Mark 12

And he began to speak unto them by parables. A certain man planted a vineyard, and set an hedge about it, and digged a place for the winefat, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country.

1Jesus taught them using stories with a lesson inside. A man planted a vineyard, a field of grape vines. He built a wall around it. He dug a pit for squeezing juice out of grapes. He built a tall tower to watch over the field. Then he rented the field to some farmers and traveled far away.

2And at the season he sent to the husbandmen a servant, that he might receive from the husbandmen of the fruit of the vineyard.

2When the grapes were ripe, the owner sent a servant. The servant was to collect the owner's share of the fruit.

3And they caught him, and beat him, and sent him away empty.

3But the farmers grabbed the servant. They beat him and sent him away with nothing.

4And again he sent unto them another servant; and at him they cast stones, and wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully handled.

4The owner sent another servant. They hit that one on the head. They treated him badly and sent him away.

5And again he sent another; and him they killed, and many others; beating some, and killing some.

5He sent another servant, and they killed him. He sent many more. Some they beat, and some they killed.

6Having yet therefore one son, his wellbeloved, he sent him also last unto them, saying, They will reverence my son.

6The owner had one person left, his own dear son. He sent him last of all. He said, "They will respect my son."

7But those husbandmen said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be our’s.

7But the farmers talked together. They said, "This is the son. Everything will belong to him one day. Let's kill him. Then the field will be ours."

8And they took him, and killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard.

8So they grabbed the son and killed him. They threw his body out of the vineyard.

9What shall therefore the lord of the vineyard do? he will come and destroy the husbandmen, and will give the vineyard unto others.

9Jesus asked, "So what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those farmers. He will give the vineyard to other people."

10And have ye not read this scripture; The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner:

10Jesus asked, "Haven't you read this in the Scriptures? The stone the builders threw away became the most important stone. It holds the corner of the whole building."

11This was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?

11"The Lord did this. It is wonderful to see."

12And they sought to lay hold on him, but feared the people: for they knew that he had spoken the parable against them: and they left him, and went their way.

12The leaders wanted to grab Jesus right then. They knew the story was about them. But they were afraid of the crowd. So they left him and went away.

13And they send unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, to catch him in his words.

13Later they sent some Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus. Pharisees were teachers who were strict about religious rules. Herodians were people who backed King Herod. They wanted to trap Jesus with his own words.

14And when they were come, they say unto him, Master, we know that thou art true, and carest for no man: for thou regardest not the person of men, but teachest the way of God in truth: Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not?

14They came and said, "Teacher, we know you tell the truth. You are not afraid to say what is right. You treat everyone the same. You teach God's way honestly. Is it allowed to pay taxes to Caesar or not?" Caesar was the Roman ruler.

Note"Carest for no man" in the old English does not mean Jesus did not care about people. It means he was not swayed by important or powerful people.

15Shall we give, or shall we not give? But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why tempt ye me? bring me a penny, that I may see it.

15"Should we pay or not?" Jesus knew they were only pretending. He said, "Why are you testing me? Bring me a coin so I can look at it."

NoteThe "penny" was a Roman coin called a denarius. It was about one day's pay for a worker.

16And they brought it. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? And they said unto him, Caesar’s.

16They brought one. Jesus asked, "Whose face and whose name are on this coin?" They said, "Caesar's."

17And Jesus answering said unto them, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s. And they marvelled at him.

17Jesus said, "Give Caesar what belongs to Caesar. Give God what belongs to God." His answer surprised them.

18Then come unto him the Sadducees, which say there is no resurrection; and they asked him, saying,

18Then some Sadducees came to Jesus. Sadducees were leaders who said dead people never come back to life. They asked him a question.

19Master, Moses wrote unto us, If a man’s brother die, and leave his wife behind him, and leave no children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.

19"Teacher, Moses wrote a rule for us. If a man dies and has no children, his brother must marry the widow. Then they can have children for the brother who died."

20Now there were seven brethren: and the first took a wife, and dying left no seed.

20"There were seven brothers. The first one married a woman. He died without any children."

21And the second took her, and died, neither left he any seed: and the third likewise.

21"The second brother married her, and he also died with no children. The same thing happened to the third brother."

22And the seven had her, and left no seed: last of all the woman died also.

22"All seven married her, and not one had children. Last of all, the woman died too."

23In the resurrection therefore, when they shall rise, whose wife shall she be of them? for the seven had her to wife.

23"When dead people rise again, whose wife will she be? All seven of them were married to her."

24And Jesus answering said unto them, Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the scriptures, neither the power of God?

24Jesus answered them, "You are wrong. You do not know the Scriptures, and you do not know how strong God is."

25For when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as the angels which are in heaven.

25"When people rise from the dead, they do not marry. They will be like the angels in heaven."

26And as touching the dead, that they rise: have ye not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spake unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?

26"Have you read the book of Moses, the part about the burning bush? God said to Moses, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.'"

27He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living: ye therefore do greatly err.

27"He is not the God of dead people. He is the God of living people. You are very wrong."

28And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all?

28A scribe came near. Scribes were men who studied and copied God's laws. He heard them talking and saw that Jesus answered well. He asked, "Which rule is the most important of all?"

29And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:

29Jesus answered, "The most important rule is this. Listen, Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord."

30And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

30"Love the Lord your God with your whole heart and your whole self. Love him with all your thinking and all your strength. This is the most important rule."

31And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

31"The second one is like it. Love the people around you as much as you love yourself. No rule is greater than these two."

32And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he:

32The scribe said, "You are right, Teacher. You said it truly. There is one God, and there is no other."

33And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.

33"Loving God with your whole heart, mind, and strength matters most. Loving other people as yourself matters too. That is better than all the animals burned as gifts to God."

34And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.

34Jesus saw that the man had answered wisely. He said, "You are not far from God's kingdom." After that, no one dared to ask Jesus any more questions.

35And Jesus answered and said, while he taught in the temple, How say the scribes that Christ is the son of David?

35Jesus was teaching in the temple. He asked, "Why do the scribes say the Christ is David's son?" Christ means the king God chose. David was Israel's great king long before.

36For David himself said by the Holy Ghost, The LORD said to my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool.

36"The Holy Spirit helped David say this: The Lord said to my Lord, 'Sit at my right side. I will put your enemies under your feet.'"

37David therefore himself calleth him Lord; and whence is he then his son? And the common people heard him gladly.

37"David himself calls him Lord. So how can he be David's son?" The big crowd was glad to listen to him.

38And he said unto them in his doctrine, Beware of the scribes, which love to go in long clothing, and love salutations in the marketplaces,

38Jesus kept on teaching. He said, "Watch out for the scribes. They love to walk around in long robes. They love being greeted in the marketplace."

39And the chief seats in the synagogues, and the uppermost rooms at feasts:

39"They love the best seats in the meeting places. They love the best spots at big dinners."

40Which devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayers: these shall receive greater damnation.

40"They take away the houses of widows, women whose husbands have died. They say long prayers to look good. They will be punished more."

41And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much.

41Jesus sat down across from the temple money box. He watched people put money in. Many rich people put in a lot.

42And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing.

42Then a poor widow came. She dropped in two tiny copper coins. They were worth almost nothing.

NoteA "mite" was the smallest copper coin people used. Two of them together were worth only a few minutes of work.

43And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury:

43Jesus called his disciples, the friends who followed him. He said, "I tell you the truth. This poor widow put in more than all the others."

44For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.

44"They all gave money they did not need. She was poor. She gave everything she had to live on."

NoteIn the old English, "want" means lack, not wishing for something. The verse says she gave out of her poverty.