him, and leave no children, his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed to his brother.
20 Now there were seven brethren; and the first took a wife, and died leaving no issue.
21 And the second took her, and died: and neither did he leave any issue. And the third in like manner.
22 And the seven all took her in like manner; and did not leave issue. Last of all the woman also died.
23 In the resurrection therefore, when they shall rise again, whose wife shall she be of them? for the seven had her to wife.
24 And Jesus answering, saith to them: Do ye not therefore err, because you know not the scriptures, nor the power of God?
25 For when they shall rise again from the dead, they shall neither marry, nor be married, but are as the angels in heaven.
26 And as concerning the dead that they rise again, have you not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spoke to him, saying: I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?
27 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You therefore do greatly err.
28 And there came one of the scribes that had heard them reasoning together, and seeing that he had answered them well, asked him which was the first commandment of all.
29 And Jesus answered him: The first commandment of all is, Hear, O Israel: the Lord thy God is one God.
30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and with thy whole strength. This is the first commandment.
31 And the second is like to it: Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is no other commandment greater than these.
32 And the scribe said to him: Well, Master, thou hast said in truth, that there is one God, and there is no other besides him.
33 And that he should be loved with the whole heart, and with the whole understanding, and with the whole soul, and with the whole strength; and to love one's neighbour as one's self, is a greater thing than all holocausts and sacrifices.
34 And Jesus seeing that he had answered wisely, said to him: Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.
35 And Jesus answering, said, teaching in the temple: How do the scribes say, that Christ is the son of David?
36 For David himself saith by the Holy Ghost: The Lord said to my Lord, Sit on my right hand, until I make thy enemies thy footstool.
37 David therefore himself calleth him Lord, and whence is he then his son? And a great multitude heard him gladly.
38 And he said to them in his doctrine: Beware of the scribes, who love to walk in long robes, and to be saluted in the marketplace,
39 And to sit in the first chairs, in the synagogues, and to have the highest places at suppers:
40 Who devour the houses of widows under the pretence of long prayer: these shall receive greater judgment.
41 And Jesus sitting over against the treasury, beheld how the people cast money into the treasury, and many that were rich cast in much.
42 And there came a certain poor widow, and she cast in two mites, which make a farthing.
43 And calling his disciples together, he saith to them: Amen I say to you, this poor widow hath cast in more than all they who have cast into the treasury.
44 For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want cast in all she had, even her whole living.
Mark 12
Expanded Bible
Mark 12
Expanded Bible
The Story of the Evil Farmers(A)
12 [Then] Jesus began ·to use stories to teach the people [L to speak to them in parables; see 3:23]. He said, “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it and dug a ·hole [vat; pit] for a winepress and built a tower [C to protect against thieves; see Is. 5:1–7 for the background to this parable]. Then he leased the land to some [C tenant] farmers and left for a trip [C the owner represents God, the farmers are Israel’s religious leaders]. 2 When it was time for the grapes to be picked, he sent a ·servant [slave] to the farmers to get his share of the grapes. 3 But the farmers grabbed ·the servant [L him] and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4 Then the man sent another ·servant [slave]. They ·hit [beat] him on the head and ·showed no respect for [humiliated; dishonored] him. 5 So the man sent another, whom they killed. The man sent many others; the farmers beat some of them and killed others [C the servants represent the prophets God sent to Israel].
6 “The man had one person left to send, his son whom he loved [C representing Jesus; see 1:11; 9:7]. He sent him last of all, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’
7 “But the farmers said to each other, ‘This son will inherit the vineyard. Let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8 So they took the son, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.
9 “So what will the ·owner [lord] of the vineyard do? He will come and ·kill [destroy] those farmers and will give the vineyard to ·other farmers [L others; C referring to the sinners who were responding to Jesus’ call for repentance, and eventually to the Gentiles who would be saved]. 10 ·Surely you have read [L Have you never read…?] this Scripture:
‘The stone that the builders rejected
became the ·cornerstone [capstone; keystone; L head of the corner; C the meaning is uncertain, but clearly refers to the most important stone in the building; Jesus is the rejected stone].
11 The Lord did this,
and it is ·wonderful [amazing; marvelous] ·to us [for us to see; L in our eyes; Ps. 118:22–23].’”
12 The Jewish leaders knew that the ·story [parable] was about them. So they ·wanted to find a way [were seeking/trying] to arrest Jesus, but they were afraid of the people. So the leaders left him and went away.
Is It Right to Pay Taxes or Not?(B)
13 Later, the Jewish leaders sent some Pharisees and Herodians [C a political group that supported king Herod and his family; 3:6] to Jesus to ·trap [catch] him in saying something wrong. 14 They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know that you are ·an honest man [true; honest; sincere]. You are not ·afraid of [concerned about] what other people think about you, because you ·pay no attention to who they are [play no favorites; are impartial; aren’t swayed by appearances]. And you teach ·the truth [with sincerity/honesty] about God’s way. Tell us: Is it ·right [permissible; lawful] to pay taxes to Caesar or not? 15 Should we pay them, or not?” [C Saying “yes” would anger Jews who hated Roman rule; saying “no” could result in being charged with insurrection.]
But knowing ·what these men were really trying to do [L their hypocrisy], Jesus said to them, “Why are you ·trying to trap [testing] me? Bring me a ·coin [L denarius; C a Roman coin worth a day’s wages] to look at.” 16 They gave Jesus a coin, and he asked, “Whose ·image [likeness; portrait] and ·name [inscription] are on the coin?”
They answered, “Caesar’s.” [C Ironically, the religious leaders carry coins bearing the idolatrous image of Caesar.]
17 Then Jesus said to them, “·Give [T Render] to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and give to God the things that are God’s.” They were amazed at what Jesus said.
Some Sadducees Try to Trick Jesus(C)
18 Then some Sadducees came to Jesus and asked him a question. (Sadducees believed that people would not rise from the dead.) 19 They said, “Teacher, Moses wrote that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife but no children, then that man must marry the widow and ·have children [L raise up offspring/seed] for his brother [Deut. 25:5]. 20 Once there were seven brothers. The first brother ·married [L took a wife] and died, leaving no children. 21 So the second brother married the widow, but he also died and had no children. The same thing happened with the third brother. 22 All seven brothers married her and died, and none of the brothers had any children. Finally the woman died too. 23 Since all seven brothers had married her, ·when people rise from the dead [L at the resurrection], whose wife will she be?”
24 Jesus answered, “·You are mistaken [L Are you not mistaken/in error…?] because you don’t know what the Scriptures say, and don’t you know about the power of God. 25 [L For] When people rise from the dead, they will not marry, nor will they be given to someone to marry. They will be like the angels in heaven. 26 ·Surely you have read [L Have you not read…?] what God said about people rising from the dead. In the book in which Moses wrote about the burning bush [Ex. 3:1–12], it says that God told Moses, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob [Ex. 3:6; C God is still the God of the patriarchs, so they must have a continued existence after death].’ 27 God is the God of the living, not the dead. You Sadducees are ·wrong [greatly deceived; badly mistaken]!”
The Most Important Command(D)
28 One of the ·teachers of the law [scribes] came and heard Jesus arguing with the Sadducees. Seeing that Jesus gave good answers to their questions, he asked Jesus, “Which of the commands is most important?”
29 Jesus answered, “The most important command is this: ‘·Listen, people of Israel [T Hear, O Israel]! The Lord our God is ·the only Lord [one Lord]. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength’ [Deut. 6:4–5; C these are the opening words of the Shema, the prayer said by pious Jews twice a day]. 31 The second command is this: ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself’ [Lev. 19:18]. There are no commands ·more important [greater] than these.”
32 The man answered, “·That was a good answer [Well said!], Teacher. You were right when you said God is ·the only Lord [one] and there is no other God besides him. 33 One must love God with all his heart, all his mind, and all his strength. And one must love his neighbor as he loves himself. These commands are more important than all the ·animals [burnt offerings] and sacrifices we offer to God [1 Sam. 15:22; Hos. 6:6; Mic. 6:6–8].”
34 When Jesus saw that the man answered him ·wisely [thoughtfully; with insight], Jesus said to him, “You are close to the kingdom of God.” And after that, no one ·was brave enough [dared] to ask Jesus any more questions.
The Question About David’s Son(E)
35 As Jesus was teaching in the Temple [courts; complex], he asked, “Why do the ·teachers of the law [scribes] say that the ·Christ [Messiah] is the ·son [descendant] of David [C see 2 Sam. 7:12]? 36 David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, said:
‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit by me at my right ·side [L hand; C the place of greatest honor beside the king],
until I put your enemies ·under your control [L beneath your feet; C meaning defeated or made subject to your authority; Ps. 110:1].”’
37 David himself calls ·the Christ [the Messiah; L him] ‘Lord,’ so how can ·the Christ [the Messiah; L he] be his son?” The large crowd listened to Jesus with pleasure.
38 Jesus continued teaching and said, “Beware of the ·teachers of the law [scribes]. They like to walk around ·wearing fancy clothes [in long robes], and they love for people to greet them with respect in the marketplaces. 39 They love to have the most important seats in the synagogues and at ·feasts [banquets]. 40 But they ·cheat widows and steal their houses [L devour widows’ homes] and then try to make themselves look good by saying long prayers [in public]. They will receive a greater ·punishment [judgment; condemnation].”
True Giving(F)
41 Jesus sat near the Temple ·money box [offering chest; or treasury] and watched the people put in their money. Many rich people gave large sums of money. 42 Then a poor widow came and put in ·two small copper coins [L two lepta], ·which were only worth a few cents [L which is a quadrans; C a Roman coin worth 1/64 of a denarius, or about 10 minutes of work for a day laborer].
43 Calling his ·followers [disciples] to him, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow gave more than all those rich people. 44 They gave ·only what they did not need [out of their surplus/abundance]. This woman is very poor, but she gave all she had—everything she had to live on.”
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