Mark 12 :: New International Version (NIV)

The Parable of the Tenants

(Mat 21:33–46; Luk 20:9–19 )

Mar 12:1Jesus then began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place.

Mar 12:2

Mar 12:2At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard.

Mar 12:3

Mar 12:3But they seized him, beat him and sent him away empty-handed.

Mar 12:4

Mar 12:4Then he sent another servant to them; they struck this man on the head and treated him shamefully.

Mar 12:5

Mar 12:5He sent still another, and that one they killed. He sent many others; some of them they beat, others they killed.

Mar 12:6

Mar 12:6“He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’

Mar 12:7

Mar 12:7“But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’

Mar 12:8

Mar 12:8So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.

Mar 12:9

Mar 12:9“What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.

Mar 12:10

Mar 12:10Haven’t you read this passage of Scripture: “ ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone;

Mar 12:11

Mar 12:11the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes’[fn]?”

Mar 12:12

Mar 12:12Then the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders looked for a way to arrest him because they knew he had spoken the parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd; so they left him and went away.

Paying the Imperial Tax to Caesar

(Mat 22:15–22; Luk 20:20–26 )

Mar 12:13

Mar 12:13Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words.

Mar 12:14

Mar 12:14They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know that you are a man of integrity. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay the imperial tax[fn] to Caesar or not?

Mar 12:15

Mar 12:15Should we pay or shouldn’t we?” But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. “Why are you trying to trap me?” he asked. “Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.”

Mar 12:16

Mar 12:16They brought the coin, and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?” “Caesar’s,” they replied.

Mar 12:17

Mar 12:17Then Jesus said to them, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” And they were amazed at him.

Marriage at the Resurrection

(Mat 22:23–33; Luk 20:27–40 )

Mar 12:18

Mar 12:18Then the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question.

Mar 12:19

Mar 12:19“Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.

Mar 12:20

Mar 12:20Now there were seven brothers. The first one married and died without leaving any children.

Mar 12:21

Mar 12:21The second one married the widow, but he also died, leaving no child. It was the same with the third.

Mar 12:22

Mar 12:22In fact, none of the seven left any children. Last of all, the woman died too.

Mar 12:23

Mar 12:23At the resurrection[fn] whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?”

Mar 12:24

Mar 12:24Jesus replied, “Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God?

Mar 12:25

Mar 12:25When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven.

Mar 12:26

Mar 12:26Now about the dead rising—have you not read in the Book of Moses, in the account of the burning bush, how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’[fn]?

Mar 12:27

Mar 12:27He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken!”

The Greatest Commandment

(Mat 22:34–40; Luk 10:25–28 )

Mar 12:28

Mar 12:28One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

Mar 12:29

Mar 12:29“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.[fn]

Mar 12:30

Mar 12:30Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’[fn]

Mar 12:31

Mar 12:31The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[fn] There is no commandment greater than these.”

Mar 12:32

Mar 12:32“Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him.

Mar 12:33

Mar 12:33To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

Mar 12:34

Mar 12:34When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.

Whose Son Is the Messiah?

(Mat 22:41–46; Luk 20:41–44 )

Mar 12:35

Mar 12:35While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, he asked, “Why do the teachers of the law say that the Messiah is the son of David?

Mar 12:36

Mar 12:36David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, declared: “ ‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.” ’[fn]

Mar 12:37

Mar 12:37David himself calls him ‘Lord.’ How then can he be his son?” The large crowd listened to him with delight.

Warning Against the Teachers of the Law

(Mat 23:1–7; Luk 20:45–47 )

Mar 12:38

Mar 12:38As he taught, Jesus said, “Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted with respect in the marketplaces,

Mar 12:39

Mar 12:39and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets.

Mar 12:40

Mar 12:40They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.”

The Widow’s Offering

(Luk 21:1–4 )

Mar 12:41

Mar 12:41Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts.

Mar 12:42

Mar 12:42But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.

Mar 12:43

Mar 12:43Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.

Mar 12:44

Mar 12:44They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

See the NIV Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).

NIV Footnotes

(12:11)

Psalm 118:22,23

(12:14)

A special tax levied on subject peoples, not on Roman citizens

(12:23)

Some manuscripts resurrection, when people rise from the dead,

(12:26)

Exodus 3:6

(12:29)

Or The Lord our God is one Lord

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Mark Chapter 12 — Additional Translations:

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