The Pharisees: Is It Lawful to Pay Taxes to Caesar?^(A)

^15 (B)Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk. ¹⁶ And they sent to Him their disciples with the ^(C)Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not ^[a]regard the person of men. ¹⁷ Tell us, therefore, what do You think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”

¹⁸ But Jesus ^[b]perceived their wickedness, and said, “Why do you test Me, you hypocrites? ¹⁹ Show Me the tax money.”

So they brought Him a denarius.

²⁰ And He said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?”

²¹ They said to Him, “Caesar’s.”

And He said to them, ^(D)“Render^[c] therefore to Caesar the things that are ^(E)Caesar’s, and to God the things that are ^(F)God’s.” ²² When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left Him and went their way.

The Sadducees: What About the Resurrection?^(G)

^23 (H)The same day the Sadducees, ^(I)who say there is no resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, ²⁴ saying: “Teacher, ^(J)Moses said that if a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother. ²⁵ Now there were with us seven brothers. The first died after he had married, and having no offspring, left his wife to his brother. ²⁶ Likewise the second also, and the third, even to the seventh. ²⁷ Last of all the woman died also. ²⁸ Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had her.”

²⁹ Jesus answered and said to them, “You are ^[d]mistaken, ^(K)not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God. ³⁰ For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but ^(L)are like angels ^[e]of God in heaven. ³¹ But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, ^32 (M)‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” ³³ And when the multitudes heard this, ^(N)they were astonished at His teaching.

The Scribes: Which Is the First Commandment of All?^(O)

^34 (P)But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. ³⁵ Then one of them, ^(Q)a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, ³⁶ “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?”

³⁷ Jesus said to him, ^(R)“‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the first and great commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ^(S)‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ^40 (T)On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

Jesus: How Can David Call His Descendant Lord?^(U)

^41 (V)While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, ⁴² saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?”

They said to Him, “The ^(W)Son of David.”

⁴³ He said to them, “How then does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying:

⁴⁵ If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his Son?” ^46 (Y)And no one was able to answer Him a word, ^(Z)nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore.

Responsibility for Property

22 “If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and slaughters it or sells it, he shall ^(A)restore five oxen for an ox and four sheep for a sheep. ² If the thief is found ^(B)breaking in, and he is struck so that he dies, there shall be ^(C)no guilt for his bloodshed. ³ If the sun has risen on him, there shall be guilt for his bloodshed. He should make full restitution; if he has nothing, then he shall be ^(D)sold^[a] for his theft. ⁴ If the theft is certainly ^(E)found alive in his hand, whether it is an ox or donkey or sheep, he shall ^(F)restore double.

⁵ “If a man causes a field or vineyard to be grazed, and lets loose his animal, and it feeds in another man’s field, he shall make restitution from the best of his own field and the best of his own vineyard.

⁶ “If fire breaks out and catches in thorns, so that stacked grain, standing grain, or the field is consumed, he who kindled the fire shall surely make restitution.

⁷ “If a man ^(G)delivers to his neighbor money or articles to keep, and it is stolen out of the man’s house, ^(H)if the thief is found, he shall pay double. ⁸ If the thief is not found, then the master of the house shall be brought to the ^(I)judges to see whether he has put his hand into his neighbor’s goods.

⁹ “For any kind of trespass, whether it concerns an ox, a donkey, a sheep, or clothing, or for any kind of lost thing which another claims to be his, the ^(J)cause of both parties shall come before the judges; and whomever the judges condemn shall pay double to his neighbor. ¹⁰ If a man delivers to his neighbor a donkey, an ox, a sheep, or any animal to keep, and it dies, is hurt, or driven away, no one seeing it, ¹¹ then an ^(K)oath of the Lord shall be between them both, that he has not put his hand into his neighbor’s goods; and the owner of it shall accept that, and he shall not make it good. ¹² But ^(L)if, in fact, it is stolen from him, he shall make restitution to the owner of it. ¹³ If it is ^(M)torn to pieces by a beast, then he shall bring it as evidence, and he shall not make good what was torn.

¹⁴ “And if a man borrows anything from his neighbor, and it becomes injured or dies, the owner of it not being with it, he shall surely make it good. ¹⁵ If its owner was with it, he shall not make it good; if it was hired, it came for its hire.

Moral and Ceremonial Principles

^16 (N)“If a man entices a virgin who is not betrothed, and lies with her, he shall surely pay the bride-price for her to be his wife. ¹⁷ If her father utterly refuses to give her to him, he shall pay money according to the ^(O)bride-price of virgins.

^18 (P)“You shall not permit a sorceress to live.

^19 (Q)“Whoever lies with an animal shall surely be put to death.

^20 (R)“He who sacrifices to any god, except to the Lord only, he shall be utterly destroyed.

^21 (S)“You shall neither mistreat a ^[b]stranger nor oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.

^22 (T)“You shall not afflict any widow or fatherless child. ²³ If you afflict them in any way, and they ^(U)cry at all to Me, I will surely ^(V)hear their cry; ²⁴ and My ^(W)wrath will become hot, and I will kill you with the sword; ^(X)your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.

^25 (Y)“If you lend money to any of My people who are poor among you, you shall not be like a moneylender to him; you shall not charge him ^(Z)interest. ^26 (AA)If you ever take your neighbor’s garment as a pledge, you shall return it to him before the sun goes down. ²⁷ For that is his only covering, it is his garment for his skin. What will he sleep in? And it will be that when he cries to Me, I will hear, for I am ^(AB)gracious.

^28 (AC)“You shall not revile God, nor curse a ^(AD)ruler of your people.

²⁹ “You shall not delay to offer ^(AE)the first of your ripe produce and your juices. ^(AF)The firstborn of your sons you shall give to Me. ^30 (AG)Likewise you shall do with your oxen and your sheep. It shall be with its mother ^(AH)seven days; on the eighth day you shall give it to Me.

³¹ “And you shall be ^(AI)holy men to Me: ^(AJ)you shall not eat meat torn by beasts in the field; you shall throw it to the dogs.

Justice for All

23 “You ^(AK)shall not circulate a false report. Do not put your hand with the wicked to be an ^(AL)unrighteous witness. ^2 (AM)You shall not follow a crowd to do evil; ^(AN)nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after many to pervert justice. ³ You shall not show partiality to a ^(AO)poor man in his dispute.

^4 (AP)“If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall surely bring it back to him again. ^5 (AQ)If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying under its burden, and you would refrain from helping it, you shall surely help him with it.

^6 (AR)“You shall not pervert the judgment of your poor in his dispute. ^7 (AS)Keep yourself far from a false matter; ^(AT)do not kill the innocent and righteous. For ^(AU)I will not justify the wicked. ⁸ And ^(AV)you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the discerning and perverts the words of the righteous.

⁹ “Also ^(AW)you shall not oppress a ^[c]stranger, for you know the heart of a stranger, because you were strangers in the land of Egypt.

The Law of Sabbaths

^10 (AX)“Six years you shall sow your land and gather in its produce, ¹¹ but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave, the beasts of the field may eat. In like manner you shall do with your vineyard and your ^[d]olive grove. ^12 (AY)Six days you shall do your work, and on the seventh day you shall rest, that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your female servant and the stranger may be refreshed.

¹³ “And in all that I have said to you, ^(AZ)be circumspect and ^(BA)make no mention of the name of other gods, nor let it be heard from your mouth.

Three Annual Feasts^(BB)

^14 (BC)“Three times you shall keep a feast to Me in the year: ^15 (BD)You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread (you shall eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month of Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt; ^(BE)none shall appear before Me empty); ^16 (BF)and the Feast of Harvest, the firstfruits of your labors which you have sown in the field; and ^(BG)the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you have gathered in the fruit of your labors from the field.

^17 (BH)“Three times in the year all your males shall appear before the Lord ^[e]God.

^18 (BI)“You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened ^(BJ)bread; nor shall the fat of My ^[f]sacrifice remain until morning. ^19 (BK)The first of the firstfruits of your land you shall bring into the house of the Lord your God. ^(BL)You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.

The Angel and the Promises

^20 (BM)“Behold, I send an Angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. ²¹ Beware of Him and obey His voice; ^(BN)do not provoke Him, for He will ^(BO)not pardon your transgressions; for ^(BP)My name is in Him. ²² But if you indeed obey His voice and do all that I speak, then ^(BQ)I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. ^23 (BR)For My Angel will go before you and ^(BS)bring you in to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites and the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I will ^[g]cut them off. ²⁴ You shall not ^(BT)bow down to their gods, nor serve them, ^(BU)nor do according to their works; ^(BV)but you shall utterly overthrow them and completely break down their sacred pillars.

²⁵ “So you shall ^(BW)serve the Lord your God, and ^(BX)He will bless your bread and your water. And ^(BY)I will take sickness away from the midst of you. ^26 (BZ)No one shall suffer miscarriage or be barren in your land; I will ^(CA)fulfill the number of your days.

²⁷ “I will send ^(CB)My fear before you, I will ^(CC)cause confusion among all the people to whom you come, and will make all your enemies turn their backs to you. ²⁸ And ^(CD)I will send hornets before you, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite from before you. ^29 (CE)I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the beasts of the field become too numerous for you. ³⁰ Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased, and you inherit the land. ³¹ And ^(CF)I will set your ^[h]bounds from the Red Sea to the sea, Philistia, and from the desert to the ^[i]River. For I will ^(CG)deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you shall drive them out before you. ^32 (CH)You shall make no ^[j]covenant with them, nor with their gods. ³³ They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against Me. For if you serve their gods, ^(CI)it will surely be a snare to you.”