Mark 12

¹ He went on to speak to them in parables, 'A man planted a vineyard; he fenced it round, dug out atrough for the winepress and built a tower; then he leased it to tenants and went abroad.

² When the time came, he sent a servant to the tenants to col ect from them his share of the produce ofthe vineyard.

³ But they seized the man, thrashed him and sent him away empty handed.

⁴ Next he sent another servant to them; him they beat about the head and treated shameful y.

⁵ And he sent another and him they kil ed; then a number of others, and they thrashed some and killedthe rest.

⁶ He had still someone left: his beloved son. He sent him to them last of al , thinking, "They wil respectmy son."

⁷ But those tenants said to each other, "This is the heir. Come on, let us kil him, and the inheritance wilbe ours."

⁸ So they seized him and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard.

⁹ Now what wil the owner of the vineyard do? He wil come and make an end of the tenants and givethe vineyard to others.

¹⁰ Have you not read this text of scripture: The stone which the builders rejected has become thecornerstone;

¹¹ this is the Lord's doing, and we marvel at it ?'

¹² And they would have liked to arrest him, because they realised that the parable was aimed at them,but they were afraid of the crowds. So they left him alone and went away.

¹³ Next they sent to him some Pharisees and some Herodians to catch him out in what he said.

¹⁴ These came and said to him, 'Master, we know that you are an honest man, that you are not afraid ofanyone, because human rank means nothing to you, and that you teach the way of God in al honesty. Is itpermissible to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay or not?'

¹⁵ Recognising their hypocrisy he said to them, 'Why are you putting me to the test? Hand me adenarius and let me see it.'

¹⁶ They handed him one and he said to them, 'Whose portrait is this? Whose title?' They said to him,'Caesar's.'

¹⁷ Jesus said to them, 'Pay Caesar what belongs to Caesar -- and God what belongs to God.' And theywere amazed at him.

¹⁸ Then some Sadducees -- who deny that there is a resurrection -- came to him and they put thisquestion to him,

¹⁹ 'Master, Moses prescribed for us that if a man's brother dies leaving a wife but no child, the manmust marry the widow to raise up children for his brother.

²⁰ Now there were seven brothers; the first married a wife and then died leaving no children.

²¹ The second married the widow, and he too died leaving no children; with the third it was the same,

²² and none of the seven left any children. Last of al the woman herself died.

²³ Now at the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife wil she be, since she had been married toal seven?'

²⁴ Jesus said to them, 'Surely the reason why you are wrong is that you understand neither thescriptures nor the power of God.

²⁵ For when they rise from the dead, men and women do not marry; no, they are like the angels inheaven.

²⁶ Now about the dead rising again, have you never read in the Book of Moses, in the passage aboutthe bush, how God spoke to him and said: I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob?

²⁷ He is God, not of the dead, but of the living. You are very much mistaken.'

²⁸ One of the scribes who had listened to them debating appreciated that Jesus had given a goodanswer and put a further question to him, 'Which is the first of al the commandments?'

²⁹ Jesus replied, 'This is the first: Listen, Israel, the Lord our God is the one, only Lord,

³⁰ and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with al your mind and withal your strength.

³¹ The second is this: You must love your neighbour as yourself. There is no commandment greaterthan these.'

³² The scribe said to him, 'Well spoken, Master; what you have said is true, that he is one and there isno other.

³³ To love him with al your heart, with al your understanding and strength, and to love your neighbouras yourself, this is far more important than any burnt offering or sacrifice.'

³⁴ Jesus, seeing how wisely he had spoken, said, 'You are not far from the kingdom of God.' And afterthat no one dared to question him any more.

³⁵ While teaching in the Temple, Jesus said, 'How can the scribes maintain that the Christ is the son ofDavid?

³⁶ David himself, moved by the Holy Spirit, said: The Lord declared to my Lord, take your seat at myright hand til I have made your enemies your footstool.

³⁷ David himself calls him Lord; in what way then can he be his son?' And the great crowd listened tohim with delight.

³⁸ In his teaching he said, 'Beware of the scribes who like to walk about in long robes, to be greetedrespectfully in the market squares,

³⁹ to take the front seats in the synagogues and the places of honour at banquets;

⁴⁰ these are the men who devour the property of widows and for show offer long prayers. The moresevere wil be the sentence they receive.'

⁴¹ He sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the treasury, andmany of the rich put in a great deal.

⁴² A poor widow came and put in two smal coins, the equivalent of a penny.

⁴³ Then he cal ed his disciples and said to them, 'In truth I tell you, this poor widow has put more in thanal who have contributed to the treasury;

⁴⁴ for they have al put in money they could spare, but she in her poverty has put in everything shepossessed, all she had to live on.'