Mark 12
Tree of Life Version
Taking the Kingdom by Force
12 Yeshua began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard. He put a hedge around it, dug a pit for the winepress, and built a tower. He leased it to some tenant farmers and went on a journey. 2 And at the season, he sent a servant to collect from the tenants part of the vineyard’s fruit. 3 But grabbing him, they beat him up and sent him away empty-handed. 4 And again the man sent another servant to them, and they wounded his head and treated him shamefully. 5 He sent another, and that one they killed; and so on with many others, beating some and killing some. 6 He had yet one, a well-loved son. He sent him to them last of all, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’
7 “But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir! Come on, let’s kill him and the inheritance will be ours!’ 8 So grabbing the son, they killed him and threw him out of the vineyard.
9 “What then will the master of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others. 10 Haven’t you read this Scripture?
‘The stone which the builders rejected,
this has become the chief cornerstone.
11 This came from Adonai,
and it is marvelous in our eyes.’”[a]
12 They were trying to seize Yeshua, because they realized that He spoke the parable against them. But they feared the crowd, so they left Him and went away.
A Test of Loyalty
13 Then they send some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Yeshua in order to trap Him with a word. 14 They come and say to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are honest, and what others think doesn’t concern You. You don’t look at men’s appearance, but teach the way of God according to the truth. Is it permitted to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? 15 Should we pay, or shouldn’t we?”
But Yeshua saw through their hypocrisy and said to them, “Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a denarius so I may see it.”
16 They brought one. And He said to them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”
“Caesar’s,” they said to Him.
17 Then Yeshua said to them, “Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were completely amazed at Him.
The Challenge of the Sadducees
18 Then Sadducees (who say there is no resurrection) came and began questioning Yeshua, saying, 19 “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that ‘if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, then his brother should take the widow and father children for his brother.’ [b] 20 There were seven brothers; and the first took a wife and, when he died, left no offspring. 21 And the second took her and died, leaving no offspring, and the third likewise. 22 Now the seven left no offspring. Last of all, the woman died, too. 23 In the resurrection, when they rise up, whose wife will she be? For all seven had married her.”
24 Yeshua said to them, “Isn’t this the reason you’ve gone astray, because you don’t understand the Scriptures or the power of God? 25 For when they rise up from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 26 But concerning the dead being raised, haven’t you read in the book of Moses about the burning bush? How God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? [c] 27 He’s not the God of the dead, but of the living. You have gone far astray!”
Love Ends the Argument
28 One of the Torah scholars came and heard them debating. Seeing that Yeshua had answered them well, he asked Him, “Which commandment is first of all?”
29 Yeshua answered, “The first is, ‘Shema Yisrael, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai echad. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One. 30 And you shall love Adonai your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ [d] 31 The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’[e] There is no other commandment greater than these.”
32 “Well said, Teacher,” the Torah scholar said to Him. “You have spoken the truth, that He is echad, and besides Him there is no other! [f] 33 And ‘to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, and with all the strength,’[g] and ‘to love the neighbor as oneself,’[h] is much more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
34 When Yeshua saw that he had answered wisely, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And no one dared any longer to question Him.
Who Is King David’s Lord?
35 While Yeshua was teaching in the Temple, He said, “How is it that the Torah scholars say that the Messiah is Ben-David? 36 David himself, through the Ruach ha-Kodesh, said,
‘Adonai said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
until I put Your enemies under Your feet.”’[i]
37 If David himself calls Him ‘Lord,’ in what way is He his son?” And the large crowd was listening to Him with delight.
38 In His teaching He said, “Watch out for the Torah scholars, who like to walk around in long robes. They like greetings in the marketplaces, 39 the best seats in the synagogues, and places of honor at feasts. 40 They devour widows’ houses and make long prayers as a show. These men will receive greater condemnation!”
41 He sat down opposite the treasury and began watching how the people were putting money into the offering box. Many rich people were putting in a lot. 42 Then a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, worth less than a penny. 43 Calling His disciples over, He said to them, “Amen, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those contributing to the box! 44 For they all put in from their surplus; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything she had, her whole living.”
Footnotes
- Mark 12:11 Ps. 118:22-23(117:22-23 LXX).
- Mark 12:20 Lit. raise up seed for his brother; cf. Dt. 25:5-6; Gen. 38:8.
- Mark 12:27 Exod. 3:6.
- Mark 12:31 Dt. 6:4-5(6:4-5 LXX), v’ahavta.
- Mark 12:31 Lev. 19:18b, v’ahavta l’reiacha kamocha.
- Mark 12:33 cf. Dt. 4:35 (LXX).
- Mark 12:33 Dt. 6:4-5.
- Mark 12:33 Lev. 19:18b.
- Mark 12:36 cf. Ps. 110:1; Ps. 109:1 (LXX).
Mark 12
English Standard Version
The Parable of the Tenants
12 (A)And he began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted (B)a vineyard (C)and put a fence around it and dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower, and (D)leased it to tenants and (E)went into another country. 2 When the season came, he sent a servant[a] to the tenants to get from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. 3 (F)And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4 (G)Again (H)he sent to them another servant, and (I)they struck him on the head and (J)treated him shamefully. 5 (K)And he sent another, and him they killed. And so with many others: some they beat, and some they killed. 6 He had still one other, (L)a beloved son. (M)Finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 7 But those tenants said to one another, (N)‘This is the heir. Come, (O)let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8 And they took him and killed him and (P)threw him out of the vineyard. 9 What will the owner of the vineyard do? (Q)He will (R)come and destroy the tenants and (S)give the vineyard to others. 10 (T)Have you not read (U)this Scripture:
(V)“‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;[b]
11 this was the Lord's doing,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’?”
12 And (W)they were seeking to arrest him (X)but feared the people, for they perceived that he had told the parable against them. So they (Y)left him and went away.
Paying Taxes to Caesar
13 (Z)And they sent to him some of (AA)the Pharisees and some of (AB)the Herodians, to (AC)trap him in his talk. 14 And they came and said to him, “Teacher, (AD)we know that you are true and do not care about anyone's opinion. For (AE)you are not swayed by appearances,[c] but truly teach (AF)the way of God. Is it lawful to pay (AG)taxes to (AH)Caesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?” 15 But, knowing (AI)their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why (AJ)put me to the test? Bring me (AK)a denarius[d] and let me look at it.” 16 And they brought one. And he said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said to him, “Caesar's.” 17 Jesus said to them, (AL)“Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.” And they marveled at him.
The Sadducees Ask About the Resurrection
18 And (AM)Sadducees came to him, (AN)who say that there is no resurrection. And they asked him a question, saying, 19 “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that (AO)if a man's brother dies and leaves a wife, but leaves no child, the man[e] must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. 20 There were seven brothers; the first took a wife, and when he died left no offspring. 21 And the second took her, and died, leaving no offspring. And the third likewise. 22 And the seven left no offspring. Last of all the woman also died. 23 In the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be? For the seven had her as wife.”
24 Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are wrong, because (AP)you know neither the Scriptures nor (AQ)the power of God? 25 For when they rise from the dead, they neither (AR)marry nor (AS)are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 26 And as for the dead being raised, (AT)have you not read in (AU)the book of Moses, in (AV)the passage about the bush, how God spoke to him, saying, (AW)‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? 27 He is not God of the dead, but of the living. You are quite wrong.”
The Great Commandment
28 (AX)And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” 29 Jesus answered, “The most important is, (AY)‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, (AZ)the Lord is one. 30 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 (BA)The second is this: (BB)‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment (BC)greater than these.” 32 And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that (BD)he is one, and (BE)there is no other besides him. 33 And to love him with all the heart and with all (BF)the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, (BG)is much more than all (BH)whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34 And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” (BI)And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.
Whose Son Is the Christ?
35 (BJ)And as (BK)Jesus taught in the temple, he said, “How can the scribes say that (BL)the Christ is the son of David? 36 David himself, (BM)in the Holy Spirit, declared,
(BN)“‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand,
until I put your enemies (BO)under your feet.”’
37 David himself calls him Lord. So (BP)how is he his son?” And the great throng (BQ)heard him gladly.
Beware of the Scribes
38 (BR)And in his teaching he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces 39 and have the best seats in the synagogues and (BS)the places of honor at feasts, 40 (BT)who devour widows' houses and (BU)for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”
The Widow's Offering
41 (BV)And he sat down opposite (BW)the treasury and watched the people (BX)putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. 42 And a poor widow came and put in two (BY)small copper coins, which make a penny.[f] 43 And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, (BZ)this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. 44 For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her (CA)poverty has put in everything she had, all (CB)she had to live on.”
Footnotes
- Mark 12:2 Or bondservant; also verse 4
- Mark 12:10 Greek the head of the corner
- Mark 12:14 Greek you do not look at people's faces
- Mark 12:15 A denarius was a day's wage for a laborer
- Mark 12:19 Greek his brother
- Mark 12:42 Greek two lepta, which make a kodrantes; a kodrantes (Latin quadrans) was a Roman copper coin worth about 1/64 of a denarius (which was a day's wage for a laborer)
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
