Mark 12
New International Version - UK
The parable of the tenants
12 Jesus then began to speak to them in parables: ‘A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall round 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, 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;
11 the Lord has done this,
and it is marvellous in our eyes”[a]?’
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; so they left him and went away.
Paying the poll-tax to Caesar
13 Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him 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 poll-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.’
And they were amazed at him.
Marriage at the resurrection
18 Then the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, 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. 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 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. 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]? 27 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken!’
The greatest commandment
28 One of the teachers of the law 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] 31 The second is this: “Love your neighbour as yourself.”[g] 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. 33 To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbour as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.’
34 When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, ‘You are not far from the kingdom of God.’ And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.
Whose son is the Messiah?
35 While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, he asked, ‘Why do the teachers of the law say that the Messiah is the son of David? 36 David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, declared:
‘“The Lord said to my Lord:
‘Sit at my right hand
until I put your enemies
under your feet.’”[h]
37 David himself calls him “Lord”. How then can he be his son?’
The large crowd 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 market-places, 39 and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honour at banquets. 40 They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.’
The widow’s offering
41 Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put 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 pence.
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.’
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
New American Standard Bible
Parable of the Vine-growers
12 (A)And He began to speak to them in parables: “(B)A man (C)planted a vineyard and put a [a]fence around it, and dug a vat under the wine press and built a tower, and leased it to [b]vine-growers and went on a journey. 2 And at the harvest time he sent a slave to the vine-growers, in order to receive his share of the produce of the vineyard from the vine-growers. 3 And they took him, and beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. 4 And again he sent them another slave, and they wounded him in the head, and treated him shamefully. 5 And he sent another, and that one they killed; and so with many others, beating some and killing others. 6 He had one more man to send, a beloved son; he sent him to them last of all, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 7 But those vine-growers said to one another, ‘This is the heir; come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours!’ 8 And they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. 9 What will the [c]owner of the vineyard do? He will come and put the vine-growers to death, and give the vineyard to others. 10 Have you not even read this Scripture:
‘(D)A stone which the builders rejected,
This has become the [d]chief cornerstone;
11 (E)This came about from the Lord,
And it is marvelous in our eyes’?”
12 (F)And they were seeking to seize Him, and yet they feared the [e]people, for they understood that He told the parable against them. And so (G)they left Him and went away.
Jesus Answers the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Scribes
13 (H)Then they *sent some of the Pharisees and (I)Herodians to Him in order to (J)trap Him in a statement. 14 They came and *said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and [f]do not care what anyone thinks; for You [g]are not partial to anyone, but You teach the way of God in truth. Is it [h]permissible to pay a [i]poll-tax to Caesar, or not? 15 Are we to pay, or not pay?” But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a [j]denarius to look at.” 16 And they brought one. And He *said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” And they said to Him, “Caesar’s.” 17 And Jesus said to them, “(K)Pay to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were utterly amazed at Him.
18 (L)Some Sadducees (who say that there is no resurrection) *came to [k]Jesus, and began questioning Him, saying, 19 “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that (M)if a man’s brother dies and leaves behind a wife and does not leave a child, his brother is to [l]marry the wife and raise up [m]children for his brother. 20 There were seven brothers; and the first took a wife, and died leaving no children. 21 The second one [n]married her, and died leaving behind no children; and the third likewise; 22 and so the seven together left no children. Last of all the woman also died. 23 In the resurrection, which one’s wife will she be? For each of the seven had her as his wife.” 24 Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are mistaken, that you do not [o]understand the Scriptures nor the power of God? 25 For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 26 But [p]regarding the fact that the dead rise, have you not read in the book of Moses, (N)in the passage about the burning bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘(O)I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? 27 (P)He is not the God [q]of the dead, but of the living; you are greatly mistaken.”
28 (Q)One of the scribes came up and heard them arguing, and (R)recognizing that He had answered them well, asked Him, “What commandment is the [r]foremost of all?” 29 Jesus answered, “The [s]foremost is, ‘(S)Hear, Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one; 30 (T)and you shall love 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: ‘(U)You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” 32 And the scribe said to Him, “Well said, Teacher; You have truly stated that (V)He is One, and there is no other besides Him; 33 (W)and to love Him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, (X)is much more than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34 When Jesus saw that he had answered intelligently, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” (Y)And then, no one dared any longer to question Him.
35 (Z)And Jesus responded and began saying, as He (AA)taught in the temple area, “How is it that the scribes say that the [t]Christ is the (AB)son of David? 36 David himself said [u]in the Holy Spirit,
‘(AC)The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
Until I put Your enemies under Your feet.”’
37 David himself calls Him ‘Lord’; so in what sense is He his son?” And (AD)the large crowd [v]enjoyed listening to Him.
38 (AE)And in His teaching He was saying: “Beware of the scribes who like to walk around in long robes, and like (AF)personal greetings in the marketplaces, 39 and seats of honor in the synagogues, and places of honor at banquets, 40 (AG)who devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers. These will receive all the more condemnation.”
The Widow’s Coins
41 (AH)And Jesus sat down opposite (AI)the treasury, and began watching how the [w]people were (AJ)putting [x]money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large amounts. 42 And a poor widow came and put in two [y]lepta coins, which amount to a [z]quadrans. 43 Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all [aa]the contributors to the treasury; 44 for they all put in out of their [ab]surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, [ac]all she had (AK)to live on.”
Footnotes
- Mark 12:1 Or hedge
- Mark 12:1 Or tenant farmers, also vv 2, 7, 9
- Mark 12:9 Lit lord
- Mark 12:10 Lit head of the corner
- Mark 12:12 Lit crowd
- Mark 12:14 Lit it is not a concern to You about anyone
- Mark 12:14 Lit do not look at the face of people
- Mark 12:14 I.e., by Jewish law and tradition
- Mark 12:14 I.e., a tax on each person in the census
- Mark 12:15 The denarius was a day’s wages for a laborer
- Mark 12:18 Lit Him
- Mark 12:19 Lit take
- Mark 12:19 Lit seed, also vv 20-22
- Mark 12:21 Lit took
- Mark 12:24 Or know
- Mark 12:26 Lit concerning the dead, that they rise
- Mark 12:27 Or of corpses
- Mark 12:28 Or first
- Mark 12:29 Or first
- Mark 12:35 I.e., Messiah
- Mark 12:36 Or by
- Mark 12:37 Lit was gladly hearing Him
- Mark 12:41 Lit crowd was
- Mark 12:41 I.e., copper coins
- Mark 12:42 The smallest Greek copper coin, about 1/128 of a laborer’s daily wage
- Mark 12:42 A small Roman copper coin, worth about 1/64 of a laborer’s daily wage
- Mark 12:43 Lit those who were putting in
- Mark 12:44 Or abundance
- Mark 12:44 Lit her whole livelihood
Mark 12
Common English Bible
Parable of the tenant farmers
12 Jesus spoke to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a pit for the winepress, and built a tower. Then he rented it to tenant farmers and took a trip. 2 When it was time, he sent a servant to collect from the tenants his share of the fruit of the vineyard. 3 But they grabbed the servant, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. 4 Again the landowner sent another servant to them, but they struck him on the head and treated him disgracefully. 5 He sent another one; that one they killed. The landlord sent many other servants, but the tenants beat some and killed others. 6 Now the landowner had one son whom he loved dearly. He sent him last, thinking, They will respect my son. 7 But those tenant farmers said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8 They grabbed him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.
9 “So what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others. 10 Haven’t you read this scripture, The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. 11 The Lord has done this, and it’s amazing in our eyes?”[a]
12 They wanted to arrest Jesus because they knew that he had told the parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd, so they left him and went away.
A question about taxes
13 They sent some of the Pharisees and supporters of Herod to trap him in his words. 14 They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know that you’re genuine and you don’t worry about what people think. You don’t show favoritism but teach God’s way as it really is. Does the Law allow people to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay taxes or not?”
15 Since Jesus recognized their deceit, he said to them, “Why are you testing me? Bring me a coin. Show it to me.” 16 And they brought one. He said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?”
“Caesar’s,” they replied.
17 Jesus said to them, “Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.” His reply left them overcome with wonder.
A question about the resurrection
18 Sadducees, who deny that there is a resurrection, came to Jesus and asked, 19 “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a widow but no children, the brother must marry the widow and raise up children for his brother.[b] 20 Now there were seven brothers. The first one married a woman; when he died, he left no children. 21 The second married her and died without leaving any children. The third did the same. 22 None of the seven left any children. Finally, the woman died. 23 At the resurrection, when they all rise up, whose wife will she be? All seven were married to her.”
24 Jesus said to them, “Isn’t this the reason you are wrong, because you don’t know either the scriptures or God’s power? 25 When people rise from the dead, they won’t marry nor will they be given in marriage. Instead, they will be like God’s angels. 26 As for the resurrection from the dead, haven’t you read in the scroll from Moses, in the passage about the burning bush, how God said to Moses, I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?[c] 27 He isn’t the God of the dead but of the living. You are seriously mistaken.”
God’s most important command
28 One of the legal experts heard their dispute and saw how well Jesus answered them. He came over and asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?”
29 Jesus replied, “The most important one is Israel, listen! Our God is the one Lord, 30 and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, with all your mind, and with all your strength.[d] 31 The second is this, You will love your neighbor as yourself.[e] No other commandment is greater than these.”
32 The legal expert said to him, “Well said, Teacher. You have truthfully said that God is one and there is no other besides him. 33 And to love God with all of the heart, a full understanding, and all of one’s strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself is much more important than all kinds of entirely burned offerings and sacrifices.”
34 When Jesus saw that he had answered with wisdom, he said to him, “You aren’t far from God’s kingdom.” After that, no one dared to ask him any more questions.
Jesus corrects the legal experts
35 While Jesus was teaching in the temple, he said, “Why do the legal experts say that the Christ is David’s son? 36 David himself, inspired by the Holy Spirit, said, The Lord said to my lord, ‘Sit at my right side until I turn your enemies into your footstool.’[f] 37 David himself calls him ‘Lord,’ so how can he be David’s son?” The large crowd listened to him with delight.
38 As he was teaching, he said, “Watch out for the legal experts. They like to walk around in long robes. They want to be greeted with honor in the markets. 39 They long for places of honor in the synagogues and at banquets. 40 They are the ones who cheat widows out of their homes, and to show off they say long prayers. They will be judged most harshly.”
A poor widow’s contribution
41 Jesus sat across from the collection box for the temple treasury and observed how the crowd gave their money. Many rich people were throwing in lots of money. 42 One poor widow came forward and put in two small copper coins worth a penny.[g] 43 Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I assure you that this poor widow has put in more than everyone who’s been putting money in the treasury. 44 All of them are giving out of their spare change. But she from her hopeless poverty has given everything she had, even what she needed to live on.”
Footnotes
- Mark 12:11 Ps 118:22-23
- Mark 12:19 Deut 25:5; Gen 38:8
- Mark 12:26 Exod 3:6, 15-16
- Mark 12:30 Deut 6:4-5
- Mark 12:31 Lev 19:18
- Mark 12:36 Ps 110:1
- Mark 12:42 Or two lepta (the smallest Greek copper coin, each worth 1/128 of a single day’s pay), that is, a kodrantes (the smallest Roman coin, equal in value to two lepta)
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