7
"But the renters said to each other, 'This is the one who will receive all the owner's property someday. Come, let's kill him. Then everything will be ours.'
8
So they took him and killed him. They threw him out of the vineyard.
9
"What will the owner of the vineyard do then? He will come and kill those renters. He will give the vineyard to others.
10
"Haven't you read what Scripture says, " 'The stone the builders didn't accept has become the most important stone of all.
11
The Lord has done it. It is wonderful in our eyes'?" (Psalm 118:22,23)
12
Then the religious leaders looked for a way to arrest Jesus. They knew he had told the story against them. But they were afraid of the crowd. So they left him and went away.
Is It Right to Pay Taxes to Caesar?
13 Later the religious leaders sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus. They wanted to trap him with his own words.
14
They came to him and said, "Teacher, we know you are a man of honor. You don't let others tell you what to do or say. You don't care how important they are. But you teach the way of God truthfully. Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?
15
Should we pay or shouldn't we?" But Jesus knew what they were trying to do. So he asked, "Why are you trying to trap me? Bring me a silver coin. Let me look at it."
16
They brought the coin. He asked them, "Whose picture is this? And whose words?" "Caesar's," they replied.
17
Then Jesus said to them, "Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar. And give to God what belongs to God." They were amazed at him.