Mark 12
New Living Translation
Parable of the Evil Farmers
12 Then Jesus began teaching them with stories: “A man planted a vineyard. He built a wall around it, dug a pit for pressing out the grape juice, and built a lookout tower. Then he leased the vineyard to tenant farmers and moved to another country. 2 At the time of the grape harvest, he sent one of his servants to collect his share of the crop. 3 But the farmers grabbed the servant, beat him up, and sent him back empty-handed. 4 The owner then sent another servant, but they insulted him and beat him over the head. 5 The next servant he sent was killed. Others he sent were either beaten or killed, 6 until there was only one left—his son whom he loved dearly. The owner finally sent him, thinking, ‘Surely they will respect my son.’
7 “But the tenant farmers said to one another, ‘Here comes the heir to this estate. Let’s kill him and get the estate for ourselves!’ 8 So they grabbed him and murdered him and threw his body out of the vineyard.
9 “What do you suppose the owner of the vineyard will do?” Jesus asked. “I’ll tell you—he will come and kill those farmers and lease the vineyard to others. 10 Didn’t you ever read this in the Scriptures?
‘The stone that the builders rejected
has now become the cornerstone.
11 This is the Lord’s doing,
and it is wonderful to see.’[a]”
12 The religious leaders[b] wanted to arrest Jesus because they realized he was telling the story against them—they were the wicked farmers. But they were afraid of the crowd, so they left him and went away.
Taxes for Caesar
13 Later the leaders sent some Pharisees and supporters of Herod to trap Jesus into saying something for which he could be arrested. 14 “Teacher,” they said, “we know how honest you are. You are impartial and don’t play favorites. You teach the way of God truthfully. Now tell us—is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? 15 Should we pay them, or shouldn’t we?”
Jesus saw through their hypocrisy and said, “Why are you trying to trap me? Show me a Roman coin,[c] and I’ll tell you.” 16 When they handed it to him, he asked, “Whose picture and title are stamped on it?”
“Caesar’s,” they replied.
17 “Well, then,” Jesus said, “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.”
His reply completely amazed them.
Discussion about Resurrection
18 Then Jesus was approached by some Sadducees—religious leaders who say there is no resurrection from the dead. They posed this question: 19 “Teacher, Moses gave us a law that if a man dies, leaving a wife without children, his brother should marry the widow and have a child who will carry on the brother’s name.[d] 20 Well, suppose there were seven brothers. The oldest one married and then died without children. 21 So the second brother married the widow, but he also died without children. Then the third brother married her. 22 This continued with all seven of them, and still there were no children. Last of all, the woman also died. 23 So tell us, whose wife will she be in the resurrection? For all seven were married to her.”
24 Jesus replied, “Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God. 25 For when the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage. In this respect they will be like the angels in heaven.
26 “But now, as to whether the dead will be raised—haven’t you ever read about this in the writings of Moses, in the story of the burning bush? Long after Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had died, God said to Moses,[e] ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’[f] 27 So he is the God of the living, not the dead. You have made a serious error.”
The Most Important Commandment
28 One of the teachers of religious law was standing there listening to the debate. He realized that Jesus had answered well, so he asked, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”
29 Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. 30 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’[g] 31 The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[h] No other commandment is greater than these.”
32 The teacher of religious law replied, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth by saying that there is only one God and no other. 33 And I know it is important to love him with all my heart and all my understanding and all my strength, and to love my neighbor as myself. This is more important than to offer all of the burnt offerings and sacrifices required in the law.”
34 Realizing how much the man understood, Jesus said to him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” And after that, no one dared to ask him any more questions.
Whose Son Is the Messiah?
35 Later, as Jesus was teaching the people in the Temple, he asked, “Why do the teachers of religious law claim that the Messiah is the son of David? 36 For David himself, speaking under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, said,
‘The Lord said to my Lord,
Sit in the place of honor at my right hand
until I humble your enemies beneath your feet.’[i]
37 Since David himself called the Messiah ‘my Lord,’ how can the Messiah be his son?” The large crowd listened to him with great delight.
38 Jesus also taught: “Beware of these teachers of religious law! For they like to parade around in flowing robes and receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces. 39 And how they love the seats of honor in the synagogues and the head table at banquets. 40 Yet they shamelessly cheat widows out of their property and then pretend to be pious by making long prayers in public. Because of this, they will be more severely punished.”
The Widow’s Offering
41 Jesus sat down near the collection box in the Temple and watched as the crowds dropped in their money. Many rich people put in large amounts. 42 Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins.[j]
43 Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions. 44 For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on.”
Mark 12
International Standard Version
The Parable about the Tenant Farmers(A)
12 Then Jesus[a] began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the wine press, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenant farmers and went abroad. 2 At the right time, he sent a servant to the farmers to collect from them a share of the produce from the vineyard. 3 But the farmers[b] grabbed the servant,[c] beat him, and sent him back empty-handed. 4 Again, the man[d] sent another servant to them. They beat the servant[e] over the head and treated him shamefully. 5 Then the man[f] sent another, and that one they killed. So it was with many other servants.[g] Some of these they beat, and others they killed. 6 He still had one more person to send,[h] a son whom he loved. Finally, he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 7 But those farmers told one another, ‘This is the heir. Come on, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours!’ 8 So they grabbed him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.
9 “Now what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come, execute the farmers, and give the vineyard to others. 10 Haven’t you ever read this Scripture:
‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.[i]
11 This was the Lord’s[j] doing,
and it is amazing in our eyes’?”[k]
12 They were trying to arrest him but were afraid of the crowd. Realizing that he had spoken this parable against them, they left him alone and went away.
A Question about Paying Taxes(B)
13 Then they sent some Pharisees and some Herodians[l] to him, intending to trap him in what he said. 14 They came and told him, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere. You don’t favor any individual, because you pay no attention to external appearance. Instead, you teach the way of God truthfully. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay them or shouldn’t we?”
15 Seeing through their hypocrisy, Jesus[m] replied to them, “Why are you testing me? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.”
16 So they brought one. Then he asked them, “Whose face and name are on this?”
They told him, “Caesar’s.”
17 So Jesus told them, “Give back to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were utterly amazed at him.
A Question about the Resurrection(C)
18 Then some Sadducees, who claim there is no resurrection, came to Jesus[n] and asked him, 19 “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no child, he should marry the widow and have children for his brother.[o] 20 There were seven brothers. The first one married and died without having children. 21 Then the second married her and died without having children, and so did the third. 22 None of the seven left any children. Last of all, the woman died, too. 23 In the resurrection, whose wife will she be, since all seven had married her?”[p]
24 Jesus answered them, “Aren’t you mistaken because you don’t know the Scriptures or God’s power? 25 When people[q] rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like the angels in heaven. 26 As for the dead being raised, haven’t you read in the book of Moses, in the story about the bush, how God said, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’?[r] 27 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken!”
The Greatest Commandment(D)
28 Then one of the scribes came near and heard the Sadducees[s] arguing with one another. He saw how well Jesus[t] answered them, so he asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of them all?”
29 Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord[u] our God is one Lord,[v] 30 and you must love the Lord[w] your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’[x] 31 The second is this: ‘You must love your neighbor as yourself.’[y] No other commandment is greater than these.”
32 Then the scribe told him, “Well said,[z] Teacher! You have told the truth that ‘God[aa] is one, and there is no other besides him.’[ab] 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 the burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
34 When Jesus saw how wisely the man[ac] answered, he told him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” After that, no one dared to ask him another question.
A Question about David’s Son(E)
35 While Jesus was teaching in the Temple, he asked, “How can the scribes say that the Messiah[ad] is David’s son? 36 David himself said by the Holy Spirit,
37 David himself calls him ‘Lord,’ so how can he be his son?” And the large crowd kept listening to him with delight.
Jesus Denounces the Scribes(F)
38 As he taught, he said, “Beware of the scribes! They like to walk around in long robes, to be greeted in the marketplaces, 39 and to have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. 40 They devour widows’ houses[ag] and say long prayers to cover it up. They will receive greater condemnation!”
The Widow’s Offering(G)
41 As Jesus[ah] sat facing the offering box, he watched how the crowd was dropping their money into it.[ai] Many rich people were dropping in large amounts. 42 Then a destitute widow came and dropped in two small copper coins,[aj] worth about a cent.[ak] 43 He called his disciples and told them, “I tell all of you[al] with certainty, this destitute widow has dropped in more than everyone who is contributing to the offering box, 44 because all of them contributed out of their surplus, but out of her poverty she has given everything she had to live on.”
Footnotes
- Mark 12:1 Lit. he
- Mark 12:3 Lit. they
- Mark 12:3 Lit. him
- Mark 12:4 Lit. he
- Mark 12:4 Lit. him
- Mark 12:5 Lit. he
- Mark 12:5 Lit. with many others
- Mark 12:6 The Gk. lacks more person to send
- Mark 12:10 Or capstone
- Mark 12:11 MT source citation reads Lord’s
- Mark 12:11 Cf. Ps 118:22-23
- Mark 12:13 I.e. Royal party sympathizers
- Mark 12:15 Lit. he
- Mark 12:18 Lit. him
- Mark 12:19 Cf. Deut 25:5-6
- Mark 12:23 Lit. had her as wife
- Mark 12:25 Lit. they
- Mark 12:26 Cf. Exod 3:6
- Mark 12:28 Lit. heard them
- Mark 12:28 Lit. he
- Mark 12:29 MT source citation reads Lord
- Mark 12:29 MT source citation reads Lord
- Mark 12:30 MT source citation reads Lord
- Mark 12:30 Cf. Deut 6:4-5
- Mark 12:31 Cf. Lev 19:18
- Mark 12:32 The Gk. lacks said
- Mark 12:32 Lit. he
- Mark 12:32 Cf. Deut 6:4
- Mark 12:34 Lit. he
- Mark 12:35 Or Christ
- Mark 12:36 MT source citation reads Lord
- Mark 12:36 Cf. Ps 110:1; other mss read until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”’
- Mark 12:40 I.e. rob widows by taking their houses
- Mark 12:41 Lit. he
- Mark 12:41 Lit. into the offering box
- Mark 12:42 Lit. two lepta, the smallest coin denominated in their economy
- Mark 12:42 Lit. quadrans, worth ¼ of the Roman assarion coin, or about 1/10 of a day’s wage
- Mark 12:43 The Gk. pronoun you is pl.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.
