Mark 12

1And he began to speak unto them by parables. A certain man planted a vineyard, and set an hedge about it, and digged a place for the winefat, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country.

2And at the season he sent to the husbandmen a servant, that he might receive from the husbandmen of the fruit of the vineyard.

3And they caught him, and beat him, and sent him away empty.

4And again he sent unto them another servant; and at him they cast stones, and wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully handled.

5And again he sent another; and him they killed, and many others; beating some, and killing some.

6Having yet therefore one son, his wellbeloved, he sent him also last unto them, saying, They will reverence my son.

7But those husbandmen said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours.

8And they took him, and killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard.

9What shall therefore the lord of the vineyard do? he will come and destroy the husbandmen, and will give the vineyard unto others.

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

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

12And they sought to lay hold on him, but feared the people: for they knew that he had spoken the parable against them: and they left him, and went their way.

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

14And when they were come, they say unto him, Master, we know that thou art true, and carest for no man: for thou regardest not the person of men, but teachest the way of God in truth: Is it lawful to give tribute to Cæsar, or not?

15Shall we give, or shall we not give? But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why tempt ye me? bring me a penny, that I may see it.

16And they brought it. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? And they said unto him, Cæsar’s.

17And Jesus answering said unto them, Render to Cæsar the things that are Cæsar’s, and to God the things that are God’s. And they marvelled at him.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

25For when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as the angels which are in heaven.

26And as touching the dead, that they rise: have ye not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spake unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?

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

28And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all?

29And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:

30And 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: this is the first commandment.

31And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

32And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he:

33And 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 whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.

34And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.

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

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

37David therefore himself calleth him Lord; and whence is he then his son? And the common people heard him gladly.

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

39And the chief seats in the synagogues, and the uppermost rooms at feasts:

40Which devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayers: these shall receive greater damnation.

41And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much.

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

43And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury:

44For all they 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 Wicked Tenants

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 rejectedhas become the cornerstone. 11This is from the Lord,and it is marvelous in our eyes’footnote a?”

12At this, the leaders soughtfootnote b to arrest Jesus, for they knew that He had spoken this parable against them. But fearing the crowd, they left Him and went away.

Paying Taxes to Caesar

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 denariusfootnote c to inspect.” 16So 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.

The Sadducees and the Resurrection

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.footnote d 20Now 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,footnote e 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’footnote f? 27He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken!”

The Greatest Commandment

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.’footnote g 31The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’footnote h 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.

Whose Son Is the Christ?

35While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts,footnote i 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 handuntil I put Your enemiesunder Your feet.”’footnote j

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

Beware of the Scribes

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,footnote k and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will receive greater condemnation.”

The Widow’s Offering

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.footnote l

43Jesus 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.”