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Matthew 22
New International Version
Matthew 22
New International Version
The Parable of the Wedding Banquet(A)
22 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: 2 “The kingdom of heaven is like(B) a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. 3 He sent his servants(C) to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.
4 “Then he sent some more servants(D) and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’
5 “But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. 6 The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. 7 The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers(E) and burned their city.
8 “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. 9 So go to the street corners(F) and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ 10 So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good,(G) and the wedding hall was filled with guests.
11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 12 He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend(H)?’ The man was speechless.
13 “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’(I)
14 “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”(J)
Paying the Imperial Tax to Caesar(K)
15 Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. 16 They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians.(L) “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are. 17 Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay the imperial tax[a](M) to Caesar or not?”
18 But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? 19 Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought him a denarius, 20 and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”
21 “Caesar’s,” they replied.
Then he said to them, “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s,(N) and to God what is God’s.”
22 When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away.(O)
Marriage at the Resurrection(P)
23 That same day the Sadducees,(Q) who say there is no resurrection,(R) came to him with a question. 24 “Teacher,” they said, “Moses told us that if a man dies without having children, his brother must marry the widow and raise up offspring for him.(S) 25 Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died, and since he had no children, he left his wife to his brother. 26 The same thing happened to the second and third brother, right on down to the seventh. 27 Finally, the woman died. 28 Now then, at the resurrection, whose wife will she be of the seven, since all of them were married to her?”
29 Jesus replied, “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures(T) or the power of God. 30 At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage;(U) they will be like the angels in heaven. 31 But about the resurrection of the dead—have you not read what God said to you, 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’[b]?(V) He is not the God of the dead but of the living.”
33 When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at his teaching.(W)
The Greatest Commandment(X)
34 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees,(Y) the Pharisees got together. 35 One of them, an expert in the law,(Z) tested him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’[c](AA) 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[d](AB) 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”(AC)
Whose Son Is the Messiah?(AD)
41 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, 42 “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?”
“The son of David,”(AE) they replied.
43 He said to them, “How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’? For he says,
44 “‘The Lord said to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand
until I put your enemies
under your feet.”’[e](AF)
45 If then David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?” 46 No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions.(AG)
Footnotes
- Matthew 22:17 A special tax levied on subject peoples, not on Roman citizens
- Matthew 22:32 Exodus 3:6
- Matthew 22:37 Deut. 6:5
- Matthew 22:39 Lev. 19:18
- Matthew 22:44 Psalm 110:1
Matthew 22
The Message
Matthew 22
The Message
The Story of the Wedding Banquet
22 1-3 Jesus responded by telling still more stories. “God’s kingdom,” he said, “is like a king who threw a wedding banquet for his son. He sent out servants to call in all the invited guests. And they wouldn’t come!
4 “He sent out another round of servants, instructing them to tell the guests, ‘Look, everything is on the table, the prime rib is ready for carving. Come to the feast!’
5-7 “They only shrugged their shoulders and went off, one to weed his garden, another to work in his shop. The rest, with nothing better to do, beat up on the messengers and then killed them. The king was outraged and sent his soldiers to destroy those thugs and level their city.
8-10 “Then he told his servants, ‘We have a wedding banquet all prepared but no guests. The ones I invited weren’t up to it. Go out into the busiest intersections in town and invite anyone you find to the banquet.’ The servants went out on the streets and rounded up everyone they laid eyes on, good and bad, regardless. And so the banquet was on—every place filled.
11-13 “When the king entered and looked over the scene, he spotted a man who wasn’t properly dressed. He said to him, ‘Friend, how dare you come in here looking like that!’ The man was speechless. Then the king told his servants, ‘Get him out of here—fast. Tie him up and ship him to hell. And make sure he doesn’t get back in.’
14 “That’s what I mean when I say, ‘Many get invited; only a few make it.’”
Paying Taxes
15-17 That’s when the Pharisees plotted a way to trap him into saying something damaging. They sent their disciples, with a few of Herod’s followers mixed in, to ask, “Teacher, we know you have integrity, teach the way of God accurately, are indifferent to popular opinion, and don’t pander to your students. So tell us honestly: Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”
18-19 Jesus knew they were up to no good. He said, “Why are you playing these games with me? Why are you trying to trap me? Do you have a coin? Let me see it.” They handed him a silver piece.
20 “This engraving—who does it look like? And whose name is on it?”
21 They said, “Caesar.”
“Then give Caesar what is his, and give God what is his.”
22 The Pharisees were speechless. They went off shaking their heads.
Marriage and Resurrection
23-28 That same day, Sadducees approached him. This is the party that denies any possibility of resurrection. They asked, “Teacher, Moses said that if a man dies childless, his brother is obligated to marry his widow and father a child with her. Here’s a case where there were seven brothers. The first brother married and died, leaving no child, and his wife passed to his brother. The second brother also left her childless, then the third—and on and on, all seven. Eventually the wife died. Now here’s our question: At the resurrection, whose wife is she? She was a wife to each of them.”
29-33 Jesus answered, “You’re off base on two counts: You don’t know what God said, and you don’t know how God works. At the resurrection we’re beyond marriage. As with the angels, all our ecstasies and intimacies then will be with God. And regarding your speculation on whether the dead are raised or not, don’t you read your Bibles? The grammar is clear: God says, ‘I am—not was—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob.’ The living God defines himself not as the God of dead men, but of the living.” Hearing this exchange the crowd was much impressed.
The Most Important Command
34-36 When the Pharisees heard how he had bested the Sadducees, they gathered their forces for an assault. One of their religion scholars spoke for them, posing a question they hoped would show him up: “Teacher, which command in God’s Law is the most important?”
37-40 Jesus said, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.’ This is the most important, the first on any list. But there is a second to set alongside it: ‘Love others as well as you love yourself.’ These two commands are pegs; everything in God’s Law and the Prophets hangs from them.”
David’s Son and Master
41-42 As the Pharisees were regrouping, Jesus caught them off balance with his own test question: “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said, “David’s son.”
43-45 Jesus replied, “Well, if the Christ is David’s son, how do you explain that David, under inspiration, named Christ his ‘Master’?
God said to my Master,
“Sit here at my right hand
until I make your enemies your footstool.”
“Now if David calls him ‘Master,’ how can he at the same time be his son?”
46 That stumped them, literalists that they were. Unwilling to risk losing face again in one of these public verbal exchanges, they quit asking questions for good.
Matthew 22
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
Matthew 22
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
22 And Jesus answering, spoke again in parables to them, saying:
2 The kingdom of heaven is likened to a king, who made a marriage for his son.
3 And he sent his servants, to call them that were invited to the marriage; and they would not come.
4 Again he sent other servants, saying: Tell them that were invited, Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my calves and fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come ye to the marriage.
5 But they neglected, and went their own ways, one to his farm, and another to his merchandise.
6 And the rest laid hands on his servants, and having treated them contumeliously, put them to death.
7 But when the king had heard of it, he was angry, and sending his armies, he destroyed those murderers, and burnt their city.
8 Then he saith to his servants: The marriage indeed is ready; but they that were invited were not worthy.
9 Go ye therefore into the highways; and as many as you shall find, call to the marriage.
10 And his servants going forth into the ways, gathered together all that they found, both bad and good: and the marriage was filled with guests.
11 And the king went in to see the guests: and he saw there a man who had not on a wedding garment.
12 And he saith to him: Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? But he was silent.
13 Then the king said to the waiters: Bind his hands and feet, and cast him into the exterior darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
14 For many are called, but few are chosen.
15 Then the Pharisees going, consulted among themselves how to insnare him in his speech.
16 And they sent to him their disciples with the Herodians, saying: Master, we know that thou art a true speaker, and teachest the way of God in truth, neither carest thou for any man: for thou dost not regard the person of men.
17 Tell us therefore what dost thou think, is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not?
18 But Jesus knowing their wickedness, said: Why do you tempt me, ye hypocrites?
19 Shew me the coin of the tribute. And they offered him a penny.
20 And Jesus saith to them: Whose image and inscription is this?
21 They say to him: Caesar's. Then he saith to them: Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's; and to God, the things that are God's.
22 And hearing this they wondered, and leaving him, went their ways.
23 That day there came to him the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection; and asked him,
24 Saying: Master, Moses said: If a man die having no son, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up issue to his brother.
25 Now there were with us seven brethren: and the first having married a wife, died; and not having issue, left his wife to his brother.
26 In like manner the second, and the third, and so on to the seventh.
27 And last of all the woman died also.
28 At the resurrection therefore whose wife of the seven shall she be? for they all had her.
29 And Jesus answering, said to them: You err, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God.
30 For in the resurrection they shall neither marry nor be married; but shall be as the angels of God in heaven.
31 And concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read that which was spoken by God, saying to you:
32 I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living.
33 And the multitudes hearing it, were in admiration at his doctrine.
34 But the Pharisees hearing that he had silenced the Sadducees, came together:
35 And one of them, a doctor of the law, asking him, tempting him:
36 Master, which is the greatest commandment in the law?
37 Jesus said to him: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind.
38 This is the greatest and the first commandment.
39 And the second is like to this: Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
40 On these two commandments dependeth the whole law and the prophets.
41 And the Pharisees being gathered together, Jesus asked them,
42 Saying: What think you of Christ? whose son is he? They say to him: David's.
43 He saith to them: How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying:
44 The Lord said to my Lord, Sit on my right hand, until I make thy enemies thy footstool?
45 If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?
46 And no man was able to answer him a word; neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions.
Matthew 22
Expanded Bible
Matthew 22
Expanded Bible
A Story About a Wedding Feast(A)
22 Jesus again used ·stories [parables] to teach them. He said, 2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding ·feast [banquet] for his son. 3 When the ·feast [banquet] was ready, the king sent his servants to ·tell [inform; call] the people who had been invited, but they refused to come.
4 “Then the king sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited that my ·feast [banquet] is ready. I have killed my best ·bulls [or oxen] and [L fattened] calves for the dinner, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding ·feast [banquet].’
5 “But the people ·refused to listen [paid no attention] to the servants and ·left to do other things [went their own way]. One went to ·work in his field [his field/farm], and another went to his business. 6 ·Some of the other people [or The rest] grabbed the servants, ·beat [mistreated; insulted] them, and killed them. 7 The king was furious and sent his army to ·kill [destroy] the murderers and burn their city [C probably an allusion to the destruction of Jerusalam in ad 70].
8 “After that, the king said to his servants, ‘The wedding ·feast [banquet] is ready. I invited those people, but they ·were not worthy [do not deserve] to come. 9 So go to the ·street corners [crossroads; or main roads] and invite everyone you find to come to my ·feast [banquet].’ 10 So the servants went into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and ·bad [evil]. And the wedding hall was filled with guests.
11 “[L But] When the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man who was not dressed ·for a wedding [in wedding clothes]. 12 The king said, ‘Friend, how were you allowed to come in here? You are not dressed for a wedding.’ But the man ·said nothing [was speechless/silent]. 13 So the king told some servants, ‘Tie this man’s hands and feet. Throw him out into the ·darkness [darkness outside; or outermost darkness], where ·people will cry and grind their teeth with pain [L there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth; C symbols of agony and torment].’
14 “·Yes [L For], many are ·invited [called], but only a few are chosen.”
Is It Right to Pay Taxes or Not?(B)
15 Then the Pharisees left that place and ·made plans [plotted] to ·trap [catch] Jesus in ·saying something wrong [his words]. 16 They sent some of their own ·followers [disciples] and some people from the group called Herodians [C a political group that supported king Herod and his family]. They said, “Teacher, we know that you are ·an honest man [true; sincere] and that you teach ·the truth [with sincerity/honesty] about God’s way. You are not ·afraid of [L concerned about] what other people think about you, because you ·pay no attention to who they are [play no favorites; are impartial; aren’t swayed by appearances]. 17 So tell us what you think. Is it ·right [permissible; lawful] to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” [C Saying “yes” would anger Jews who hated Roman rule; saying “no” could result in being charged with insurrection.]
18 But knowing ·that these leaders were trying to trick him [their evil/malicious motives], Jesus said, “You hypocrites! Why are you ·trying to trap [testing] me? 19 Show me a coin used for paying the tax.” So the men ·showed him a coin [L brought him a denarius; C a Roman coin worth a day’s wages]. 20 Then Jesus asked, “Whose ·image [likeness; portrait] and ·name [inscription] are on the coin?”
21 The men answered, “Caesar’s.” [C Ironically, the religious leaders were carrying coins bearing the idolatrous image of Caesar.]
Then Jesus said to them, “·Give [T Render] to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and give to God the things that are God’s.”
22 When the men heard what Jesus said, they were amazed and left him and went away.
Some Sadducees Try to Trick Jesus(C)
23 That same day some Sadducees came to Jesus and asked him a question. (Sadducees believed that people would not rise from the dead.) 24 They said, “Teacher, Moses said if a married man dies without having children, his brother must marry the widow and ·have children [L raise up offspring/seed] for him [Deut. 25:5]. 25 Once there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died. Since he had no ·children [offspring], his brother married the widow. 26 Then the second brother also died. The same thing happened to the third brother ·and all the other brothers [L down to the seventh]. 27 Finally, the woman died. 28 Since all seven men had married her, ·when people rise from the dead [L at the resurrection], whose wife will she be?”
29 Jesus answered, “You ·don’t understand [are mistaken/deceived], because you don’t know what the Scriptures say, and you don’t know about the power of God. 30 [L For] ·When people rise from the dead [L At the resurrection], they will not marry, nor will they be given to someone to marry. They will be like the angels in heaven. 31 ·Surely you have read [L Have you not read…?] what God said to you ·about rising [concerning the resurrection] from the dead. 32 God said, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob [Ex. 3:6; C God is still the God of the patriarchs, so they must have a continued existence after death].’ God is the God of the living, not the dead.”
33 When the people heard this, they were ·amazed [astounded] at Jesus’ teaching.
The Most Important Command(D)
34 When the Pharisees learned that ·the Sadducees could not argue with Jesus’ answers to them [L Jesus had silenced the Sadducees], the Pharisees met together. 35 One Pharisee, who was an expert on the law of Moses, asked Jesus this question to ·test [trap] him: 36 “Teacher, which command in the law is the ·most important [greatest]?”
37 Jesus answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind [Deut. 6:5].’ 38 This is the first and ·most important [greatest] command. 39 And the second command is like the first: ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself [Lev. 19:18].’ 40 All the law and the ·writings of the prophets [L prophets] ·depend [are based; L hang] on these two commands.”
Jesus Questions the Pharisees(E)
41 While the Pharisees were together, Jesus asked them, 42 “What do you think about the ·Christ [Messiah]? Whose ·son [descendant] is he?”
They answered, “The Son of David [see 2 Sam. 7:12].”
43 Then Jesus said to them, “Then why did David call him ‘Lord’? David, speaking ·by the power of the Holy Spirit [L in/by the Spirit], said,
44 ‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit by me at my right ·side [L hand; C the place of greatest honor beside the king],
until I put your enemies ·under your control [L beneath your feet; C meaning defeated or made subject to your authority; Ps. 110:1].”’
45 David calls ·the Christ [the Messiah; L him] ‘Lord,’ so how can ·the Christ [the Messiah; L he] be his son?”
46 ·None of the Pharisees [L No one] could answer ·Jesus’ question [a word], and after that day no one ·was brave enough [dared] to ask him any more questions.
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