²⁴ “Show me a denarius. Whose image and inscription are on it?”

“Caesar’s,” they replied.

²⁵ He said to them, “Then give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s,^(A) and to God what is God’s.”

²⁴ “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.^(A)

Do Not Worry^(B)

²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry^(C) about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?

²² The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth^(A) choke the word, making it unfruitful.

¹⁶ Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”^(A)

¹⁷ Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood,^(B) but by my Father in heaven.^(C)

¹⁸ Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; ¹⁹ but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth^(A) and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.

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

And they were amazed at him.

¹⁴ The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches^(A) and pleasures, and they do not mature.

¹⁵ Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”^(A)

³⁴ “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life,^(A) and that day will close on you suddenly^(B) like a trap.