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. At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. But they seized him, beat him and sent him away empty-handed. Then he sent another servant to them; they struck this man on the head and treated him shamefully. He sent still another, and that one they killed. He sent many others; some of them they beat, others they killed.

“He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all,(C) saying, ‘They will respect my son.’

“But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.

“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:

“‘The Lord said to my Lord:
    “Sit at my right hand
until I put your enemies
    under your feet.”’[h](AF)

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

  1. Mark 12:11 Psalm 118:22,23
  2. Mark 12:14 A special tax levied on subject peoples, not on Roman citizens
  3. Mark 12:23 Some manuscripts resurrection, when people rise from the dead,
  4. Mark 12:26 Exodus 3:6
  5. Mark 12:29 Or The Lord our God is one Lord
  6. Mark 12:30 Deut. 6:4,5
  7. Mark 12:31 Lev. 19:18
  8. Mark 12:36 Psalm 110:1

Psalm 43[a]

Vindicate me, my God,
    and plead my cause(A)
    against an unfaithful nation.
Rescue me(B) from those who are
    deceitful and wicked.(C)
You are God my stronghold.
    Why have you rejected(D) me?
Why must I go about mourning,(E)
    oppressed by the enemy?(F)
Send me your light(G) and your faithful care,(H)
    let them lead me;(I)
let them bring me to your holy mountain,(J)
    to the place where you dwell.(K)
Then I will go(L) to the altar(M) of God,
    to God, my joy(N) and my delight.(O)
I will praise you with the lyre,(P)
    O God, my God.

Why, my soul, are you downcast?
    Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
    for I will yet praise him,
    my Savior and my God.(Q)

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 43:1 In many Hebrew manuscripts Psalms 42 and 43 constitute one psalm.

The Covenant Renewed at Shechem

24 Then Joshua assembled(A) all the tribes of Israel at Shechem.(B) He summoned(C) the elders,(D) leaders, judges and officials of Israel,(E) and they presented themselves before God.

Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Long ago your ancestors, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor,(F) lived beyond the Euphrates River and worshiped other gods.(G) But I took your father Abraham from the land beyond the Euphrates and led him throughout Canaan(H) and gave him many descendants.(I) I gave him Isaac,(J) and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau.(K) I assigned the hill country of Seir(L) to Esau, but Jacob and his family went down to Egypt.(M)

“‘Then I sent Moses and Aaron,(N) and I afflicted the Egyptians by what I did there, and I brought you out.(O) When I brought your people out of Egypt, you came to the sea,(P) and the Egyptians pursued them with chariots and horsemen[a](Q) as far as the Red Sea.[b](R) But they cried(S) to the Lord for help, and he put darkness(T) between you and the Egyptians; he brought the sea over them and covered them.(U) You saw with your own eyes what I did to the Egyptians.(V) Then you lived in the wilderness for a long time.(W)

“‘I brought you to the land of the Amorites(X) who lived east of the Jordan. They fought against you, but I gave them into your hands. I destroyed them from before you, and you took possession of their land.(Y) When Balak son of Zippor,(Z) the king of Moab, prepared to fight against Israel, he sent for Balaam son of Beor(AA) to put a curse on you.(AB) 10 But I would not listen to Balaam, so he blessed you(AC) again and again, and I delivered you out of his hand.

11 “‘Then you crossed the Jordan(AD) and came to Jericho.(AE) The citizens of Jericho fought against you, as did also the Amorites, Perizzites,(AF) Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites and Jebusites,(AG) but I gave them into your hands.(AH) 12 I sent the hornet(AI) ahead of you, which drove them out(AJ) before you—also the two Amorite kings. You did not do it with your own sword and bow.(AK) 13 So I gave you a land(AL) on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.’(AM)

14 “Now fear the Lord(AN) and serve him with all faithfulness.(AO) Throw away the gods(AP) your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt,(AQ) and serve the Lord. 15 But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites,(AR) in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household,(AS) we will serve the Lord.”(AT)

16 Then the people answered, “Far be it from us to forsake(AU) the Lord to serve other gods! 17 It was the Lord our God himself who brought us and our parents up out of Egypt, from that land of slavery,(AV) and performed those great signs(AW) before our eyes. He protected us on our entire journey and among all the nations through which we traveled. 18 And the Lord drove out(AX) before us all the nations,(AY) including the Amorites, who lived in the land.(AZ) We too will serve the Lord, because he is our God.(BA)

19 Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the Lord. He is a holy God;(BB) he is a jealous God.(BC) He will not forgive(BD) your rebellion(BE) and your sins. 20 If you forsake the Lord(BF) and serve foreign gods, he will turn(BG) and bring disaster(BH) on you and make an end of you,(BI) after he has been good to you.”

21 But the people said to Joshua, “No! We will serve the Lord.”

22 Then Joshua said, “You are witnesses(BJ) against yourselves that you have chosen(BK) to serve the Lord.”

“Yes, we are witnesses,(BL)” they replied.

23 “Now then,” said Joshua, “throw away the foreign gods(BM) that are among you and yield your hearts(BN) to the Lord, the God of Israel.”

24 And the people said to Joshua, “We will serve the Lord our God and obey him.”(BO)

25 On that day Joshua made a covenant(BP) for the people, and there at Shechem(BQ) he reaffirmed for them decrees and laws.(BR) 26 And Joshua recorded(BS) these things in the Book of the Law of God.(BT) Then he took a large stone(BU) and set it up there under the oak(BV) near the holy place of the Lord.

27 “See!” he said to all the people. “This stone(BW) will be a witness(BX) against us. It has heard all the words the Lord has said to us. It will be a witness against you if you are untrue(BY) to your God.”(BZ)

28 Then Joshua dismissed the people, each to their own inheritance.(CA)

Buried in the Promised Land(CB)

29 After these things, Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died(CC) at the age of a hundred and ten.(CD) 30 And they buried him in the land of his inheritance, at Timnath Serah[c](CE) in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.(CF)

31 Israel served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders(CG) who outlived him and who had experienced everything the Lord had done for Israel.

32 And Joseph’s bones,(CH) which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt,(CI) were buried at Shechem in the tract of land(CJ) that Jacob bought for a hundred pieces of silver[d] from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem. This became the inheritance of Joseph’s descendants.

33 And Eleazar son of Aaron(CK) died and was buried at Gibeah,(CL) which had been allotted to his son Phinehas(CM) in the hill country(CN) of Ephraim.

Footnotes

  1. Joshua 24:6 Or charioteers
  2. Joshua 24:6 Or the Sea of Reeds
  3. Joshua 24:30 Also known as Timnath Heres (see Judges 2:9)
  4. Joshua 24:32 Hebrew hundred kesitahs; a kesitah was a unit of money of unknown weight and value.

Israel Fights the Remaining Canaanites(A)

After the death(B) of Joshua, the Israelites asked the Lord, “Who of us is to go up first(C) to fight against the Canaanites?(D)

The Lord answered, “Judah(E) shall go up; I have given the land into their hands.(F)

The men of Judah then said to the Simeonites their fellow Israelites, “Come up with us into the territory allotted to us, to fight against the Canaanites. We in turn will go with you into yours.” So the Simeonites(G) went with them.

When Judah attacked, the Lord gave the Canaanites and Perizzites(H) into their hands, and they struck down ten thousand men at Bezek.(I) It was there that they found Adoni-Bezek(J) and fought against him, putting to rout the Canaanites and Perizzites. Adoni-Bezek fled, but they chased him and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and big toes.

Then Adoni-Bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off have picked up scraps under my table. Now God has paid me back(K) for what I did to them.” They brought him to Jerusalem,(L) and he died there.

The men of Judah attacked Jerusalem(M) also and took it. They put the city to the sword and set it on fire.

After that, Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites living in the hill country,(N) the Negev(O) and the western foothills. 10 They advanced against the Canaanites living in Hebron(P) (formerly called Kiriath Arba(Q)) and defeated Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai.(R) 11 From there they advanced against the people living in Debir(S) (formerly called Kiriath Sepher).

12 And Caleb said, “I will give my daughter Aksah in marriage to the man who attacks and captures Kiriath Sepher.” 13 Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, took it; so Caleb gave his daughter Aksah to him in marriage.

14 One day when she came to Othniel, she urged him[a] to ask her father for a field. When she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her, “What can I do for you?”

15 She replied, “Do me a special favor. Since you have given me land in the Negev, give me also springs of water.” So Caleb gave her the upper and lower springs.(T)

16 The descendants of Moses’ father-in-law,(U) the Kenite,(V) went up from the City of Palms[b](W) with the people of Judah to live among the inhabitants of the Desert of Judah in the Negev near Arad.(X)

17 Then the men of Judah went with the Simeonites(Y) their fellow Israelites and attacked the Canaanites living in Zephath, and they totally destroyed[c] the city. Therefore it was called Hormah.[d](Z) 18 Judah also took[e] Gaza,(AA) Ashkelon(AB) and Ekron—each city with its territory.

19 The Lord was with(AC) the men of Judah. They took possession of the hill country,(AD) but they were unable to drive the people from the plains, because they had chariots fitted with iron.(AE) 20 As Moses had promised, Hebron(AF) was given to Caleb, who drove from it the three sons of Anak.(AG) 21 The Benjamites, however, did not drive out(AH) the Jebusites, who were living in Jerusalem;(AI) to this day the Jebusites live there with the Benjamites.

22 Now the tribes of Joseph(AJ) attacked Bethel,(AK) and the Lord was with them. 23 When they sent men to spy out Bethel (formerly called Luz),(AL) 24 the spies saw a man coming out of the city and they said to him, “Show us how to get into the city and we will see that you are treated well.(AM) 25 So he showed them, and they put the city to the sword but spared(AN) the man and his whole family. 26 He then went to the land of the Hittites,(AO) where he built a city and called it Luz,(AP) which is its name to this day.

27 But Manasseh did not(AQ) drive out the people of Beth Shan or Taanach or Dor(AR) or Ibleam(AS) or Megiddo(AT) and their surrounding settlements, for the Canaanites(AU) were determined to live in that land. 28 When Israel became strong, they pressed the Canaanites into forced labor but never drove them out completely.(AV) 29 Nor did Ephraim(AW) drive out the Canaanites living in Gezer,(AX) but the Canaanites continued to live there among them.(AY) 30 Neither did Zebulun drive out the Canaanites living in Kitron or Nahalol, so these Canaanites lived among them, but Zebulun did subject them to forced labor. 31 Nor did Asher(AZ) drive out those living in Akko or Sidon(BA) or Ahlab or Akzib(BB) or Helbah or Aphek(BC) or Rehob.(BD) 32 The Asherites lived among the Canaanite inhabitants of the land because they did not drive them out. 33 Neither did Naphtali drive out those living in Beth Shemesh(BE) or Beth Anath(BF); but the Naphtalites too lived among the Canaanite inhabitants of the land, and those living in Beth Shemesh and Beth Anath became forced laborers for them. 34 The Amorites(BG) confined the Danites(BH) to the hill country, not allowing them to come down into the plain.(BI) 35 And the Amorites were determined also to hold out in Mount Heres,(BJ) Aijalon(BK) and Shaalbim,(BL) but when the power of the tribes of Joseph increased, they too were pressed into forced labor. 36 The boundary of the Amorites was from Scorpion Pass(BM) to Sela(BN) and beyond.(BO)

The Angel of the Lord at Bokim

The angel of the Lord(BP) went up from Gilgal(BQ) to Bokim(BR) and said, “I brought you up out of Egypt(BS) and led you into the land I swore to give to your ancestors.(BT) I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you,(BU) and you shall not make a covenant with the people of this land,(BV) but you shall break down their altars.(BW)’ Yet you have disobeyed(BX) me. Why have you done this? And I have also said, ‘I will not drive them out before you;(BY) they will become traps(BZ) for you, and their gods will become snares(CA) to you.’”

When the angel of the Lord had spoken these things to all the Israelites, the people wept aloud,(CB) and they called that place Bokim.[f](CC) There they offered sacrifices to the Lord.

Disobedience and Defeat(CD)

After Joshua had dismissed the Israelites, they went to take possession of the land, each to their own inheritance. The people served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had seen all the great things the Lord had done for Israel.(CE)

Joshua son of Nun,(CF) the servant of the Lord, died at the age of a hundred and ten. And they buried him in the land of his inheritance, at Timnath Heres[g](CG) in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.

10 After that whole generation had been gathered to their ancestors, another generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel.(CH) 11 Then the Israelites did evil(CI) in the eyes of the Lord(CJ) and served the Baals.(CK) 12 They forsook the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed and worshiped various gods(CL) of the peoples around them.(CM) They aroused(CN) the Lord’s anger(CO) 13 because they forsook(CP) him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths.(CQ) 14 In his anger(CR) against Israel the Lord gave them into the hands(CS) of raiders who plundered(CT) them. He sold them(CU) into the hands of their enemies all around, whom they were no longer able to resist.(CV) 15 Whenever Israel went out to fight, the hand of the Lord was against them(CW) to defeat them, just as he had sworn to them. They were in great distress.(CX)

16 Then the Lord raised up judges,[h](CY) who saved(CZ) them out of the hands of these raiders. 17 Yet they would not listen to their judges but prostituted(DA) themselves to other gods(DB) and worshiped them.(DC) They quickly turned(DD) from the ways of their ancestors, who had been obedient to the Lord’s commands.(DE) 18 Whenever the Lord raised up a judge for them, he was with the judge and saved(DF) them out of the hands of their enemies as long as the judge lived; for the Lord relented(DG) because of their groaning(DH) under those who oppressed and afflicted(DI) them. 19 But when the judge died, the people returned to ways even more corrupt(DJ) than those of their ancestors,(DK) following other gods and serving and worshiping them.(DL) They refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn(DM) ways.

20 Therefore the Lord was very angry(DN) with Israel and said, “Because this nation has violated the covenant(DO) I ordained for their ancestors and has not listened to me, 21 I will no longer drive out(DP) before them any of the nations Joshua left when he died. 22 I will use them to test(DQ) Israel and see whether they will keep the way of the Lord and walk in it as their ancestors did.” 23 The Lord had allowed those nations to remain; he did not drive them out at once by giving them into the hands of Joshua.(DR)

Footnotes

  1. Judges 1:14 Hebrew; Septuagint and Vulgate Othniel, he urged her
  2. Judges 1:16 That is, Jericho
  3. Judges 1:17 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
  4. Judges 1:17 Hormah means destruction.
  5. Judges 1:18 Hebrew; Septuagint Judah did not take
  6. Judges 2:5 Bokim means weepers.
  7. Judges 2:9 Also known as Timnath Serah (see Joshua 19:50 and 24:30)
  8. Judges 2:16 Or leaders; similarly in verses 17-19

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