Mark 12

Disciples’ Literal New Testament

You Priests Are Like Farmers Who Killed The Owner’s Messengers And His Son

12 And He began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a pit [for a wine press] and built a tower. And he rented it to farmers and went-on-a-journey. ² And he sent forth a slave to the farmers at the harvest time in order that he might receive from the fruits of the vineyard from the farmers. ³ And having taken him, they beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. ⁴ And again he sent-forth another slave to them. And that one they struck-on-the-head, and dishonored. ⁵ And he sent forth another— and that one they killed— and many others, they beating some and killing others. ⁶ He was still having one to send: a beloved son. He sent him forth to them last, saying that ‘They will have-regard-for my son’. ⁷ But those farmers said to themselves that ‘This one is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours’. ⁸ And having taken him, they killed him and threw him outside of the vineyard. ⁹ Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the farmers, and give the vineyard to others.

But As The Psalm Says, The Stone The Builders Rejected Became The Cornerstone

¹⁰ Did you not even read this Scripture [in Ps 118:22-23]: ‘The stone which the ones building rejected, this became the head of the corner^[a]. ¹¹ This came about from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?” ¹² And they were seeking to seize Him. And^[b] they feared the crowd. For they^[c] knew that He spoke the parable against them. And having left Him, they went away.

The Pharisees Try To Snare Jesus: Shall We Pay Taxes To Caesar?

¹³ And they send forth some of the Pharisees and the Herodians^[d] to Him in order that they might catch Him in a statement. ¹⁴ And having come, they say to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful. And You are not concerned about [pleasing] anyone^[e], for You do not look^[f] at the face of people, but You teach the way of God in accordance with truth. Is it lawful to give a poll-tax^[g] to Caesar, or not? Should we give it, or should we not give it?” ¹⁵ But the One, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a denarius^[h] in order that I may see it”. ¹⁶ And the ones brought it. And He says to them, “Whose is this image^[i] and inscription?” And the ones said to Him, “Caesar’s”. ¹⁷ And Jesus said to them, “Give back^[j] the things of ^[k] Caesar to Caesar, and the things of God to God”. And they were marveling-greatly at Him.

Sadducees Question Jesus About The Resurrection of a Wife With Seven Husbands

¹⁸ And Sadducees come to Him, who say that there is not a resurrection. And they were questioning Him, saying ¹⁹ “Teacher, Moses wrote to us [in Deut 25:5] that if a brother of someone dies and leaves-behind a wife and does not leave a child, that his brother should take the wife, and raise-up-from her a seed^[l] for his brother. ²⁰ There were seven brothers. And the first took a wife, and dying, did not leave a seed. ²¹ And the second took her, and died, not having left-behind a seed. And the third similarly. ²² And the seven did not leave a seed. Last of all, the woman also died. ²³ In the resurrection when they rise up, of which of them will she be the wife? For the seven had her as wife”. ²⁴ Jesus said to them, “Are you not mistaken^[m] because of this— not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God? ²⁵ For when they rise-up from the dead, they neither marry nor are they given-in-marriage, but they are like angels^[n] in the heavens. ²⁶ And concerning the dead, that they are raised, did you not read in the book of Moses at the [place about the burning] bush, how God spoke to him, saying [in Ex 3:15] ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? ²⁷ He is not God of dead ones, but of living ones. You are greatly mistaken”.

A Scribe Asks, Which Is The Foremost Commandment?

²⁸ And having come to Him, one of the scribes— having heard them debating, having seen that He answered them well— asked Him, “Which is the foremost^[o] commandment of all?” ²⁹ Jesus answered that “Foremost is: ‘Hear, Israel. The Lord our God is one Lord. ³⁰ And you shall love the Lord your God from your whole heart, and from your whole soul, and from your whole mind, and from your whole strength’ [Deut 6:4-5]. ³¹ Second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’ [Lev 19:18]. There is not another commandment greater than these”. ³² And the scribe said to Him, “Well said, Teacher! In accordance with [God’s] truth, You said^[p] that He is one. And there is not another except Him. ³³ And the statement ‘to love Him from the whole heart, and from the whole understanding, and from the whole strength’, and the statement ‘to love the neighbor as himself’, are more [important] than all the whole-burnt-offerings and sacrifices”. ³⁴ And Jesus, having looked-at him because he responded thoughtfully, said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God”.

Jesus Asks How The Messiah Can Be The Son of David Since David Calls Him His Lord

And no one was daring to question Him any more. ³⁵ And having responded, Jesus was saying while teaching in the temple, “How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David? ³⁶ David himself said by the Holy Spirit [in Ps 110:1], ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Be sitting on My right side until I put Your enemies under Your feet”’. ³⁷ David himself calls Him ‘Lord’. And in what^[q] way is He his son?”

Jesus Warns The Crowds To Beware of The Scribes

And the large crowd was listening-to Him with-pleasure. ³⁸ And in His teaching He was saying, “Beware of the scribes— the ones delighting to walk around in robes, and to receive greetings in the marketplaces, ³⁹ and seats-of-honor in the synagogues, and places-of-honor at the banquets. ⁴⁰ They are the ones devouring^[r] the houses of the widows, and praying long for a pretense^[s]. These ones will receive greater condemnation”.

Jesus Uses The Widow’s Offering To Illustrate True Giving

⁴¹ And having sat-down opposite the treasury^[t], He was observing how the crowd throws money into the treasury. And many rich ones were throwing much money. ⁴² And one poor widow having come threw two leptos^[u], which is a quadrans^[v]. ⁴³ And having summoned His disciples, He said to them, “Truly I say to you that this poor widow threw more than all the ones throwing into the treasury. ⁴⁴ For they all threw out of the money abounding^[w] to them. But this one, out of her need^[x], threw all that she was having— her whole living^[y]”.